Spot fake Parcelforce customs-fee, redelivery and security-check texts — including the customs scams that look most plausible
Last reviewed: 12 May 2026 · ScamSupport research
Why Parcelforce customs scams are unusually convincing
Parcelforce Worldwide (the international and large-parcel arm of Royal Mail Group) genuinely collects customs charges from UK recipients of international parcels. This creates an exploit gap: Parcelforce-customs scams have a legitimate underlying mechanism that other parcel-courier scams lack. When you receive a real Parcelforce customs text after ordering from outside the UK, it’s easy to assume any “Parcelforce” customs text is genuine. It often isn’t.
Three Parcelforce scam-text variants currently in circulation
From: Parcelforce (spoofed sender ID)
Body: “Parcelforce: Customs charge of £3.14 due on your parcel. Pay now to release for delivery: parcelforce-customs[dot]uk”
Red flags:
Real Parcelforce customs notices contain a 17-digit shipment reference beginning “PC” or similar, and direct you to parcelforce.com/payments — never a third-party domain.
Domain check. Real Parcelforce lives at parcelforce.com. Anything-Parcelforce-anything (parcelforce-customs.uk, parcelforce-pay.com, parcelforceworldwide-uk.com) is a typosquat.
Suspiciously low charge. Real customs charges are itemised: VAT (typically 20% of parcel value), Customs Duty (varies by product), and Parcelforce’s £8 handling fee. A flat £3.14 charge doesn’t match the real structure.
Critical: If you actually have an international parcel pending, log into parcelforce.com directly — never click the SMS link — and search by your shipment reference. Real customs charges appear in the parcel status.
From: PARCELFORCE (spoofed)
Body: “Parcelforce: Your parcel is held at our depot pending an address verification. Complete verification at: parcelforce-verify-uk[dot]com”
Red flags:
Parcelforce doesn’t verify addresses via third-party domains. Address corrections are made by the sender at parcelforce.com or in-store.
The phishing page asks for full name, address, postcode, date of birth, and card details for an “address-verification fee”. Combined data is sufficient for identity fraud beyond the initial card capture.
Many Parcelforce-impersonation campaigns are timed to UK Christmas-shopping season (November-December) when international parcel volume peaks and recipients are less reflective about unexpected customs charges.
From: +44 70xx xxxxxx or a UK mobile
Body: “Parcelforce: A signature-required parcel could not be delivered. Rebook delivery here for £1.99: parcelforce-rebook[dot]net”
Red flags:
Parcelforce does not charge for rebooking a missed delivery. If you’re not in, Parcelforce leaves a card explaining where to collect the parcel or how to rearrange delivery at no cost via the Parcelforce website.
.net TLD. Real Parcelforce is parcelforce.com only.
UK mobile sender is implausible for a courier. Real Parcelforce SMS comes from the Parcelforce sender ID, not a personal mobile number.
How to verify a Parcelforce customs notice is real
Parcelforce customs charges are real and common. Here’s how to verify one:
Go directly to parcelforce.com by typing it into your browser. Never click the SMS link.
Search by your 17-digit shipment reference. Real customs charges appear in your parcel’s status with an itemised breakdown (VAT + Duty + handling fee).
The total payable is shown with VAT separately calculated against the declared parcel value — if the SMS amount doesn’t match what the Parcelforce site shows, the SMS is fake.
Pay only via parcelforce.com/payments, never via a link from the text.
What to do if you’ve received a Parcelforce scam text
Don’t click the link. Even loading the page confirms your number to the criminal.
Forward to 7726. The free UK spam-reporting service routes it to your network for blocking.
If you have a real Parcelforce delivery pending, verify only at parcelforce.com by typing the URL.
If you’ve already paid the “customs” fee
Call your bank’s fraud line within 24 hours using the number on the back of your card.
Cancel the card immediately. Card capture is the criminal’s real goal; unauthorised transactions typically follow within 14 days.