USPS Warning Coloradans About the Dangerous New ‘Smishing Scam’

The Federal Trade Commission and the United States Postal Inspection Service are issuing warnings this spring about an annoying scam some Colorado residents may have encountered already.

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Have you ever received a text message that claims to track a delivery to your address that you never ordered? This scam is SMISHING and involves criminals impersonating the United States Postal Service.

What Coloradans Should Know About Smishing

SMISHING is a scam delivered via SMS (short message service). Scamming via text message has been on the rise for several months. People tend to trust text messages and often click on a link before they realize something is fishy. Victims of this scam receive a text designed to steal personal and or financial information.

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Never Click A Suspicious Link

Smishing is a super annoying scam I have experienced multiple times since the first of the year. Sometimes it's a text out of the blue, and I can easily spot it as I have not ordered anything to be shipped to my address. However, when I do order something online, I almost always get a SMISHING text within a day or two of my order. These texts usually come from scammers trying to disguise themselves as a government agency, or financial institution and often include a link you do NOT want to click.

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How Do I Know It's A Message From USPS?

A text from the United States Postal Service uses a 5-digit short code to send and receive SMS on mobile devices and will NEVER contain a link. You won't receive SMS messages from USPS unless you have asked to receive them. If you have recently had to change your address you may recall being able to enroll in texts from USPS as part of the process. If you haven't signed up for them, you know the text is from a scammer.