The blocked-parcel scam
The number-one scenario, because it almost always lands at the right moment.
It's the most widespread SMS fraud, and its strength lies in a simple statistical fact: at any given time, a huge share of recipients is genuinely expecting a parcel. The message therefore doesn't need to be credible, it just needs to arrive at the right moment. It mentions a held parcel, asks for a few euros in fees and points to a copy of a well-known carrier's site.
How this scam works
The text talks of a parcel on hold, unpaid customs duties or an incomplete address, and offers a link to sort it out. The targeted page copies the look of a carrier and asks for a small sum, a euro or two, by bank card. The amount is only a pretext: it merely serves to validate an active card number, later reused for far larger charges, sometimes weeks afterwards.
How to recognise it
- You're not expecting any parcel, or you haven't ordered anything from a merchant involving customs clearance.
- The carrier named differs from the one announced by the shop where you placed your order.
- The tracking number is missing, or matches nothing on the carrier's official site.
- The fees requested are tiny: real customs clearance is never paid a euro via a link sent by SMS.
What to do after receiving this message
- 1
Don't click the link
Merely opening the page can confirm that your line is active, which will earn you further waves of messages.
- 2
Check directly with the carrier
Go to the carrier's official site by typing the address yourself, and look up your tracking number. If it doesn't exist, the SMS is fraudulent.
- 3
Forward the message to 33700
Reporting is free. An automatic reply will ask you for the sender's number: send it back as is.
- 4
Delete the message and block the line
Blocking protects you immediately, independently of the report, which acts on the source.
The reflexes to avoid absolutely
- •Never enter a bank card number on a page opened from a link received by SMS.
- •Don't call the sending line back: it may be premium-rate.
- •Don't reply STOP to a fraudulent message: unlike a commercial SMS, this only confirms the line is active.
Your frequently asked questions
I paid the fees requested, what should I do?
Warn your bank without delay to freeze the card, then report the fraud; cybermalveillance.gouv.fr details the steps to take depending on the harm suffered.
Can a real carrier ask for fees by SMS?
Customs duties do exist on imports, but they are paid on the carrier's official site, never via a link sent in a message.
Envoyer SMS Gratuit has no connection with the organisations cited on these pages, mentioned only because scammers usurp their name. Our service is, moreover, limited to personal and occasional sends, entirely free: it broadcasts neither campaign nor commercial message, and therefore cannot be the origin of a fraudulent SMS received under our name or that of a third party.
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