USPS Delivery Failure Notification eMail Scam

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ON GUARD
CUSTOMERS WARNED ABOUT EMAIL SCAMMERS USING USPS NAME

Postal Service customers take note — usps.com recently posted a warning about email scammers using the Postal Service’s name to access valuable personal information.

Customers being targeted receive bogus emails with subject lines containing the text: “USPS Delivery Failure Notification.” The emails claim to be from the Postal Service and contain fraudulent information about an attempted or intercepted package delivery. The emails instruct customers to click on a link to find out when they can expect delivery.

Clicking on the link activates a virus, which can steal personal information — such as user names, passwords or financial account information — stored on the computer.

Customers should simply delete the message and take no further action unless they choose to report the email as spam by contacting abuse@usps.gov.

The email scam is similar to a telemarketing scam uncovered by the Postal Inspection Service in which fraudsters masquerading as USPS employees were phoning residents and requesting birth dates and Social Security numbers as requirements for package delivery (Link, 10/31).

Corporate Information Security Officer Chuck McGann offers these tips on spotting bogus emails:

  • The text contains poor grammar or spelling errors.
  • The text states immediate action must be taken or customer could face dire consequences.
  • The email requests personal information under the guise of re-confirming information.
  • The text from an “automated message system” states “Click on this link for details.”

Customers with questions about a delivery by the Postal Service should call 800-ASK-USPS.

USPS Delivery Failure Notification eMail Scam added by on
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111 Responses to "USPS Delivery Failure Notification eMail Scam"

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  1. I got the following email this morning:

    Dear Customer,

    We attempted to deliver your item at 09:41 am on October 23, 2011 and a notice was left. You may arrange redelivery by clicking the link below or pick up the item at the Post Office indicated on the notice. If this item is unclaimed after 15 days then it will be returned to the sender. The sender has requested that you receive a Track & Confirm update, as shown below.

    Label Number: 7007 1923 7115 7985 0658
    Expected Delivery Date: October 23, 2012
    Service Type: First-Class Certified Mail
    Service(s): Delivery Confirmation
    Status: Final Notice

    To check the status of your mailing or arrange redelivery, please visit

    Please make sure to print out your invoice in order to collect your package at our Post Office

    Future activity will continue to be emailed for up to 2 weeks from the date of request shown above.

    For more information, or if you have additional questions on Track & Confirm services and features. We’re here to help. Call 1-800-ASK-USPS!

    Thank you for your purchase. To complete
    the transaction and receive the download
    URL please click the following link:

    EASY 1-CLICK CONFIRMATION:

    You will be able to unsubscribe or change
    your details at any time.

    If you have received this email in error and
    do not intend to join our list, no further
    action is required on your part.

    You will not be subscribed to any list and
    will not receive any further information until
    you confirm your subscription above.

    Track your package now

    USPS, 9350 East Corporate Hills Drive, Wichita, KS 67207, United States
    Email address: “Friend”
    Type of request: import
    Timestamp: 2012-10-24 06:18:19
    IP address:

  2. Got an email that smelled fishy because the email label said that it came from UPS but the graphic was usps.com. I live and work in Korea and my wife and father occasionally send packages and she is sending stuff overseas to other people as well. When I saw this I opened it but did not click on the link. I emailed them both but I went ahead and deleted it on finding this thread. I am glad that I followed my gut level instinct that something seemed wrong. Even the grammar appeared off. I really believe that companies are going to have to start watermarking or doing something unique in the graphics to protect against counterfieting of emails like we do for money.

  3. Recieve this message:
    subject: USPS Notification #3841267

    Dear customer.

    The parcel number #3841267 was sent your home adress.
    And it will arrive within five days.

    More information and the tracking number are attached in document below.

    Thank you.
    Copyright© 2012 USPS. All Rights Reserved.

  4. Dear customer.

    The parcel number #4115201 was sent your home adress.
    And it will arrive within four days.

    More information and the tracking number are attached in document below.

    Thank you.
    Copyright© 2012 USPS. All Rights Reserved.

    Had an attatchment to click on… USPS Document.zip

  5. I opened the email 9/2/2012. It had variations of my email address in the cc. I sent it to the trash, then deleted it. I ran 2 antivirus scans.
    The text said I sent something, not that I was receiving something; I knew I did not mail anything. The text was similar to Steve who commented 8/13/2012. I think maybe yahoo or my PC settings blocked the shipping label button link.

  6. Receive via email: “UPS We love Logistics. Unfortunately we failed to deliver the postal package you have sent on the 27th of July in time, because the recipient’s address is erroneous. Please print out the label copy attached and collevt the package at our office. “. Hovered over the Print a shipping Label button link and discovered http://nagelgrossisten.se/BPWRUYNDDA.htm as the address.
    I have not shipped anything in the past month via UPS plus the address gives it away as a scam.

  7. Thanks for posing this alert- these are being received in the Uk.

    Eset Nod32 antuivirus is still teh best and detects the trojan in the attachment and deletes the email and attachment before it can be opened.
    The attachment tries to obtain personal information and as such is a serious threat.

    If you have already opened it and find yourself infected ( sorry ‘mouse’, you are infected, with these bugs and possibly lots more but without any AntiVirus or anti-spam detection or protection the difference is that you now don’t know about it which makes for a more content life if you want to hide from reality)

    Nod32 Antivirus is available as a free trial from http://www.eset.com
    I can heartily recommend it having used it for 4-5 years in Home and business situations. Try also the free version of anti-spyware called MalwareBytes from http://www.malwarebyte.org. These two and the free Kaspersky anti-rootkit killer will ensure your Pc ids free from teh above and pretty much anything else.
    hope this helps.

    Robert

  8. Funny. This is just my experiences. I have gotten many, many of these scams. I always opened them and the attachments. Nothing ever happened to pc. By the way I don’t believe in a virus protector. I took my pc to a tech to clean it up. We have cats. He put a virus protector on it. Ok no problem, it was free… So I thought. A week later while I was on line, I got hit with like 10 viruses. Wow thank god I had that viral protector that my tech installed. IT aFROZE MY LAPTOP! Omg, then in order to unfreeze it, I had to pay for it. Omg. I contacted my best friend who was finally able to delete the program. Needless to say, that was the first and only time I got a virus. From the damn program not any email. Maybe I am just lucky. It’s been over 10 yrs and still no virus.

  10. I just downloaded the virus yesterday, I run an Ebay business and I thought this was legit. What do I do now? It has pretty much taken over my computer. I finally got the Norton disc to go through a scan in the bootable recovery tool. I’m so screwed. I can’t get rid of this virus.

  11. Received the exact same thing as shel. Figured it was spam mailing since the image looks to be a copy of a notice.

  12. Same thing as Shel & Paul posted , I am in Canada and have not sent anything to the USA in past year so I deleted it.

  14. Got the exact same message as Shel today. Subject line was: Postal notification. Since I haven’t sent anything recently and didn’t have a clue how the USPS could have gotten my email address I deleted it thanks to reading the comments on this site. From the header it looks like it came from colorsof@server99.siliconinfo.com.

  15. I received this today. An image with the USPS logo at the top, and a link under the image which said:
    ——-
    Unfortunately we failed to deliver the postal package you have send on the 27th of June in time.

    Because the recipient’s address is erroneous.

    Please go to the nearest USPS office and show your shipping label.

    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for each day of keeping.

    ZIP – e/ USPS DELIVERY CONFIRM

    ———————

  16. Rec’d bogus USPS notification of inability to deliver.
    This one contained an image to click on, which stated :
    —
    DEAR CUSTOMER
    THE PARCEL WAS SENT TO YOUR HOME ADDRESS. AND IT WILL ARRIVE WITHIN 7 BUSINESS DAYS.
    FOR MORE INFORMATION AND THE TRACKING NUMBER PLEASE
    DOWNLOAD SHIPPING LABEL.
    [BUTTON SAYS “PRINT SHIPPING LABEL”]
    THANK YOU.
    UNITED PARCEL SERVICE.
    —-
    NOTE WARNING SIGNS:
    —Poor grammar/punctuation;
    —USPS is NOT UPS;
    —Both of those organizations ,IF they email, include the tracking number;
    —Printing a shipping label has to do with sending a package, not receiving one.

  17. I got hooked with one of these UPS scams just today (06/27/12), even though it came to me as “trash”. THE FIRST THING TO LOOK AT IS THE HEADER. If the “TO:” is not you, it’s definitely bogus. This is a rule that applies to all e-mails. Remember, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”.

  18. —– Forwarded Message —–
    From: USPS Customer Service
    To: cherylcgj@yahoo.com
    Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 6:03 PM
    Subject: Wrong delivery address

    Delivery information,

    We couldn’t deliver your parcel.
    Status\It’s not right the address of recipient.

    LOCATION:Chicago
    STATUS OF YOUR PARCEL: sort order
    SERVICE: Local Pickup
    NUMBER OF YOUR ITEM:U196004651NU
    FEATURES: Yes

    Label is enclosed to the letter.
    Print your label and show it in the nearest post office of USPS

    Important information!
    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for it’s keeping in the amount of $8.27 for each day of keeping over limited time.

    You can find the information about the procedure and conditions of parcels keeping in the nearest office.

    Thank you.
    USPS Global Services.

  19. Just got this one this morning… didn’t open the zip file…I’ve seen the scam before.. but am waiting for a package so didn’t know for sure at first…but remembered seeing so didn’t open… this is what I got
    (would like to know where to forward this to so it can be investigated)

    Notification,

    Our company’s courier couldn’t make the delivery of parcel.

    Reason An error at postal code.
    LOCATION OF YOUR PARCEL:Buffalo
    STATUS: sorting
    SERVICE: Expedited Shipping
    ITEM NUMBER:U495473023 NU
    FEATURES: Yes

    Label is enclosed to the letter.
    Print a label and show it at your post office.

    Information in brief:
    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for it’s keeping in the amount of $13.69 for each day of keeping of it.

    You can find the information about the procedure and conditions of parcels keeping in the nearest office.

    Thank you for your attention.
    USPS Global Services.

  20. Just got this one in Canada on Saturday.

    I was close to opening it, as I had recently made a purchase online from the States. g**gled instead and found this site.

    Thanks

  21. I am in the UK and have received two emails recently with the same scam message, purportedly from USPS requesting me to download a label (zip file) and issuing a threat of compensation from me should I not follow it through.

    DO forward these idiotic emails to abuse@usps.gov. I have also copied below my email letter to USPS.

    Dear Sir/Madam

    I keep receiving SCAM email puportedly from USPS saying they couldn’d deliver a parcel at my address.

    The emails are titled ‘Print your postal letter’.

    The email asks for the recipient to download a zip file: ‘Label_Parcel_postal_NR104-145.zip’

    This email also issues the threat that if the parcel is not delivered within 30 days, USPS will have the right to issue a compensation claim from me for $7.12!

    This email is laudable and goes straight to my ‘Junk’ folder and is thereafter deleted. I certainly do not download the zip file attachment.

    I feel it is important to warn others of this scam, especially the elderly like my Mother who would worry if a fine for anything is issued and could potentially download the zip file (no doubt it is virus-laden).

    Please ensure that your company issues a loud warning online to the public as I am aware that similar scams have been sent in the guise of USPS your before.

    Thank you and regards,

    K

  22. SCAM… Just seemed fishy, plus poor grammar. Pretty sure USPS will return to sender before charging for storage. Anyways, my virus alert flagged it.

  23. Also received this scam email, but now i have doubts if my package will really get to its destination, i live in brazil and order smt at inkedshop.com , almost one month ago now and still haven’t received.
    Can’t track the package out of USA and don’t know where it is…. someone have any hint about it? thanks

  24. Hi, I’ve received the same email today (May17 )in Santiago Chile.
    I’ve only replied the email. How can I know if my computer is infected by the virus?
    Thank you, Florencia.

  25. received this mail yesterday, having just placed an order with amazon. Scanned the attachment with AVG and it passed. Did nothing further once I saw an exe file in the zipped attachment.

  26. Notification,

    Our company’s courier couldn’t deliver your parcel.
    Status:The weight of parcel is exceed the available parameters for free delivery.

    LOCATION:San Diego
    STATUS: sorting
    SERVICE: Express Mail
    NUMBER OF YOUR ITEM:U326129177NU
    INSURANCE: No

    The label of your parcel is enclosed to the letter.
    Print your label and show it at the post office.

    Important information!
    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for it’s keeping in the amount of $21.56 for each day of keeping.

    You can find the information about the procedure and conditions of parcels keeping in the nearest office.

    Thank you.
    USPS Global Mail.

  28. this is scam?.
    i juts got this email

    STATUS OF YOUR ITEM: sort order
    SERVICE: Express Mail
    :U564456927NU
    INSURANCE: No

    Postal label is enclosed to the letter.
    You should print the label and show it in the nearest post office to get a parcel.

    Information in brief:
    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for it’s keeping in the amount of $14.52 for each day of keeping over limited time.

    You can find the information about the procedure and conditions of parcels keeping in the nearest office.

    Thank you.
    USPS Global.

  30. Received another of these emails today. This is the third one. 5/11/12 I’ve deleted them all. But they are good enough to make me double check.

  31. I just got this email today (05-10-12), I live in N. Alabama. I smelled a rat and looked it up on the internet and wound up here. These people are PURE SCUM ! Why can’t something be done to stop this ?

  32. I just received an exactly similar e-mail in my junk folder. The rate for holding it was $11.50! I tried tracking the package number on USPS. The number was not recognized. I clicked on the attachment, but my compouter security sent a warning that the attachemnt has a virus. So, I just empited the junk folder. If my computer had not warned me I would have been the victim of a big scam.

  33. Received similar email.
    No attachment.
    Poor grammar, unprofessional style.

    I had no attachment as other folks described.

    Replied with “S C A M !!!” & deleted email.

    (?)

  34. Recieved this email today in Australia.

    Clearly they think we have more money down here as the rate for holding it for me is $16.50!!

  35. This is a real SCAM, didn’t open it!

    Postal label is enclosed to the letter.
    Print your label and show it at the post office.

    Attention!
    If the parcel isn’t received within 30 working days our company will have the right to claim compensation from you for it’s keeping in the amount of $7.47 for each day of keeping.
    You can find the information about the procedure and conditions of parcels keeping in the nearest office.
    Thank you for using our services.
    USPS Logistics Services.

  36. Have just received ‘failure to deliver notice’ from USPS Logistics. Parcel No.
    U906751279NU is in Honolulu. Please print label. (open attachment) and show it at nearest Post Office of USPS.
    Very strange as I am in the UK but have recently sent a package to US with Royal Mail Airsure. This is tracked until it leaves UK then it is passed on to USPS as priority. It arrived safely but this email seems very suspicious. I’ve never posted to US before.

  37. omg this is so obviously a scam first of all usps has no way of knowing your email address unless u had signed up to receive email notifications. To do that you would need a legitimate tracking number. Second usps does not have any tracking numbers beginning with U. Get some virus protection no computer should be without. If you have already opened the link your computer could have a virus. I would keep a close tab on your credit report. Good luck and beware of fraud emails if it sounds like a scam it probably is.

  38. Since I had mailed a package a few weeks earlier that never arrived, my first thought was that it was mis-addressed. My second thought was to check for it being a scam. Thanks for having this site to identify it as a scam, because I had not opened it. I’ll delete it.

  39. I received a fraudulent email, re a delivery, but, I sent a reply by email with my correct address and tel number. What do I do?

  40. Interesting, I have just received this too. However, I am expecting some deliveries from UPS. Coincidence? Take care people …

  41. i received this delivery failure email today and i opened the attachment to find out about my parcel, whatvdo i do now, thanks niki

  42. I got the email today and clicked the attachment as I have a couple things ordered. It opened a “file” to open and print. I did not click on that though and then deleted the email after doing some research. Am I too late? Did it put a virus on my computer when I clicked the attachment or did I need to open up the file to get the virus? If anyone knows please reply

  43. I have had customers track me down, call my station and accuse me of not attempting a delivery when they have received this e-mail notification. Trying to assure them this is just some scam that is going on is like talking to a brick wall; why would they believe some e-mail over a human that is standing infront of them telling them there is no delivery? Also, it indicated that the notice was left at 10:20am, I was at your house at 9:00, you saw me. Not only that, ‘did you actually order something’? Well no.

  44. I have received this delivery failure email this morning. Have deleted it as I know I did not order anything from anywhere abroad. What do I do if I keep getting the sane email coming through.

  45. I got it today here in Ireland. I did open the email but, alerted by minor imperfections in the language, did a search and ended up here. I immediately deleted the email – and removed it from my recycle bin.

  46. Be wary. Today I received the same scam with different subject “USPS Shipment Status no5547”. I almost printed the attachment, but did a scam search instead because the grammar and quality of the email was so poor. Glad I trusted my instincts! The email starts off with “Our company’s courier couldn’t deliver your parcel. Status: Item is not right specified size and the weight of parcel.” It instructs to print the postal label and show it at the post office. $16.96 would be charged for each day the company has to keep the parcel.

  47. I also received this message today that had the subject as “Parcel Delivery Failure'”. I too went to the legit USPS site and entered the package number which does not exist. So this is definitely still ongoing.

  48. This looked suspicious from the get go. I did a search on the package number given in the email at the usps.gov site and there was no tracking information available. A google search for the scam brought me here. I’m surprised that my AGV virus detection software did not detect the attachment.

    Keep up the good work!

    George

  50. Got the “Failure to Deliver” E-mail Scam today (4/11/12) for PARCEL U927897064NU. Copied E-Mail for evidence and deleted it. Did not open attachment. —RJD

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