How to avoid falling victim to the latest Australia Post scam doing the rounds

Australian Post customers are being urged to be on alert for a new text scam that has recently emerged, targeting unsuspecting customers across the country.

The text messages bear a striking resemblance to legitimate notifications sent by the postal company, notifying customers of unsuccessful delivery attempts for their packages.

Furthermore, a preview link cunningly misleads individuals into thinking that it will redirect them to an Australia Post assistance page, where they can arrange for package pickup or reschedule delivery.

A vigilant Reddit user took to the online platform to raise the alarm and alert the public to the scam, while questioning the authenticity of the message and urging fellow Australia Post customers to exercise caution and spread awareness about the deceptive text messages.

“A family member has been expecting a delivery from overseas, however they were not provided with a tracking number by the sender so it makes it quite hard to keep on top of,” they wrote.

“They have received the two messages below which I’m thinking are fake, what do you think? Like I’ve never seen ‘auspost-help.agency’. Trippy thing is that the link preview shows as the Auspost website.”

Fellow Reddit users were quick to respond to the alert, sharing their experiences and confirming that the suspicious text messages were indeed part of a scam.

“Yes, got a similar one and nearly fell for it because it came from the same number that aus post uses to contact me. Scam though,” one user wrote.

“The url is imamgeur place so huge scam.”

“I got that exact msg early today at 11am..I haven’t brought anything in months. They are scams. Look at the URL.. it’s not the real auspost page,” commented another.

“Definitely scam! Been hit up by this one myself. There are numerous scams currently operating that are getting info of packages being delivered.”

An Australian Post spokesperson encouraged customers to be vigilant for any “suspicious text or email message that appears to be from Australia Post”.

“We’re seeing a greater public awareness of scams and cybersecurity, however we encourage customers to be aware of how to spot a scam, including looking for a non-Australia Post web address and unusual sense of urgency,” a spokesperson told 7News.

“If customers receive a suspicious text or email message that appears to be from Australia Post, we encourage them to report it to [email protected] and delete it immediately.”

Australians have been hard hit by scams recently, alarmingly figures show that the amount lost to scammers increases with age.

When it comes to avoiding falling victim to scam activity, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission suggests the following:

• Always make sure you know who you are dealing with or talking to. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you are not sure that an offer is genuine, do not go through with the purchase or share personal details.
• Check if the company is registered through the ABN lookup website.
• Read reviews of the business and check for signs that it could be a scam.
• Use a credit card rather than a debit card or bank transfer so that you can ask your bank for a chargeback.