Are you waiting for your holiday gifts? Beware of these SMS package delivery scams

Fake parcel delivery sites, intended to deceive consumers waiting for their gifts, are increasing in the run-up to Christmas, during the period before the end-of-year holidays.

The month of Christmas is one of the busiest months for delivery people… and hackers. During this period of gifts, phishing messages with false delivery notices are becoming more and more frequent and the most impatient customers are easily trapped.

Nicolas Pawlak, defense civil engineer and administrator of the “Red Flags Domain” alert blog, noted on LinkedIn on December 1, 2024 that domain names usurping delivery services have multiplied over the past week. Between the end of November and the beginning of December, around twenty new names were registered, including “livery-mondialrelay[.fr] ” or “ worldrelay-pickup[.fr] “. These malicious clones will be used to then create fake sites.

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Recent domain names registered. // Source: Nicolas PawlakRecent domain names registered. // Source: Nicolas Pawlak
Recent domain names registered. // Source: Nicolas Pawlak

Deceptive SMS messages from fake delivery sites

The Mondial Relay service is particularly copied by cybercriminals. Remember that the official website is: www.mondialrelay.fr. Criminals generally modify the name by adding another word or a simple hyphen to deceive the Internet user.

The collaborative prevention site signal-scams.com also lists numerous reports of undelivered package scams. Most often, a message supposedly sent by a courier announces that the package could not be delivered, directing recipients to a fraudulent site to choose a new delivery slot. We've noticed that hackers can also add your name to the SMS, making it look even more legitimate.

A recent phishing message. // Source: Signal-scamsA recent phishing message. // Source: Signal-scams
A recent phishing message. // Source: Signal-scams

To distinguish an SMS sent by hackers from a legitimate message, here are some tips

  • Check the sender's number: La Poste, Colissimo or Mondial Relay do not send messages from numbers starting with 06, 07 or 09.
  • Do not click on any suspicious links.
  • Go directly to the official website of the delivery service with your package number to check if there are any transportation problems.
  • Contact the companies concerned directly if you have any doubts.

The key is to remain vigilant and avoid rushing, even if you are in a hurry to receive your gifts.

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