Getting Answers: police warning of package delivery text scam

CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - We are just a couple days away from Black Friday, when sales will be taking place at all your favorite stores, but if you’re avoiding the crowds and choosing to shop online, you’ll want to be aware. Some scammers are taking advantage of the holiday season.

Charlene Duclos received a text message on Monday from what she thought was the United States Postal Service. The text read “Package could not be delivered due to missing street address on package label” and directed her to click on a link to complete the address information. It even had a tracking number linked.

“…And I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I’m expecting a package, so this has to be it,’” Duclos said.

She clicked on the link and entered all her personal information including her home address, email, and phone number, but when she hit continue, the site asked her for a payment.

“After that, I said, ‘No, I’m not going to do that,’” Duclos added.

Duclos called the post office and they told her the tracking number was invalid and not one they would use. She then went to police and filed a police report and posted the scam on social media to warn others.

“I just don’t want others to get scammed, so don’t be gullible like I was,” Duclos explained.

She also learned she wasn’t alone. Hundreds of people commented on her post that they received the same text. Western Mass News even had two team members receive the text. Chicopee Police Officer Travis Odiorne told us the department has received numerous calls about these types of scams after posting a warning online.

“As a result of that, several other agencies in the area have also put out the same post because apparently, it’s happening all over the place,” Odiorne said.

He told Western Mass News that the post office or any other delivery company, like UPS or FedEx, will not ask for your personal information through a text and he said to never click on a link that you don’t know is legitimate.

“Just verify the emails and call the businesses directly, whether it’s the post office, Paypal, things like that, or Amazon…just check with them directly,” Odiorne added.

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