Yes. If a text claims to be from USPS and asks you to click a link and pay a fee, update your address, or “verify” details, it’s a scam. The real USPS never texts you a payment link, and it doesn’t charge a fee to redeliver a normal package.
What this scam looks like
This is the most common smishing (SMS phishing) scam in the U.S. right now. You get a text saying a USPS package is on hold because of an “incomplete address” or an “unpaid delivery fee.” The link goes to a page that looks like usps.com and asks for your address and a card number to pay a small charge — often $0.30 to $3. The real target isn’t the fee; it’s your card details, which they then use or sell.
The tell is always the same: a real shipping company never needs your credit card by text to release a package you’re already expecting.
Example is illustrative and de-fanged; links are shown broken so they can't be clicked.
Red flags to watch for
- A link that isn’t usps.com. Real USPS links only ever live on usps.com. Anything like usps-tracking-help.info or usps.delivery-update.com is fake.
- A fee to redeliver. USPS doesn’t charge a small “redelivery” or “processing” fee by text.
- Urgency and a countdown. “Within 12 hours or it will be returned” is pressure designed to stop you thinking.
- It asks for card or personal details on the linked page — the whole point of the scam.
- You weren’t expecting a package — or the text arrived from a random 10-digit number or an email address, not USPS’s official shortcode.
What to do if you got one
- Don’t click the link. Don’t enter anything, even to “see what happens.”
- Check any real package directly at usps.com by typing the address yourself, using the tracking number from your own order confirmation.
- Delete the text. If you want, forward it to the USPS spam address ([email protected]) and report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- If you already entered your card, call your bank, freeze or replace the card, and watch for unfamiliar charges.
- When in doubt, paste the message into GotAScam for a second opinion before you act.
Frequently asked questions
Only if you specifically signed up for USPS Text Tracking for a particular package — and even then it never asks for payment or personal information, and never sends a payment link.
Simply opening the page is low-risk on a modern phone. Don’t enter any details, close the tab, and delete the text. If you’re unsure, run a security scan and change any password you may have typed.
Scammers invent realistic-looking tracking numbers. A real number only means something on usps.com itself. Never trust the link in the text; go to usps.com directly.
Not sure about a message you got?
Paste the exact text, email, or screenshot into GotAScam and get a clear verdict — Likely Safe, Uncertain, or Likely Scam — backed by live threat intelligence. It's free, and no sign-up is required for text checks.