Experts warn of fake delivery notices impersonating FedEx, UPS, Amazon

Threat prevention experts warn that shoppers expecting package deliveries from top shipping companies such as FedEx, Amazon and UPS could be subject to fake delivery notices. 

The news comes as online shopping has increased during the holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Consumers are relying more on online shopping and home deliver to avoid exposure to COVID-19, the disease that continues to infected hundreds of thousands of Americans each day. 

Hackers are reportedly taking advantage of unsuspecting online shoppers, sending out fake shipping notification links to capitalize on the uptick of orders this time of year, CNBC reported.

Fake shipping links can launch ransomware attacks on users or redirect to counterfeit pages asking for a credit card information in exchange for rerouting a package, according to CNBC.

Check Point Software Technologies, a multinational IT security company, wrote in a blog post that phishing emails posing as shipping companies have gone up 440 percent from October of this year to November globally.

The company reported that the company DHL was the company most often impersonated globally.

The security company found that 65 percent of fake shipping messages in the U.S. impersonate Amazon, a company that has seen a large increase in revenue amid the pandemic.   

Threat prevention manager Brian Linder at Check Point, told CNBC 65 percent of fake shipping messages in the U.S. impersonate Amazon, adding, “it’s a perfect time for these bad actors to prey on consumers that are not paying close attention.”

“They’re successful because most of us are doing business with Amazon. We’re ordering on Amazon. And for us to get an email from Amazon about a package we ordered would be perfectly normal and expected,” said Linder.

Amazon told the outlet it communicates with the Federal Trade Commission or Better Business Bureau to stop scammers from sending fraudulent or misleading phishing emails posing as Amazon.

“Any customer that receives a questionable email, call or text from a person impersonating an Amazon employee should report them to Amazon customer service. Amazon investigates these complaints and will take action, if warranted,” the company said.

Experts say the clearest indicators of a scam email include misspellings or incorrect logos, suspicious-looking email addresses, or messages urging consumers to act quickly, sometimes urging them to click on a questionable link.