[imagesource: Pixabay]

We’re nearing that time of the year where Christmas shopping becomes a hassle to tick off the list.

I say nearing, but there are those with the foresight to knock that on the head nice and early, and then there are those who find themselves braving malls on Christmas Eve.

Our condolences, but when will you learn?

If you’ve ordered something from overseas, and you haven’t used the services of Postbox Courier, there’s a decent chance you could end up dealing with the headache that is customs.

Now the SA Post Office is warning of a phishing scam that is defrauding members of the public.

According to MyBroadband, people have been receiving emails. saying that they owe customs duties:

“The SA Post Office continues to receive enquiries from members of the public who receive an email stating that a package could not be delivered to them because of outstanding customs duties,” said the SA Post Office.

In these emails, the address of the sender is manipulated to look as if it was actually sent by the Post Office, whereas in fact it is sent by a malicious party.

“The mail contains a link that leads them to a payment page not operated by the SA Post Office, and refers to a fraudulent tracking number not issued by the Post Office,” said the SA Post Office.

It’s important to note that the SA Post Office will not charge you for customs duties before you’ve actually collected the package, with fees payable due upon collection.

Whilst that does weed out the scam artists looking to con folks via email, it can still be a guessing game trying to work out how much legitimate customs and import duties you’ll have to pay.

That’s on top of having to find the time to collect the package in person, so it’s no wonder that Postbox Courier has proven so popular.

For those of you who are slightly behind, it’s the groundbreaking service that allows you to order goodies that don’t usually ship to South Africa, and have them delivered to your door within three to five working days of arriving at their international depots.

They handle your parcel every step of the way, so it doesn’t get “stuck” at customs here in SA, and you don’t get stung with some excessive import duties.

You can even get a free quote before making any big decisions.

So, what have we learnt today? Do your Christmas shopping early, don’t respond to emails purporting to be from the SA Post Office asking for customs payment, and, actually, don’t bother with customs at all and have things delivered to your door.

[source:mybroadband]