TL;DR: A text saying a USPS package cannot be delivered and asking you to confirm your address through a link is a smishing scam. The Postal Inspection Service says USPS will not text or email you unless you first requested tracking with a tracking number, and those messages contain no link. Do not click. Copy the text into an email to spam@uspis.gov and forward it to 7726.

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Everyone is waiting for some package, which is exactly why the fake delivery text works. It arrives at random, looks routine and asks for something tiny: confirm your address. The US Postal Inspection Service calls this smishing, phishing by text message.

What the fake text looks like

One version reported by WHAS11 says the package "has arrived at the warehouse" and cannot be delivered because of incomplete address information, and tells you to confirm your address through a link within 12 hours. The link can open a page that looks like the real USPS site, as noted by WKRN. The aim is to collect personal or financial details such as passwords, Social Security numbers, birth dates and card numbers, according to TIME.

How real USPS tracking texts work

To check a genuine package, type the USPS web address yourself and enter the tracking number from your retailer.

What to do with the text

  1. Do not click, reply or call any number in it.
  2. Report it: copy the text body (without clicking the link) into an email to spam@uspis.gov, with your name and a screenshot showing the sender's number and the date, as the Postal Inspection Service asks. Denver7 also notes you can forward the text to 7726.
  3. Forward it to 7726 (SPAM), which helps your carrier flag the number.
  4. Scam texts not linked to USPS can also go to the FTC and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, per WRNJ.

If you already clicked or entered details

  1. Card details entered: call your card issuer, freeze the card and ask for a new number.
  2. Passwords entered: change them and any account that reuses them.
  3. Personal ID numbers entered: consider a credit freeze; see re-securing your identity after a scam.
  4. Watch statements and if money moved, follow what to do right now after a US scam.

The same playbook appears in the EZ Pass unpaid toll text scam, QR code scams and, in India, the fake parcel and customs scam. For a general checklist, read how to spot and report phishing.

FAQs

Does USPS send text messages with links?

USPS says it will not send texts or emails unless you first requested the service with a tracking number, and those messages will not contain a link. A text with a link that you did not request is a scam.

How do I report a USPS text scam?

Email spam@uspis.gov with the text copied in, your name and a screenshot showing the sender's number and date, then forward the text to 7726. You can also report scams to the FTC and the FBI's IC3.

What if I clicked the link in the fake USPS text?

Do not enter anything. If you did, call your card issuer, change reused passwords, watch your statements and consider a credit freeze if you gave ID numbers.

Why does the text say my address is incomplete?

It is a pretext to get you to a fake page that collects personal and card details. Real address problems are handled through the USPS website or the retailer, not a text link.

How can I check a real package?

Type the USPS web address yourself and enter the tracking number from your order confirmation, or check with the retailer. Never use a link from an unexpected text.

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Sources

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