USPS scam texts: your parcel isn’t on hold

Q: How do I report a USPS scam text?

Email spam@uspis.gov with the message text and a screenshot showing the number and date, forward the text to 7726, and delete it.

From Scams, in the HARD wiki · Updated 8 Nov 2026

A text that says USPS is holding a parcel until you confirm your address or pay a small fee, with a link, is a scam.

The US Postal Inspection Service says USPS only texts people who asked for tracking updates with a tracking number, those texts carry no link, and USPS doesn’t charge for them. The link goes to a page dressed as USPS that collects your card number and sometimes your Social Security number.

USPS is the US postal service, but the same text is sent in the names of Royal Mail, Canada Post, Australia Post and the big couriers. The checks and steps below work for any of them; report it where you live.

What it looks like

An example written by HARD, not a real message. Real ones change wording often.

Text from +1 (209) 555-0143

USPS: Your package is on hold due to an incomplete address. Update your details within 12 hours to avoid return to sender: [a link that isn’t usps.com]

Check the one you got

Paste what you were sent. HARD checks it in this browser with the same rules as the Is this legit? check in its apps. Nothing you paste leaves this page.

The message to check

How to tell it’s fake

“USPS will not send customers text messages or e-mails without a customer first requesting…”
US Postal Inspection Service

You didn’t ask USPS to text you.: Real USPS tracking texts only come after you texted a tracking number to 28777 (2USPS) or signed up on usps.com with one. A text out of the blue is not from USPS.
It has a link.: USPS says its texts don’t contain links. The real tracking reply is a line of status, such as “Available for pickup”, and nothing to tap.
It asks for a fee or your details.: A redelivery fee, a “small customs charge” or a form for your address, card and date of birth. USPS doesn’t charge to redeliver.
It rushes you.: “Within 12 hours” or “today” before the parcel is returned. The deadline is there so you don’t check.
The sender is a phone number or an email address.: Scam texts come from ordinary 10-digit numbers or email addresses, often a different one each time.

If you clicked, called or paid

If you only opened the link, close it.: Don’t type anything in. USPIS still says to tell your bank if you interacted with the page at all, even without pressing submit.
Call your bank if you paid or typed in card details.: Use the number on the back of your card, not one from the message. Ask them to block the card, dispute the charge and watch for more. The sooner you call, the better the chance of stopping it.
Change any password you typed in.: If the page asked you to sign in, change that password on the real site or app, and anywhere you used the same one.
Watch for identity theft if you gave your Social Security number.: In the US, freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (free), and see IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan.
Report it.: Email [email protected] with the text pasted in (don’t tap the link), and a screenshot showing the sender and date. Forward the text to 7726, then delete it. Outside the US: Report Fraud in the UK (reportfraud.police.uk, which replaced Action Fraud), Scamwatch in Australia, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in Canada. Forward scam texts to 7726 in the US, UK and Canada.

If it was your parents, read Look after your parents, and if a card number or password has gone, Breaches explains what each kind of leaked data lets criminals do.

The official way to check

Track it yourself.: Type usps.com into your browser, or open the USPS app, and enter the tracking number from the shop’s order email.
Ask the shop.: If you’re expecting something, the shop’s own order page shows the carrier and the real tracking number.

Someone on the phone asking for money right now? Guides has the two-step answer. More scams by name are on Is this a scam?, and new ones reach the Situation Room.

Questions

Does USPS send text messages?

Only if you asked for them by texting a tracking number to 28777 or signing up on usps.com. Those texts give a status and don’t contain links. USPS doesn’t text people out of the blue.

What happens if I clicked the link in a USPS scam text?

If you didn’t type anything, close the page; USPIS still advises telling your bank. If you entered card details, call your bank on the number on your card. If you gave your Social Security number, freeze your credit.

How do I report a USPS scam text?

Email [email protected] with the message text and a screenshot showing the number and date, forward the text to 7726, and delete it.

Sources

Sources checked on 7 Nov 2026.

US Postal Inspection Service: Smishing, package tracking text scams, last updated 19 May 2025: USPS texts only on request, carry no link and are free; report to [email protected] and 7726; track on usps.com; tell your bank if you used the link.
USPS: Text tracking FAQs, read 7 November 2026: real tracking texts come from 28777 after you text a tracking number.
FTC Data Spotlight: Top text scams of 2024, 14 April 2025: fake USPS delivery-problem texts and “redelivery fees” used to collect card and Social Security numbers.
FTC: How to recognize and report spam text messages, July 2022: forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and report them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.