Many users have reported receiving emails and text messages from the website usps.uspsbp.com, commonly known as the USPSBP scam. This is a fraud website posing as a legitimate United States Postal Service (USPS) platform.
Like all other scams and frauds, the scammers want to harvest victims’ personal and financial information using the website. The emails and messages appear to be from an official USPS platform and inform victims about a fake delivery.
In these messages, there is a link that the scammers want you to click and then enter your personal and financial information. Now, to lure the victims into entering the information above, the scammers can use various techniques, such as:
- Ask you to confirm your shipping address.
- Ask you to pay an additional fee or a fine.
- Ask you to pay a certain amount for official purposes such as clearing customs etc.
Usually, anybody not knowing about cybersecurity issues will likely pay the fees and fines. That’s when you will enter the financial details like your credit card number, expiration date, and more — what the scammers want.
By entering the information, you expose yourself to various cybersecurity crimes, such as identity theft and credit card fraud, among others.
Also read: USPS package tracking scam 9300120111410471677883 explained
How do you identify and avoid USPSPB or other such scams?
Identifying and avoiding USPSPB or any other such scams is quite easy. All you need is caution and some knowledge about how scammers work, and you are good to go.
Below, we’ll explain how you can spot key signs that recipients usually use to recognise and thwart such scams:
- You have ordered no package: Exercise caution if you receive notifications about delivery failure or rescheduling without having made any orders or expecting a package from a known source.
- Generic greetings: Beware of scams using generic salutations like “Dear customer” instead of addressing recipients by name. It is because, at this point, the scammers may not have your name or are trying to send the message or email to many people, so using generic greetings is understandable.
- Urgent language: Scam messages often use urgent language, putting pressure on recipients to quickly reschedule a delivery and discouraging thoughtful consideration.
- Malicious links: Scam messages contain links that lead to unfamiliar sites, unlike USPS.com. For example, in this case, the link is usps.uspspb.com.
- Suspicious sender address: Legitimate USPS communications come from official @USPS.gov addresses, not non-official ones. Any deviation from this standard should raise suspicion.
- Requests for personal information: Legitimate companies typically do not ask for sensitive personal information online to resolve delivery issues.
- Poor grammar and spelling: Scam emails often contain grammatical errors. This is usually the best way to spot a scamming attempt.
Read our detailed article on how to identify phishing scams for an in-depth understanding of phishing.
Also read: Harbor Freight spam email scam explained
What steps should I take after giving the personal and financial information?
If you have divulged your personal and financial information, don’t worry, as there are a few steps that you can take to save your identity and hard-earned money.
- Contact your bank: Immediately contact your bank and ask them to block your credit or debit card. Furthermore, monitor your transactions carefully, and if you find any suspicious transaction, report it to the bank.
- Change your bank passwords: Change your bank passwords immediately. Set a strong password with upper and lowercase letters, special characters and numbers.
- Contact the relevant authorities: You can share the details with credit bureaus such as Experian or TransUnion. Credit bureaus can flag your account details so that the scammers can’t open another account in your name.
- Report the scam: Finally, report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
In conclusion, USPSBP is a well-known scam and has affected several hundred people. However, if you follow the steps mentioned above, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from scammers.
Also read: Can you get scammed on eBay?
