The South African Post Office (Sapo) has warned citizens to beware of a parcel delivery scam that makes use of the Post Office’s logo.
“Members of the public receive an emailed letter from a company purporting to be affiliated to ‘Speed Messenger Services’ using an adaptation of the Post Office’s Speed Services logo,” it said in a statement. “The letter demands payment for import duty on parcels before the parcels can be delivered.”
The Post Office wants to reassure the public that it is not required for its customers to make any payments for a parcel to be released.
“If VAT or any other fees are payable on a parcel, this is paid at a Post Office counter at the time when the parcel is collected. The customer will receive a valid receipt for this payment,” the Post Office said.
If the Post Office has the cellphone number of a package’s recipient, the customer will be SMSed when the package is ready for collection or has been delivered to a specific Post Office branch. The authentic Post Office SMS will not request that funds be deposited into a bank account as the scam requests.
Members of the public that have information regarding this scam, are requested to call the SA Police Service or the Post Office’s crime buster hotline on 0800 020 070.
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