Democracy Dies in Darkness

That text you got about a package isn’t from FedEx. It’s a scam.

The ‘smishing’ campaign starts by asking users to set up delivery preferences and ends with a request for credit card information

January 23, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. EST
FedEx says on its website that it “does not request, via unsolicited mail, e-mail or sms messages, payment or personal information in return for goods in transit or in FedEx custody." (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News)

If you get a text about setting up delivery preferences for a package, think twice before you click. It’s not a surprise or a holiday straggler — it’s a scam.

Several people have reported receiving texts that purport to be from FedEx, asking them to set up delivery preferences, complete with a fake tracking code. The link takes users to a phony Amazon listing and prompts them to complete a customer satisfaction survey to claim a “reward,” according to How-To Geek. Users are then told they must cover shipping and handling costs and asked to provide address and credit card information.