How to spot a Royal Mail fee scam
A text or email arrives saying a parcel is being held and a small fee is due before it can be delivered. There is a link. The fee is small so that you pay it without thinking; the real aim is your card details.
The signs
- It is unexpected, or you are expecting so many parcels that it could be any of them.
- The link goes to a look-alike address rather than royalmail.com.
- It is urgent: pay today or the parcel goes back.
- It asks for card details.
What to do
- Do not click the link.
- Check a delivery by typing royalmail.com into your browser yourself, or by using your tracking number.
- Look for a physical card through the door.
- If you entered card details, call your bank on the number on your card or dial 159.
How to report it
- Forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
- Forward scam texts, free, to 7726.
- If you have lost money or been hacked, report it to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.
- In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
Questions people ask
Does Royal Mail ever text about a fee?
Do not rely on a text or email to tell you. Check by typing royalmail.com into your browser yourself, or by using a tracking number you already have, and look for a physical card through the door.
I clicked the link but did not type anything. Am I safe?
Close the page and do not return to it. Forward the text to 7726 or the email to report@phishing.gov.uk, and watch for follow-up calls or messages claiming to be your bank.
I entered my card details. What now?
Call your bank straight away on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159. If you have lost money, report it to Report Fraud.
More on this site: Staying safe and how I check a classic car advert.
Sources: www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing, www.ncsc.gov.uk, www.reportfraud.police.uk, www.stopscamsuk.org.uk/159.
Checked 19 October 2026.
If you have been scammed, call your bank on 159 and report it at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.
This is general advice from one person's experience, not a service; your bank and the police come first.