How easy it is to spot scam emails

We are so lucky to live fantastic times, in which online shopping is basically skyrocketing each year thanks to the wide range of products and conveniences it brings to the table. It’s estimated that e-commerce sales generate over 1 million$ every 30 seconds, imagine that! A huge amount of money, with heavyweight players such as Amazon or eBay in the lead.

But, where there’s money there’s always someone trying to obtain illicit profit, online shopping being often tainted by a dark history of frauds and shipping scams. Don’t worry, though, as we got some good advice for you to stay safe from courier and shipping scams.

First of all, be careful not to fall for scam emails! One of the most common shipping scams of our days, especially during price sales seasons.

Remember this: if you’re expecting any parcels to be delivered, you are a potential target for scammers. You are likely to receive an email from what seems to be a valid courier company, in which you’d get a notification of order arrival or delivery fail. Email might contain documents to be printed or other links that request or confirm personal and payment information or advise you to take immediate action to avoid certain penalties. For example, the Royal Mail website has published more examples of scam emails made to seem that they are sent from the company itself. Check the list here for a better understanding.

Don’t fall for these! No one asks for your personal or financial information via email. No one! And be aware that over the years, shipping scam emails have been perfected with names, logos, and other relevant information that makes them look like they are from a legitimate company.

Emails with threats for penalties should not be trusted, as courier companies have no real reason to threaten any of their clients, seeing that the orders are already paid for, shipping included. Courier companies usually send emails with your package order details or tracking code so in case they lack that, they are most certainly spam.

There are certain red flags that mustn’t be ignored, always remember this. First and foremost, always verify the email address to ensure it’s the real company, not something similar. Check the same email address by simply Google-ing it, it’s that easy! So, when doing research about a certain courier company, try too think outside the box and avoid simply checking their website. Search for reviews or for complaints they received. Most importantly, pay attention to what other customers are saying about that specific company.

Be careful with the way an email is written, as poor grammar and spelling mistakes are obvious red flags. Important shipping companies are extremely attentive with the way they communicate with their clients so mistakes are almost never done.

Customers are usually most vulnerable when they’re expecting an order so one should be very cautious when receiving emails, calls, or text messages regarding a certain shipment or parcel delivery.

The best way to avoid being scammed via online communication is by saving the contact details of your shipping company for verification.

JustShipIT has built-in auto emailing that allows you to give instant notices to your customers once an order has been shipped. You can fully customize the emails that JustShipIT sends out, making it harder for scammers to replicate.