LONG HORNS Post Office warns about parcel scam
CLIENTS ASKED TO DO BANK DEPOSIT Fraudsters issue PINs and request payment for ‘customs’ and ‘courier fees’
The South African Post Office (Sapo) has warned members of the public to be on alert to a parceldelivery scam designed to defraud them. According to Sapo, victims are contacted telephonically by people pretending to be from its customs division.
“The caller informs them that a parcel is ready for collection – provided they first pay money into an account.
“According to the caller, the money is for customs duties and courier fees.”
Members of the public are directed to a website that appears similar to the Sapo Speed Services website. The phone number, however, is in the UK, with a prefix of +44.
Customers are also given a personal identification number (PIN) which they have to enter before they can “track” the fictitious parcel.
Sapo said it did not use PINs for its tracking service.
Also, “the SA Post Office does not require customers to make any bank deposit before parcels are released.
“In instances where Sars (the receiver of revenue) levies import tax on parcels from abroad, the import tax must be paid at the Post Office counter when the item is collected.
“The customer will receive a receipt for this payment,” Sapo said.
In instances where Sapo had the cellphone number of the recipient, the customer would receive an SMS requesting him or her to collect the parcel at a specific Sapo branch.
The SMS will not request that funds be deposited into an account.
Members of the public that have information regarding this scam are requested to call the police or the Sapo Crime Buster Hotline on 0800-020-070.
The post office has advised the public to ignore any communication of this nature.
In one case, a member of the public was requested to pay R1 500 in courier charges and R2 000 in customs fees.