Have you received unsolicited mobile text messages indicating that a USPS delivery is awaiting your action, with an unrecognized web link to click in the body of the message? Don’t click the link! This type of campaign is a scam called smishing.
Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message that is intended to lure the recipient into providing their personal or financial information. These scams often attempt to impersonate a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims.
The criminal wants to receive personally identifiable information about the victim such as: account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information. This information is used to carry out other crimes, such as financial fraud.
To protect yourself and others from consumer frauds, visit our fraud prevention page: www.uspis.gov/tips-prevention/mail-fraud/.
How To Report USPS Related Smishing
To report USPS related smishing, send an email to spam@uspis.gov.
• Without clicking on the web link, copy the body of the suspicious text message and paste into a new email.
• Provide your name in the email. Also, attach a screenshot of the text message showing the phone number of the sender, and the date sent.
• Include any relevant details in your email, for example: if you clicked the link, if you lost money, or if you provided any personal information.
• The Postal Inspection Service will contact you if more information is needed.
Complaints of non-USPS related smishing can also be sent to any of the following law enforcement partners of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service:
• The Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI), Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3) at https://www.ic3.gov/complaint.