What's going on
You get a text saying a parcel is being held and you need to pay customs charges before it can be released. The message looks like it came from Royal Mail, HMRC, DPD, or another courier. There's a link to pay. The fee is small, usually between £1 and £5. The whole thing is fake, and the criminals behind it want your card details.
This particular scam took off after Brexit because customs charges on parcels from the EU and beyond became a normal part of online shopping in the UK. People got used to paying import fees, and fraudsters spotted the opportunity. Get Safe Online warned about a surge in customs charge scams shortly after the UK left the EU, noting that scammers were copying the wording of genuine customs notices almost word for word (Get Safe Online). In the 12 months to July 2025, HMRC received over 170,000 reports of suspected scam contact, including a large number of fake customs fee messages (HMRC). Ofcom confirmed that more than 100 million suspicious messages were reported to the 7726 spam text service in the year to April 2025.
What these texts look like
The wording shifts from batch to batch, but the formula stays the same: a parcel, a customs charge, and a link to pay. Here are examples based on real scam messages reported across the UK.
"Royal Mail: Your parcel has been held at customs. A fee of £2.99 is required before delivery. Pay here: royalmail-customs-pay.co.uk"
"HMRC: Import duty of £3.17 is owed on a parcel addressed to you. Pay now to release your item: hmrc-import-fees.com"
"DPD: Your package is on hold due to unpaid customs charges of £1.49. Settle now: dpd-customs-uk.com/pay"
"UK Border Force: A shipment in your name requires customs clearance. Pay £4.85 to avoid return to sender: ukbf-clearance.co.uk"
What to notice
None of these texts include a tracking number or reference you can check independently. The URLs look official at first glance but are not genuine government or courier domains. HMRC's real website is gov.uk. Royal Mail's is royalmail.com. Anything else is fake, no matter how convincing it looks.
How the scam works
It follows the same pattern as other delivery scams, but the customs angle gives it an extra layer of credibility. Plenty of people have paid genuine customs charges before, so the request doesn't feel unusual.
1. The text lands
Criminals fire these out in bulk. They have no idea whether you have a parcel coming from abroad. They don't need to. Millions of people in the UK order from overseas retailers every month, and since Brexit, paying import charges has become a routine part of receiving those orders. The scammers are banking on the fact that a good chunk of the people who get this text will think it's about something they've actually ordered.
Why the timing works
These texts spike around peak shopping periods and when popular overseas retailers run sales. Retailers like Temu and Shein ship from outside the UK, so their customers are already familiar with customs charges turning up. That makes the scam text feel like a normal part of the process.
2. The fake payment page
The link goes to a site that copies the branding of whichever organisation the text claims to be from. If it says HMRC, you'll see a convincing copy of the GOV.UK design. If it says Royal Mail, it'll have the right logo and colour scheme. These sites are thrown up quickly, often registered just hours before the texts go out, and taken down within a couple of days to avoid being traced.
How to spot the fake URL
- • HMRC pages are always on gov.uk, nothing else
- • Royal Mail is royalmail.com, not any variation of it
- • DPD is dpd.co.uk, Evri is evri.com
- • An HTTPS padlock does not mean a site is safe. Scam sites have them too.
3. They collect your card details
The fake page asks for your full name, address, date of birth, and card details to pay the "customs fee". The fee is always small, £1.49, £2.99, £4.85. It's designed to feel like a minor inconvenience rather than a red flag. Once you enter your card number, expiry date, and CVV, the criminals have everything they need.
The real cost
You're not losing £2.99. You're handing over your card details. Criminals use them to make purchases, set up subscriptions, or sell the information in batches to other fraudsters. Some victims lose hundreds or thousands of pounds from a single text. Others end up dealing with identity fraud for months afterwards, because the fake site also collected their name, address, and date of birth.
4. The follow up
In some cases, the criminals come back a few days later with a phone call. They claim to be from your bank, telling you they've spotted suspicious activity on your card. That suspicious activity is real, because they are already using your details. They then try to get you to move your money to a "safe account" for protection. That account belongs to them. This two stage approach, where a scam text leads to a scam phone call, has been flagged by UK Finance as one of the fastest growing fraud patterns in the country.
Why this scam works so well since Brexit
Before the UK left the EU, most parcels from European countries arrived without any extra charges. Since 1 January 2021, goods sent from the EU to the UK can attract customs duty and import VAT, just like parcels from the rest of the world. The Government's own guidance states that recipients may need to pay charges on goods worth more than £135 (GOV.UK).
That means millions of people have now had a genuine experience of paying customs fees on parcels. They know it happens. So when a text arrives saying a parcel is held and a charge is owed, it doesn't set off alarm bells the way it would have ten years ago. Scammers know this and they've tailored the wording of these texts to match the sort of notices people have received from couriers and HMRC in the past.
What makes it convincing
- • Real customs charges exist, so the request feels normal
- • The fee is small enough that most people just want to pay and move on
- • Overseas retailers like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress have made international parcels common
- • Many people don't know the exact process for real customs payments
- • The texts use official sounding language copied from real HMRC notices
What should make you stop
- • A text asking you to click a link to pay customs charges
- • No tracking number or specific parcel reference
- • A URL that is not gov.uk, royalmail.com, or the courier's official domain
- • Being asked for your full card details to pay a tiny amount
- • Urgency or threats that the parcel will be "returned to sender"
How real customs charges actually work
The genuine process when you owe import charges
When a parcel from outside the UK attracts customs duty or import VAT, the courier or postal service handling it will hold the item and notify you through official channels. The process depends on who is delivering, but the common thread is this: you are never asked to click a link in a text message to pay. The notification comes through an official letter, a card through your door, or a notice within the courier's own app or website.
Royal Mail: grey card through the door
Pay at royalmail.com/pay-fee or your local Post Office
DPD or Evri: through their official app or site
With a tracking number you can verify yourself
HMRC: never contacts you by text to collect payment
They work through the courier, not directly with you (HMRC)
How to tell a real customs charge from a fake one
Genuine customs charges
- Linked to a specific order you placed from an overseas retailer
- Come with a tracking number or reference you can check
- Notified by letter, card through the door, or the courier's own app
- Payable on the official courier or Royal Mail website, or at a Post Office
- No pressure to pay within hours or face return of goods
Scam customs charges
- No tracking number or reference to a specific order
- Arrive by text with a link asking for payment
- URL is not gov.uk, royalmail.com, or the genuine courier site
- Ask for full card details for a payment under £5
- Urgent language threatening the parcel will be destroyed or returned
If you get one of these texts
Do not click the link
Even if you are expecting a parcel from abroad. Even if you think customs charges might be due. Do not click the link. If you want to check the status of a delivery, go to the retailer's website or the courier's official site and enter your tracking number there.
Check with the retailer or courier directly
Log into the account you used to place the order and check the delivery status. If customs charges are genuinely owed, the courier will have a record of it on their official site. Royal Mail customers can track parcels and pay genuine fees at royalmail.com/track-your-item.
Forward the text to 7726
This reports the message to your mobile network, which helps block the sender and prevent the same text reaching other people. 7726 spells "SPAM" on a phone keypad. It's free from all UK networks. Over 100 million suspicious messages were reported through this service in the year to April 2025 (Ofcom).
If the text claims to be from HMRC, you can also forward it to 60599 or email [email protected] (HMRC).
Block the number
On iPhone and Android, you can block the sender so they can't contact you again. These texts come from different numbers each time, so blocking one won't stop them all, but it removes that particular sender.
Delete the message
Once you've reported and blocked the sender, delete the text. This removes the risk of you or someone else with access to your phone tapping the link by accident later on.
Already entered your details?
Act fast. The quicker you report it, the better your chances of stopping any damage.
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1
Call your bank or card provider now
Use the number on the back of your card or dial 159 to reach your bank's fraud team through Stop Scams UK. Tell them you entered your card details on a site you believe was fraudulent. They can cancel the card, block pending transactions, and issue a replacement. Most banks run fraud lines around the clock.
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2
Check your statements
Go through your recent transactions. Criminals often make small test payments before larger ones. If you spot anything you don't recognise, report it to your bank straight away.
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3
Report to Report Fraud
Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. You can call 0300 123 2040 or report online at reporting.actionfraud.police.uk. If you're in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101 instead. You'll get a crime reference number, which you'll need for any claim with your bank.
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4
Watch out for follow up calls
If someone rings you in the coming days claiming to be from your bank about suspicious activity on your card, hang up. Call your bank yourself using the number on your card or 159. The follow up call may be the second stage of the same scam.
The short version
Red flags
- • Any text asking you to pay customs charges through a link
- • A URL that is not gov.uk, royalmail.com, or your courier's official site
- • No tracking number or order reference in the message
- • Being asked for your full card details for a small payment
- • Threats that the parcel will be returned or destroyed
What to do
- • Do not click the link
- • Check deliveries through the retailer or courier's official site
- • Forward the text to 7726 (or 60599 for HMRC fakes)
- • Dial 159 if you've given out card details
- • Report to Report Fraud (0300 123 2040)