Warning issued over fake DPD scam targeting shoppers waiting for Christmas deliveries

Shoppers are being warned about a fake DPD scam that is circulating which attempts to trick recipients into handing over their bank details.

The fraudulent email appears to be from DPD and urges people to pay to reschedule a delivery of their Christmas parcels.

Request for new delivery

The convincing looking email looks like a legitimate message sent by the delivery company, asking customers to schedule a new delivery.

The message states that a parcel was attempted to be delivered, but there was no safe place to leave it.

As such, customers are asked to schedule a new delivery date and pay a shipping fee.

The email then directs recipients to a fake website where they are asked to submit their personal details, including payment information.

If submitted, this would allow fraudsters access to their bank account where they could steal their funds.

(Photo: Supplied)(Photo: Supplied)
(Photo: Supplied)

What should I do?

With many people shopping online for their Christmas presents this year, it could be easy to fall for the scam.

DPD have issued a warning to customers, urging recipients to check the message has come from a valid email address before taking any action.

The delivery company only emails from one of three email addresses. These include:

  • dpd.co.uk
  • dpdlocal.co.uk
  • dpdgroup.co.uk

If the email has not come from one of these three addresses, it is likely to be a phishing scam and should be reported to [email protected].

In a statement, DPD said: “We have recently been made aware of a payment fraud scam requesting payment for the delivery of a parcel.

“Although this appears to be from DPD, the sender is a telenet email address - and not ne of the three approved DPD addresses.

“Always check the ‘From’ section in an email and if it isn’t a valid DPD address, report it by contacting [email protected].”

Warning signs to look for

Action Fraud recommends being wary of fraudulent emails and messages that:

  • are unsolicited and supposedly come from a reputable organisation, such as a bank or credit card company
  • encourage you urgently to visit a website or call a number to verify or update your details
  • request your personal information such as username, password or bank account

If you do receive a suspicious message you should not reply to it, and be cautious about clicking on any links that may be embedded, or calling a number that may be provided.

If you have responded to a message that you suspect to be a scam and gave your bank account details, you should contact your bank immediately.

To report a scam, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or report it online.