IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check
People are receiving messages encouraging them to click on a link in order to provide correct personal information
A message is being sent to Namibians on their private phone numbers, falsely claiming to be from Nampost.
The message states that items in Nampost warehouses cannot be delivered to the recipient due to incorrect information.
The message urges recipients to click on a provided link to fill in their correct details to ensure their items are delivered.
The message seems to have been circulating for most of June 2024 and reached Namibia Fact Check on 21 June 2024. The iMessage came directly from a Philippines mobile number.
The message text (image below) reads:
“Nampost: Your package arrived at our warehouse. We cannot deliver because the address information is incorrect. Once you fill in the correct information, we will deliver it within 12 hours.
(Reply Y, then exit the text message and open it again to activate the link, or copy the link and open it in your browser)”
The facts
The emergence of this phishing scam, which claims an alleged failure to deliver postal packages, can be traced back over a decade.
On 22 December 2014, Aditi Jhaveri, a Consumer Education Specialist, published an article warning consumers about a package delivery scam that was circulating in the US.
A similar message was also exposed by the media as going around in the US state of Missouri in August 2023.
The same scam – involving Nampost – was also active in October 2023 and was debunked by Nampost at the time.
The latest version of the scam was debunked by Nampost on 3 June 2024 with the posting of the following message to its Facebook and other social media pages:
Namibian social media and messaging app users are cautioned against clicking on any links in social media posts, completing any forms on the linked sites, or providing any personal information.