ScanTheSender
Last updated: July 2026
If you’ve had an email or text from “Royal Mail” about a missed parcel or an unpaid delivery fee, and you weren’t expecting it, treat it as a scam. Royal Mail doesn’t email or text you about an attempted delivery — when they miss you, they leave a grey card. The link asking you to “pay a small fee to reschedule” leads to a fake page that steals your card and personal details. Don’t click it.
Want to check the message now? Run it through ScanTheSender in seconds.
What this scam looks like
The message claims a parcel couldn’t be delivered and asks you to pay a small, oddly specific fee — often £1.99 or £2.99 — to release or reschedule it. It copies Royal Mail’s branding and includes a link (or QR code) to a page that looks exactly like the real Royal Mail site.
That page asks for your name, address, date of birth, phone number, and card details. There’s no parcel — the form simply collects everything you type, which is enough to attempt fraud on your account or in your name.
An illustrative example (a made-up sample, not a real message):
“Royal Mail: your parcel could not be delivered due to an unpaid shipping fee of £1.99. Please settle it here: [link]”
One genuine exception: Royal Mail does sometimes contact you about a real customs charge on a trackable item — but they also leave a grey “Fee to Pay” card, and you can always verify by going to royalmail.com/track-your-item yourself rather than using the link in the message.
How to tell if a Royal Mail delivery email is a scam
- You weren’t expecting a parcel, or the message is vague about what it is.
- It asks for a small fee to release or reschedule a delivery, and wants your card details on a linked page.
- The web address isn’t royalmail.com. Look at the part just before the first single slash — scam links use lookalikes like “royalmail-redelivery.com” or “rm-delivery-uk.co.uk.”
- It came from a random mobile number or an odd email address, not a Royal Mail one.
- It uses urgency — “your parcel will be returned to the depot” or “destroyed.”
- A QR code points you to a payment page.
What to do right now
- Don’t click the link, scan the QR code, or enter any details.
- Check independently. Go to royalmail.com/track-your-item directly (type it yourself) or use the Royal Mail app to see if anything’s genuinely waiting.
- Report it. Forward the scam email or a screenshot of the text to reportascam@royalmail.com. Forward scam texts to 7726 (free).
- If you’ve clicked and entered card or bank details, call your bank immediately using the number on your card, then report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales, NI) — or Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
- Delete the message.
FAQ
Does Royal Mail email or text about a missed parcel? No. When Royal Mail can’t deliver, they leave a grey “Something for you” or “Fee to Pay” card — they don’t email or text about attempted deliveries. Any missed-parcel email or text asking you to pay online is a scam.
But I do have a parcel coming — could the fee be real? The only genuine fee Royal Mail contacts you about is a customs charge on a trackable item, and even then they leave a grey card too. Don’t use the link in the message — check at royalmail.com/track-your-item yourself.
The link looked like the real Royal Mail site — how was it fake? Scammers copy the site exactly. Looks aren’t proof. The giveaway is the web address: if it isn’t royalmail.com (check the part before the first single slash), it isn’t Royal Mail, however convincing the page.
I paid the fee and entered my card. What now? Call your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card — they can freeze or protect your account. Then report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (or Police Scotland on 101).
Not sure about a Royal Mail message?
Check a Royal Mail message free — paste or screenshot it into ScanTheSender before you click anything.
Related reading: two more UK scams to know — the HMRC tax refund scam email and the Council Tax rebate scam.