Fake Package Delivery Texts: How to Spot USPS Smishing and Where to Report It

By Web Asset House Studio · October 29, 2026

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How we wrote this: A summary of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's smishing guidance and the FCC's consumer guide to unwanted robocalls and texts (both linked below), checked October 29, 2026.

Texts like "Your package is on hold, update your address here" work best on people who are expecting a delivery, which makes the holiday shipping season prime time for them. If your business ships or receives parcels, you and your staff are natural targets.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service calls this smishing: phishing by text message. Its smishing guidance explains that the goal is to get your personal or financial information, such as account usernames and passwords, your Social Security number, date of birth, card numbers or PINs, which criminals then use for other fraud.

The one rule that catches most fake USPS texts

According to the Postal Inspection Service, USPS will not send you text messages or emails without you first requesting the service with a tracking number, and those messages will not contain a link. USPS text tracking is free, and you have to start it yourself, either by registering online or by texting a tracking number.

So if you get a USPS text you didn't ask for, and it has a link, the Postal Inspection Service's advice is simple: don't click it.

If you really are expecting a parcel, go to USPS.com yourself (type the address, or use a bookmark) and enter your tracking number there.

Other warning signs

The same patterns show up in texts that claim to be from other carriers, banks or government agencies. The Postal Inspection Service and the FCC's guide to unwanted robocalls and texts point to:

Urgency. The FCC says scammers create a false sense of urgency, for example a package that will be "returned" unless you act now.
A link from a number you don't recognize. The FCC's advice: don't respond to texts from unknown or questionable sources, and never click links in them.
Requests for personal or payment details. The Postal Inspection Service notes that legitimate companies won't ask you to confirm or provide personal information this way.
Pressure to pay with gift cards. The FCC says that's a scam, every time.

How to report a fake USPS text

The Postal Inspection Service asks you to:

Not click the link.
Email spam@uspis.gov. Copy the text of the message (without clicking anything) into a new email, attach a screenshot that shows the sender's number and the date, and add your name and any details, such as whether you clicked, lost money or shared personal information.
Forward the text to 7726 ("SPAM"). This helps report the scam number. The FCC notes that most mobile carriers let you report spam this way; check with your provider.

For scam texts that aren't about USPS, the Postal Inspection Service lists 7726, the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) as places to report. You can also file a complaint with the FCC at its Consumer Complaint Center, choosing the "unwanted calls" category. The FCC says it doesn't resolve individual complaints, but uses them to guide policy and enforcement.

If you already clicked or entered information

The Postal Inspection Service says that if you interacted with the link, even if you didn't click "submit," you should notify your financial institution. Sensible next steps:

Call your bank or card issuer using the number on your card or statement, and watch for charges you don't recognize.
Change any password you typed in, and anywhere you reused it. Turn on multi-factor sign-in; our passwords and MFA guide covers how.
Be wary of follow-up contact. Anyone who calls or texts "about the problem" could be the same scammers. Hang up and contact the company using a number you look up yourself, as the FCC advises.
If you gave out business account details, read our guide to business email compromise, which covers payment-redirect fraud.

Cut down on these texts

The Postal Inspection Service suggests asking your carrier (usually by dialing 611) to block texts sent to you from email addresses, and multimedia messages sent as email. You may be able to switch these blocks on in your online account.
Keep your phone's software and apps up to date.
Be careful where you post your mobile number. The FCC suggests reading a site's privacy policy before submitting your number and looking for an opt-out checkbox.

Our guide to SIM swap and port-out fraud covers a related risk: scammers taking over your phone number itself.