Australians are being urged to stay alert as a new wave of scam messages and emails impersonating Australia Post and preying on vulnerable customers sweeps the country.
The fraudulent messages claim a delivery failed due to an invalid postal code, luring recipients into clicking malicious links to hand over personal information.
This latest scam is part of the ‘Darcula’ phishing-as-a-service operation, allowing scammers to rent a cybercrime toolkit that mimics trusted brands to steal customer data.
Darcula’s sophisticated techniques bypass telecommunications and network filters to send scams over iMessage and Rich Communication Services (RCS), making them harder to block.
The alarming tactic is targeting postal services worldwide and reflects a broader scam trend, with new research from Australia Post showing that 9 in 10 Australians have received a scam text or call, and nearly three-quarters report being targeted by scams mimicking parcel delivery services— highlighting the scale of the threat.
Results from the survey show that:
• Over 90% of Australians have received a scam text or call
• 58% believe businesses are not doing enough to protect them
• 85% are more concerned about scams today than they were 12 months ago
• Nearly 74% report that scams most commonly impersonate shipping and parcel delivery services.
Over 57% of Australians believe scams are getting smarter, and Australia Post is urging the public to stay vigilant and only trust official communications through the AusPost app.
Australia Post say they will never:
• Call, text or email you asking for personal or financial information including password, credit card details or account information
• Call, text or email you to request payment.
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/space-wood-deliver-logistics-4967335/
