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Yes, it is almost certainly a scam. USPS does not send unsolicited texts about held or undeliverable packages. These smishing texts want you to click a link and enter personal or payment details on a fake site. Do not click: check any real package on usps.com directly, and forward the text to 7726 to report it.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A text saying your package is held, detained, or needs a redelivery fee | The standard smishing script: urgency plus a link |
| The sender is a random long number or an email address, not a short code | Scammers spoof whatever sender ID they like; USPS only texts people who asked for tracking updates |
| The link goes to something like "usps-track-resolve.com" instead of usps.com | A lookalike domain built to harvest your details |
| The fake site asks for a card number to release the package | USPS never collects payment through a text link; that is the theft itself |
They arrive at exactly the moment you are vulnerable: everyone orders packages now, so a "package held" text often lands while a real order is in transit and feels plausible. The texts also mimic the real thing: a tracking-style reference number, the USPS name, sometimes a convincing logo on the linked page. The technique has a name, smishing, which is phishing by SMS. The tell is structural, not visual: USPS does not initiate texts about packages you did not ask to be notified about. If you never signed up for tracking updates on that shipment, the text cannot be from USPS, no matter how real it looks.
Ignore the text completely and check the package through a channel you trust. If you ordered something, find the tracking number in your order confirmation email and paste it into the tracking tool on usps.com, typed into your browser yourself, never via the link. If a friend or seller sent you something, ask them for the tracking number directly. There is no scenario where clicking the link in the text gives you information you cannot get this way, and clicking it is the one move that puts your details at risk.
Three steps, in order. First, do not click the link and do not reply: replying confirms your number is live and invites more. Second, forward the text to 7726 (spells SPAM), the reporting short code carriers share; this routes the message to your carrier's fraud team. Third, delete the text. If the message pretended to be USPS specifically, you can also file a report with the Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov. If you want to go further, block the sender number, though scammers rotate numbers constantly, so blocking is mostly peace of mind.
Do not panic, but move quickly. If you entered a card number, call your bank or card issuer now and ask for the card to be replaced; watch the next two statements line by line. If you entered login credentials, change those passwords everywhere you reused them and turn on two-factor authentication. If you downloaded anything the page offered (some of these pages push a "tracking app" that is actually malware), run a full scan with your phone's security software. The full cleanup routine is covered in our companion guide on what to do after clicking a USPS scam link.
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