You are waiting for an order, so a text about a failed delivery feels believable. It says your address is incomplete, postage is unpaid, or your package will be returned unless you act today. Before opening the link, check your order another way.
Quick answer: Open the store’s official app or website yourself and look at your order’s tracking details. Use that information to check the carrier. Do not enter your address, card details, or a verification code into a page reached through an unexpected text.
Watch: Package delivery text asking for a fee?
Why these messages feel convincing
Many people have a package on the way at any given time. A scammer does not have to know what you ordered for a delivery story to catch your attention. The message might arrive at just the right moment by coincidence.
The name on the message and the logo on the linked page are not proof. A fake page can resemble a real delivery service while collecting the details you type into it. The FTC has warned about look-alike USPS messages and websites.
A sample message to pause over
“Delivery on hold. Your address needs confirmation. Update it today to avoid return to sender.”
This is a fictional example, not a real tracking notice. The combination of an unexpected request, an urgent deadline, and a link is a reason to verify independently.
Other versions ask for a small redelivery charge. A tiny payment can still expose your card details. Do not decide that a request is harmless because the amount is low.
Check your package in four steps
- Leave the text alone. Do not reply, open its link, or call a number it provides.
- Open the store yourself. Use its official app or a bookmark you already trust.
- Find the order. Check the carrier and tracking number shown in your purchase history.
- Check the carrier independently. Open its official site or app yourself and use the tracking number from your order. If you need help, use contact details from that official source.
If there is a genuine address or delivery problem, resolve it through the retailer or carrier you reached yourself. You can check a real order without cooperating with an unverified message.
Does USPS send tracking texts?
USPS offers text tracking when you request it. The Postal Inspection Service says its package-tracking texts require you to request the service using a tracking number, and those texts do not contain a link.
That is guidance about USPS, not a rule for every carrier or retailer. Other services may use different notification systems. The safer habit remains the same: check your order independently instead of trusting a link because it looks familiar.
Already opened the link?
Close the page. Opening it does not automatically prove your phone is infected, but do not continue with its requests or install anything it offers.
- Entered a password? Change it through the real service, and change it anywhere else you reused it. Check account activity.
- Entered card details or paid? Call your card issuer through a trusted number immediately. Explain what happened and ask how to protect the account or dispute the payment.
- Shared a sign-in code? Reach the affected account’s official security or recovery pages promptly.
- Installed an app or gave remote access? End the access and get trusted technical help. Use another trusted device for sensitive accounts.
For next steps based on what you shared, use the FTC’s scam recovery guide. Acting quickly may help, but nobody can promise to recover a payment.
Report it, then block it
Use your phone’s report-junk or report-spam option if available. You can also forward the suspicious text to 7726 (SPAM), as recommended by the Postal Inspection Service, and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Keep a record first if you shared information or money, then block the sender and delete the message.
Keep learning
- How to Spot a Scam: Texts, Emails, Calls, and Fake Websites
- How to Spot a Scam Email
- Fake Virus Warning Pop-Up? What to Do
Official references
Reviewed October 13, 2026.
Leave a Reply