Internet scams have become increasingly common with the development of technology and are rapidly rising, and scammers often misuse the name of well-known delivery services such as DPD in order to gain the trust of citizens. They have one goal, and that is to obtain payment card and bank account details and misuse them.
At first glance it may look like you are receiving a regular message announcing a delivery, but the message always includes an additional link that redirects you to send additional information, pay something and similar.
Although they are talked about more and more, they are becoming increasingly subtle and harder to recognize. They are sent through multiple channels, SMS messages, e-mails, WhatsApp and advertisements on social networks. They have become so convincing that even experienced online shoppers become convinced that the message is credible. An additional fact that is concerning is that these kinds of messages have started appearing almost every day, in new forms and with new tricks.
What does the most common scam look like?
Messages that usually arrive report a problem with a certain delivery (the package is being held, the address is not complete or it is necessary to pay a certain fee). The link leads to a fake website that almost perfectly imitates the official website of the delivery company.
The logo, colors and tone of communication are always carefully copied, and the goal is always the same: to request entry of personal data, the card number, expiration date and the three-digit CVV number.
DPD explicitly emphasizes that they never ask for payment card information via e-mail, SMS or social networks. All official messages come exclusively from the domains dpd.hr, posaljipaket.hr or dpdgroup.com
“DPD pickup” – a new trap for sellers
With the increasing use of social networks for C2C sales, scammers have focused on citizens who use Facebook, Marketplace or various classified ad platforms.
They contact sellers as interested buyers and propose that a DPD courier collect the package, with a secure transfer of money. The seller is then sent a link to a fake page where they need to “confirm payout details”. Entering the data gives scammers a direct connection to bank accounts and cards.
From DPD they say “We do not participate in financial transactions between private individuals and we never request the entry of personal and banking data for the purpose of receiving a payment.”
How to recognize a scam?
Although they have become increasingly sophisticated, there are some signs that clearly indicate that it is a scam.
Suspicious domains such as “.online”, “.xyz” or additions such as “-delivery”, e-mail addresses that end with the official domain @dpd.hr, a request to enter personal or banking data, grammatical and spelling mistakes and messages that demand urgent action or threaten that the package will be held.
DPD sends SMS or Viber messages exclusively with information about the delivery time, with a one-hour time window and the package number, without requesting additional payments or card data.
What should you do if you suspect a scam?
If you notice any signs that a message might be fake the most important thing is not to open the link, not to enter personal or banking data, open the official website of the delivery service by directly typing the address into the browser, and in case of doubt contact DPD customer service via e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]
Caution is the best protection
Complete protection in these cases does not exist. Timely recognition and additional caution provide a certain level of protection against financial damage.
One careless second can leave you without your savings. But that same second in which you decide not to click can protect you.
More information about security and current forms of scams is available on the official DPD website: https://www.dpd.com/hr/en/security/
