An Post scam can trick people into sharing card details to pay ‘redelivery’ fee

A new An Post scam is trying to trick people into handing over their card details to pay a “redelivery” fee due to an “address error”.

The text tells the “customer” that a delivery of a package they have ordered has been suspended due to a missing number in their address. The phone number begins with +261, which appears to be a number from Madagascar.

It urges the person receiving the text to click a link. Upon clicking said link, the person is brought to a dupe of the An Post website. The customer is then urged to hand over their name, address, email, and card details to pay a seemingly-innocuous redelivery fee of €3.25. An Post’s website reminds customers that they would never send them a text with a clickable link.

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“An Post will not send you an SMS with a clickable link to input your details, they only send SMS for informational purposes,” they say. “Fraudsters have been able to clone mobile numbers used by An Post or other financial institutions to send you SMS messages so never assume the message is from us.

“Be alert if you receive a phone call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from An Post. They may claim to be calling from the fraud department and claim your account has been compromised.

“They may ask for your bank details in order to prevent future fraudulent transactions. Do not share any details.

“Remember, we will never call, email or text you asking for your bank account or card details, user ID, PIN number, internet password. Never share authorisation codes that have been sent to you by text with anyone, even if that person says they’re calling from An Post.”

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