Australia Post issues parcel scam warning ahead of Black Friday

Australia Post says criminals are cashing in on the Black Friday frenzy to con people via bogus parcel tracking scams.

Black Friday is November 29 in Australia and the day after Thanksgiving in the US, and since the proliferation of e-commerce the consumer frenzy has spread worldwide.

Many Australian retailers have begun flogging discounted items in recent weeks.

But Australia Post says the retail event is primed for scammers as buyers await their parcels.

“Scammers often use fake parcel notifications to trick people into sharing personal or financial information, so it’s crucial that customers carefully check the authenticity of any communication they receive about deliveries.,” Australia Post executive Michael McNamara said.

Consumers should not click on a link and never share personal details if they are unsure of a message’s legitimacy.

“Given current cost-of-living pressures, we expect many people will be taking advantage of upcoming sales ahead of the holiday season, which means more parcel deliveries,” Mr McNamara said.

“Unfortunately, this can lead to an increase in scam attempts related to deliveries.”

In 2023, Australians lost $2.7bn to scams, down 13 per cent on the year before.

Australia Post has its own parcel tracking app, AusPost App, which it says is an example of one of the trusted tracking applications.

The federal government runs the National Anti-Scam Centre, which keeps tabs on which hoaxes are circulating.

Of note recently, the centre says scammers are texting people in the same text thread as the person’s real bank.

The scam involves criminals calling unsuspecting people, telling them their bank, telecommunications or phone account has been hacked and asking for their PIN number, plus telling them to put their bank card in the letter box to be cancelled or replaced.

Capitalising on the cost-of-living crisis, other scammers are pretending to be from charities and the government and offering no-interest hardship loans. These con artists are setting up fake social media accounts that look genuine and asking for your identity information and myGov login details.

CONSUMER STAMPEDE

Research has found the retail frenzy that is Black Friday is too much for many small Australian businesses to handle.

Analysis by small business software company Xero shows a lack of stock, tough logistics and already tight margins being stretched too thin are the main issues.

Xero’s research shows 24 per cent of small-to-medium businesses are not taking part in Black Friday this year and 25 per cent are unsure if they will, with affordability cited as the primary reason at 29 per cent.

Australian wholesale and direct-to-customer furniture firm Mustard Made have pulled back their big annual sale to October to dodge the courier backlog which jams up about November each year.

Mustard Made co-founder Becca Stern said sending deliveries – from her business of 15 staff in Australia – poses huge logistical headaches.

Couriers slap on surcharges during the busy period, and transporting big heavy pieces of furniture is inherently tough.

“Our products get left in the too hard basket,” Ms Stern said. To take some stress out of selling their items as Christmas presents, the company runs its major sale a month before Black Friday.

“We just aim to beat the rush.”

The business was being asked if it was offering Black Friday sales in August this year, she said.