FedEx transport scam: crooks are on their way to your wallet
Like all well-known carriers, FedEx also has its share of scams! Just like DHL and Chronopost, which we've written about in separate articles, crooks use the TNT brand to extract money and bank details from their victims. It's a great classic, but one that still fools as many individuals as ever, making the crooks' day.
First thing: forget TNT, which will soon become FedEx Express.
Good to know: TNT is changing its name to FedEx Express. If you receive an e-mail asking you to pay by Western Union, it's 100% a scam. There's no need to ask, just delete the e-mail and block the sender.
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Carriers don't keep money
The first thing you should be in no doubt about is that carriers are not organisations capable of holding funds on behalf of private individuals or other third parties. They will never hold on to money while a parcel is being transported. Never! Any email or text message from a carrier asking you to pay a fee or tax to release the parcel or money is fake. The people offering you this type of payment on sites such as Leboncoin are swindlers.
A more than suspicious email
Here's what a fake FedEx e-mail might look like, asking you to pay an additional fee or tax:
The logo isn't the right one, there are so many spelling mistakes that they give you a headache, and the link, which you can access simply by hovering your mouse cursor over the "click here", takes you to a site that doesn't even have FedEx in its name!
It is also important to check the sender's email address, as scammers do not have the domain name after the @ of the company. The email should always end with @fedex.com, but scammers try to fool victims by finding alternative names such as @fedx.com or @fed-ex.com. So you need to be extremely vigilant.
As FedEx states on its website, "FedEx never uses unsolicited mail or email to request payment or personal information in exchange for goods in its possession".
Be aware that emails can vary and can be more or less imitated. Some messages, received by SMS or email, can go even further, threatening a formal notice within 24 hours if payment is not made, or blocking the account.
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The aim of the scam: to obtain your bank details
The payment of a tax or fee is just a pretext to get you to enter your bank details on a fake FedEx interface, in the same way as with the DHL or Chronopost scams. Once they have obtained this information, the crooks will have plenty of time to try and use it to make online payments using your payment method, whether it's a bank card or a bank identity statement to set up a RIB direct debit scam.
How do you secure your deliveries? With Obvy
Use Obvy, the payment method specially designed to secure transactions between private individuals, by hand or by delivery. We've developed technologies that protect our buyers and sellers from 100% of scams. For example, we integrate delivery directly into Obvy's interface, as well as video evidence technology so that the seller films the item and its packaging, and the buyer films the unpacking and first contact with the purchase. There's no risk of bad faith, and Obvy traces all parcels to find out their exact condition and location.