"Your parcel is on hold, pay the fee": the package that doesn't exist
A message or a call in the name of a courier or Egypt Post: your parcel is stuck over a small fee or a missing address. The link collects your card details; it delivers nothing.
Kansel2 min read
What it looks like
A short message: "Parcel 839… is held at the depot. Pay 45 EGP delivery fee at this link within 24 hours." Or a call from a "courier" saying the address is incomplete and they need to confirm your details "so the parcel isn't returned".
The link opens a page that looks like the courier's site, with a form for your card "for the fee". The fee really is small, and that's the point: nobody worries about 45 EGP. What gets stolen isn't the 45 EGP. It's the card number, the expiry, the code on the back, and sometimes the verification code that arrives right after.
Why does it work? Because most of us really are waiting for a parcel. In Ramadan, the holidays and back-to-school season, the odds are higher.
What the institutions said
The Central Bank of Egypt warned about a campaign impersonating courier and postal companies: scammers tell people a parcel is pending to get their financial details, by direct calls or fake links. It said clearly that courier and postal companies do not ask for personal or banking details over the phone.
Egypt Post published a warning in May 2025 about messages claiming to be from the post office and asking people to update details or pay shipping fees through links. It confirmed that it does not send account-suspension or delayed-parcel notices by SMS or email.
A courier that really has a parcel for you already has your number, your address and the name of the shop you bought from. It doesn't need a link to "confirm your details".
Signs of the scam
- A short link, or a site name one letter off the real one.
- A deadline: "within 24 hours" or "before it goes back to the sender".
- A small fee paid by card on a page, not on delivery.
- You aren't expecting a parcel, or the one you expect is with a different company.
- The caller asks for a code you received by SMS.
What to do
- Don't tap the link. If you have a parcel, open the courier's site or app yourself and track it with the number the shop gave you.
- Fees are paid on delivery or inside the shop's app, never on a page that arrived in a message.
- If you entered card details: call the bank right away, block the card, and ask for a new one.
- Report the number in Kansel, and tell the courier whose name was used.
