CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you took advantage of Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals, you may receive a lot of shipping updates on your phone.
However, scammers know this and they're always looking for an opportunity to get your personal information. One of the most common scams going around during the holiday is a text message with a fake delivery notification.
WCNC Charlotte's VERIFY team received one of these messages. It says a package arrived at the warehouse but couldn't be delivered. It then asks the user to click on the link and fill out the rest of the shipping address. These unexpected notifications should always raise a red flag, but how can you tell them apart from a legitimate update?
OUR SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
First things first. The Postal Service said it will never contact customers via text message with a link to check the status of a delivery. The organization issued the following statement in response to VERIFY's question:
"USPS will not send customers text messages or emails without a customer-first requesting the service with a tracking number, and it will NOT contain a link. So, if you did not initiate the tracking request for a specific package directly from USPS and it contains a link, do not click on it."
Bartholomy adds that with the holiday season in full swing, scammers are trying to take advantage. If you click on the links, they will try to get more information. Despite some pretty clear warning signs, Bartholomy said many people are still falling for these tricks.
"They just keep asking you questions, and then another pop-up comes up and asks what credit card did you use," Bartholomy said. "And unfortunately, people are still falling for it."
Another way to spot the scam is that the original address is likely a random Hotmail address, not even a phone number. Instead of trusting the random text, you should go straight to the source, be it the website you bought the item from or the shipping provider.
"If you think it might be real, go directly to the site you bought it from. Check the order that way," Bartholomy said.
Bartholomy says these types of scams are becoming more common, especially with people buying gifts online. Before you fall for this, or even click a link in one of these messages, Bartholomy stresses you should always look at who or where it's coming from. In addition, you should contact the site you bought the item to clarify the status of your package.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte's Verify series is all about trying to make a difference in the Carolinas by making sure the community has the correct information. WCNC Charlotte outlines concisely what we know and what we don't know. Sometimes the answer can be surprising. Watch previous stories where we verify social media claims in the YouTube playlist below and subscribe to get updated when new videos are uploaded.