Australia Post is reminding customers to stay vigilant against scams during the upcoming Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas sale periods, with new research revealing 75% of Australians believe scams are becoming increasingly more convincing. 

Despite only one-in-five research respondents claiming they’d be more likely to fall for a scam during a sale, almost three quarters believe scams are harder to distinguish when it comes to texts, calls and emails.

Customers need to be particularly cautious of parcel delivery scams during the upcoming peak shopping season, with over 70% of Australians reporting delivery and package scams as the most common, the research found.

Australia Post Executive General Manager Enterprise Services, Michael McNamara said customers should be extra cautious as we head into our busiest shopping period for the year.

“Given current cost-of-living pressures, we expect many people will be taking advantage of upcoming sales ahead of the holiday season, which means more parcel deliveries. Unfortunately, this can lead to an increase in scam attempts related to deliveries,” said Mr McNamara.

“Scammers often use fake parcel notifications to trick people into sharing personal or financial information, so it’s crucial that customers carefully check the authenticity of any communication they receive about deliveries.

“When in doubt, don’t click on links, and never provide personal details unless you’re certain of the source. We also recommend using apps from trusted retailers and service providers, like the AusPost app, which provides a safe, reliable way to track parcels and receive updates on missed deliveries.”

He said the AusPost App provides a safe alternative for customers, offering a secure place to receive delivery updates, track parcels along their journey, and redirect parcels to alternative addresses including parcel lockers. The app also provides in-app notifications for missed deliveries and parcel collection.

Australia Post warned the company will never:

• Call, text or email you asking for personal or financial information including password, credit card details or account information;
• Call, text or email you to request payment.

Australia Post also advises that parcel delivery scams may reference other delivery company names both real and fictitious. 

To sign up for a free MyPost account, visit https://auspost.com.au/receiving/mypost or download from the Apple Store or Google Play.

For more tips on how to navigate parcel and delivery scams visit the Australia Post website: https://auspost.com.au/about-us/about-our-site/online-security-scams-fraud/scam-alerts.