Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

UPS courier scam: Thousands of Kiwis targeted by bogus package delivery text

NZ Herald
18 Nov, 2020 03:05 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Police and ANZ say there has been a big increase in scamming in the past year. Here’s what a scam call sounds like. Video / Leon Menzies

Thousands of Kiwis have received a scam text message about an unpaid customs charge for a package delivery.

The text, sent from an Australian mobile number, says: "We have attempted to deliver your package UPS016448296GB, but there is an unpaid customs charge. Follow the instructions here: https://bit.do/"

Scam alert: anyone else receive one of these recently? pic.twitter.com/TybpWdXBSS

— Seán Gillespie (@SeanDG) November 17, 2020

Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker said the agency has received thousands of reports about the scam.

"It is particularly prevalent at this time of year as more people are shopping online and expecting a package so potentially more likely to fall for it," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"So far this quarter, Netsafe has seen a 65 per cent increase in reports related to the latest iteration of this scam compared to the last financial year."

Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker says Netsafe has received thousands of reports of the scam. Photo / Michael Craig
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker says Netsafe has received thousands of reports of the scam. Photo / Michael Craig

He said scammers obtained lists of people's mobile numbers from social media and from databases stolen from legitimate companies and sold on the "dark web".

"The reality is that plenty of big sites that New Zealanders use have been breached," he said.

"Most of us use the same email addresses and phone numbers and even passwords for a long time, and we can be targeted."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said people should not click on any links in messages asking for money or personal details.

"You go to the agency that you know is the right place. Don't click links," he said.

The Customs Service said it has received 60 calls and a handful of emails about the scam over the past two days.

"Customs never contacts individuals or businesses about the arrival of goods in New Zealand because goods are not physically received by Customs," it said.

"All imported goods are delivered to warehouses run by licensed freight forwarders which are known as Customs' Controlled Areas. Freight companies contact their client/s when import tax is to be paid."

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's national manager of consumer protection, Mark Hollingsworth, said the ministry was also aware of the package delivery scam, which appeared to be taking advantage of people buying more online since the coronavirus pandemic started.

"Due to Covid-19, scammers assumed people had deliveries on the way and therefore targeting a wide audience," he said.

Netsafe said this week that New Zealanders told the agency about losses of nearly $19 million from online scams and fraud in the year to June, down from $23m last year and a peak of $33m in 2018.

Cocker said the reported numbers were likely only a small percentage of actual losses because many people were too embarrassed to report what they had lost or did not know who could help.

Thousands of Kiwis are receiving scam texts. Image / Supplied
Thousands of Kiwis are receiving scam texts. Image / Supplied

He encouraged people to report scams so that phone companies can block phone numbers and email addresses being used by scammers, and so that details can be passed to police.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Scams can be reported online to Netsafe or by free text 7726 to the Internal Affairs Department.

The biggest reported losses in the past year were investment frauds, up from $4.7m last year to $7.1m.

Kiwis also reported losing $4.7m on romance scams, $3.3m on frauds involving products and services, $1.1m on false prizes and grants and $700,000 on phantom debt collectors.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament

14 Jul 12:34 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

13 Jul 07:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Making NZ top destination for international students

13 Jul 06:55 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament

Teen's 900km ride for Māori wards ends with cheers at Parliament

14 Jul 12:34 AM

He delivered a support letter to Parliament, and was greeted by Chris Hipkins.

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

13 Jul 07:03 PM
Making NZ top destination for international students

Making NZ top destination for international students

13 Jul 06:55 PM
Premium
Opinion: Why Mary Meeker's latest AI insights can't be ignored

Opinion: Why Mary Meeker's latest AI insights can't be ignored

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP