Scams are becoming more and more common by the day and are getting increasingly sophisticated. One reason for this is that most scams take place through text messages and appear as shipping texts. With e-commerce growing rapidly, it has provided scammers an opportunity to make money off the gullible. However, if you use caution, it is quite easy to spot fake shipping texts and avoid such scams.

There is no pending order yet to be delivered

The easiest way to spot a fake shipping text is to check whether you have placed an order and have yet to receive it. Getting a text message about an order that you never placed is a telltale sign that the message is a scam. While it may sometimes happen that someone else ordered something and provided your number accidentally, or you may have forgotten about an order you placed, in most cases, it is a scam.

Your device shows a scam notification

Modern devices generally show a scam notification when suspicious messages arrive, which can make it easy to avoid them. Keep in mind that these notifications may not always be correct, but they are right in most cases. So, if you see such a notification for any message, go through the message details carefully before taking any action.

The message comes from an unknown number

When a legitimate business sends a text message, the company name will be mentioned somewhere in the message or may even appear as the sender's name. In contrast, when you get a text from someone claiming to be a reputed company but no name is mentioned and the sender is an unknown random number, it is most likely a scam. Also, the phone number will be unusually long, with ten or 11 digits and the message may even be completely irrelevant to you.

Errors like incorrect grammar and typos are present in the message

Check the message content properly to see whether the text sounds like it is coming from a legitimate business. If it contains phrases and sentences that contain typos or other grammatical errors, or just don't sound right, it is another indication that the text message is a scam. A genuine text message from a business will always sound professional, while the content of a scam message will not.

Links present in scam messages will appear fishy, unlike those from a legitimate business. Scammers often use link-shortening services to partially hide the URLs they send in scam texts, though sometimes such services are also used by legitimate businesses. While you should avoid clicking on links that seem suspicious, if you think that a link may be genuine, you can check the URL it directs you to by clicking on it. If the URL doesn't seem trustworthy, close it as the chances of it being a scam are high.

There is no tracking number on the website

When you get a text from a legitimate service regarding a package, the message will contain a tracking number. You can use this number to track where your package is by visiting the website of the business from where you placed the order. However, if the website is fake, you won't see any tracking number on it and even if you do, it will not be a genuine one.

The phone number seems to be from a company you know

You may get a message from a company or someone that you know or have dealt with, such as your telecom company. However, if you were not expecting to hear from them, it may not be a genuine message. In such a situation, contact the person or company as you normally do, not through that message, and find out whether they sent that message. If they did not, the text is a scam.

The text has a sense of urgency

In many cases, scam texts have a sense of urgency about them, and require you to perform a certain action quickly. For instance, the message may claim that you have failed to make payments for a certain service and need to do it immediately for it to be renewed. It is important not to panic when such texts appear, as genuine messages from companies usually do not send such text messages. If there is a problem, they will send you an email and may even contact you over the phone or you can do so yourself to verify the message.

The message promises a reward, prize, or refund

A common technique scammers use is to send texts that offer a prize or a reward when you click on the link in the message. As mentioned before, avoid clicking on such links as that can provide scammers with your details that they can then misuse. Such messages may require you to provide your bank details or similar information to receive the prize or refund, so make sure not to do that.

Things to know

  • If you are not sure whether a shipping text is genuine, check whether it contains a tracking number. In case a tracking number is present, visit the website of the courier service and use the tracking number to find whether any package is on the way. If there is no tracking number or no package appears on the website, it is a scam.
  • You can also contact the customer service of the courier service if you actually have an order on the way and ask them about the message. They will be able to help you out and let you know whether the message is genuine or a scam.
  • Additionally, you can visit the site from where you placed the order and check the delivery and shipping status from there.
  • In any case, never provide your real information as genuine businesses from whom you've transacted any business will not require it.