Royal Mail Delivery Text Scam: How to Spot It and What to Do

TL;DR: Royal Mail says it never emails or texts for card numbers or account details, and that customs or underpaid-postage fees are notified on a grey "Fee to Pay" card, not by text link. Forward scam texts to 7726 and emails to reportascam@royalmail.com.

👉 Check my digital footprint — free 30-second check →

A text saying Royal Mail could not deliver your parcel and asking for a redelivery fee is among the most reported scams in the UK. Royal Mail's own scam guidance is specific about what it does and does not do, and that makes it easy to test any message against the published rules.

What Royal Mail says it will never do

According to Royal Mail's help pages:

It will under no circumstances ask you to send account details or a password by email.
It will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
It will never ask you to enter information on a page that is not part of the Royal Mail website.
It will never include attachments unless you asked for the email.
It will not email about an attempted delivery unless you opted in to tracking notifications.

If a message breaks any of these points, it is not following Royal Mail's stated practice.

How genuine fees and notifications work

Royal Mail says it uses a grey "Fee to Pay" card, a physical card, to tell you about customs fees or underpaid postage. That is the detail that undoes most fake texts: the genuine route for these charges is not a link in a text. Royal Mail also says SMS and email notifications are sent when you have asked to track a trackable product, so an unexpected message about a parcel you have not chosen to track is suspect.

Common versions of the scam

Royal Mail's guidance describes the patterns it sees:

Notifications that mail is undelivered or being held, often with a phone number to call.
Requests for payment by email or text to release a parcel.
Requests to call premium-rate numbers.

The text usually arrives from a mobile number or a generic sender and links to a lookalike page that asks for a small fee, then for full card details and sometimes a one-time code.

How to report it

Royal Mail asks people to forward suspicious emails to reportascam@royalmail.com without clicking links or attachments. For text messages it asks for a screenshot of the message. For suspicious calls or websites, include the phone number or web address in the body of the email. You can also forward scam texts to 7726 (spells SPAM), which lets your mobile network investigate. If you paid or your personal data was exposed, Royal Mail points you to Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre (now reported through Report Fraud on the police.uk site).

If you already paid

Contact your bank or card provider straight away and ask them to block the card and look at a chargeback. Change any password you typed, and expect follow-up calls from people claiming to be your bank. Hang up and phone the number on the back of your card instead.

The same text script is used with other UK courier names. See the Evri delivery text scam for the rules that apply there, and the DHL delivery text scam for an international carrier's approach.

Why the "Fee to Pay" card detail matters

Royal Mail's grey card is a practical tool because it turns an abstract rule into something you can see. If you have a genuine fee to pay, there is a physical card in your hand and a defined process to settle it. A text that arrives with no card and no prior tracking request, and that demands payment by link, fits none of that. If you are unsure, do not use the phone number in the message; look up Royal Mail's contact details yourself.

Protect your credit file in the UK

If you gave away personal details rather than only card numbers, consider a Protective Registration with Cifas, the UK fraud prevention service, which flags your details so lenders take extra care with applications in your name. Also check your credit reports for accounts you do not recognise.

If your number or email was captured on a fake parcel page, criminals may reuse it. Run a free digital footprint check to see what could already be traced to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Royal Mail text you to pay a redelivery fee?

Royal Mail says it uses a grey "Fee to Pay" card for customs fees or underpaid postage, not a text message link. It also says it only sends SMS or email notifications when you have asked to track a trackable product.

Where do I report a Royal Mail scam text?

Send a screenshot to reportascam@royalmail.com, and forward the text to 7726, the free spam reporting number.

What will Royal Mail never ask for?

Royal Mail says it will never email asking for credit card numbers or confidential information, never ask you to send a password by email, and never ask you to enter details on a page that is not part of its website.

Should I call the number in a Royal Mail scam message?

No. Royal Mail's guidance lists requests to call premium-rate numbers among the scams it sees. Use the contact details on royalmail.com instead.

What if I paid on a fake Royal Mail page?

Contact your bank or card provider immediately, change any passwords you entered, and report it to Royal Mail and to the national fraud reporting service.

Royal Mail Delivery Text Scam: Red Flags, Real Examples, and What to Do