In short
Most common fake: Text with a tracking code asking you to set delivery preferences.
Safest check: Enter your tracking number yourself at fedex.com/en-us/tracking.html.
Where to report it: Email suspicious FedEx messages to abuse@fedex.com, or call the FedEx fraud department on the number listed on its report fraud page.
What FedEx says
FedEx says it does not ask for payment or personal information in exchange for releasing a package, and does not request account details by unsolicited mail, email or text. It may send secure links to pay duties and taxes on international shipments, which you can check with the FedEx Import Tool. Source: FedEx
Common fake FedEx messages
These are the 5 shapes a fake FedEx message usually takes. They are listed in the order we see them most often, and none of them is something FedEx itself does.
- Text with a tracking code asking you to set delivery preferences
- Failed delivery email with a harmful attachment
- Fake survey or free prize that asks for a card to pay shipping
- Fee demanded to release a held package or ATM card
- Links to lookalike or misspelled domains such as fedx or fed-ex
FedEx's real web addresses
Genuine FedEx links and emails use these domains. Look at the part just before the first single slash: fedex.com is real, but fedex-support-center.com or fedex.com.account-check.top are not.
- fedex.com
Scammers can also hide a fake link behind real-looking text. Learn how to read a web address.
How to check a FedEx message safely
- Enter your tracking number yourself at fedex.com/en-us/tracking.html
- For international duties and taxes, verify the request with the FedEx Import Tool
- Check that the sender uses fedex.com and not a misspelled domain
- Contact FedEx using a website or number you know is real, not details from the message
How to report a fake FedEx message
- Email suspicious FedEx messages to abuse@fedex.com, or call the FedEx fraud department on the number listed on its report fraud page. Official details on fedex.com
- Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Official details on consumer.ftc.gov
Also report it to the official fraud service in your country. See the worldwide list.
If you clicked, paid or shared details
Act quickly. It makes a difference.
- If you entered card or bank details, call your bank now using the number on your card, and ask them to block the card.
- If you entered a password, change it at fedex.com, typed into your browser yourself, and turn on two-step verification. Do not use any link from the message.
- Expect follow-up calls or messages pretending to help, sometimes claiming to be from FedEx security. Never share one-time codes and never move money to a "safe account".
- Email suspicious FedEx messages to abuse@fedex.com, or call the FedEx fraud department on the number listed on its report fraud page, then delete the message.
More help: Fake delivery texts and customs-fee scams and what to do after a scam.
How to protect yourself next time
Take your details off data broker sites
Scammers buy phone numbers, home addresses and family details from people-search and data broker sites. The less of that is public, the fewer and less convincing the scam messages you get.
Free: You can ask each site to delete your details yourself. In the EU and the UK, data protection law gives you that right.
- Incogni Partner link Sends removal requests to data brokers for you, and keeps sending them.
Watch for anyone using your identity
If you shared ID documents, card details or a Social Security number, monitoring can alert you when someone opens credit or accounts in your name.
Free: In the US, a credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion is free and blocks most new-credit fraud. Elsewhere, ask your bank and your credit reference agency about fraud alerts.
- Aura Partner link US identity theft protection with credit monitoring and fraud insurance.
Compare the tools that help, and what each costs
Links marked Partner link may earn us a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes our advice, and the free option always comes first. Affiliate disclosure.
Questions people ask
Does FedEx send messages asking for payment or personal details?
FedEx says it does not ask for payment or personal information in exchange for releasing a package, and does not request account details by unsolicited mail, email or text. It may send secure links to pay duties and taxes on international shipments, which you can check with the FedEx Import Tool.
How can I check if a FedEx message is real?
Enter your tracking number yourself at fedex.com/en-us/tracking.html. For international duties and taxes, verify the request with the FedEx Import Tool. Check that the sender uses fedex.com and not a misspelled domain. Contact FedEx using a website or number you know is real, not details from the message.
How do I report a fake FedEx message?
Email suspicious FedEx messages to abuse@fedex.com, or call the FedEx fraud department on the number listed on its report fraud page. Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
I clicked a link in a fake FedEx message but did not enter anything. Am I at risk?
Opening a link is far less serious than filling one in. Close it, and if you need your account, reach it by typing fedex.com yourself. Clicking does tell the sender your number is live, so expect more messages for a while: email suspicious fedex messages to abuse@fedex.com, or call the fedex fraud department on the number listed on its report fraud page.
Have you had this one?
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Official sources and further reading
We check our pages against official advice from the organisations themselves and from government agencies.
- Report Fraud (FedEx)
- Is that text message about your FedEx package really a scam? (Federal Trade Commission)
- FedEx Tracking (FedEx)