Scammers using FedEx and COVID-19 ruses to collect PII

In separate scams, fraudsters target would-be victims who are worried about packages they might never receive plus COVID-19 threats. The criminals play on fears to harvest personally identifiable information.

Johnny Smith checked his credit card statement and found some odd charges. His wife concurred. His credit card company said that someone most likely compromised his card number. His tech friends asked him if he’d recently given his number to anyone. He said that he’d received a recent text message from FedEx that included a tracking code, a link about a shipping preference and a chance to win a prize. He unknowingly revealed his credit card number and became a victim of a scam.

FedEx scam No. 1

This case is fictional but represents the plight of victims. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agency warns of this scam designed to steal personally identifiable information (PII) from consumers. Like most scams, it’s written to catch the recipient’s eye with an important message. (See Is that text message about your FedEx package really a scam? by Alvaro Puig.)