Avoid getting scammed by fake "Australia Post" emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is "Australia Post email scam"?
"Australia Post email scam" refers to a spam campaign. The letters sent through this campaign are disguised as messages relating to unpaid customs duties from "Australia Post". It must be emphasized that these emails are in no way associated with the legitimate postal service enterprise. This spam campaign aims to trick recipients into disclosing sensitive information and/or paying bogus fees.
"Australia Post email scam" in detail
The fake "Australia Post" emails inform that the delivery cost must be paid for a package to be released. Additionally, the letters contain extensive details about the Australia Post enterprise, which provides postal services in Australia.
The goal of such deceptive letters is to gather vulnerable information through email replies and phishing websites. Data of interest includes: personally identifiable details (e.g., names, addresses, contact information, etc.), online account usernames/passwords, finance-related data (e.g., banking account and credit card numbers, etc.), and so on. The collected information can be sold to third-parties and/or used to create personalized scams.
Furthermore, hijacked accounts can be used to steal the owner's identity and ask contacts for loans, distribute malware, make fraudulent monetary transactions or online purchases. What is more, scams like the "Australia Post" emails can ask victims to make fake payments. Scammers often request users to pay the fees via dubious payment gateways, which record information entered into them.
In summary, by trusting the "Australia Post" scam emails, users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
| Name | Australia Post Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Emails claim that a delivery fee must be paid. |
| Disguise | Scam emails are disguised as letters from Australia Post |
| Symptoms | Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains. |
| Damage | Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Spam campaigns in general
"Instagram Email Scam", "Aramex Email Scam", "Storage Server Failure", "Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS) Email Scam", "Reminder About Your Dirty Deeds!", "ICS (International Card Services) Email Scam" - are some examples of spam campaigns.
Deceptive emails are not used exclusively for phishing/scams, they are also employed to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). Due to the prevalence of spam mail, it is highly recommended to exercise caution with incoming emails and messages.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is spread via virulent files attached to and/or linked inside spam emails. These files can be in various formats, e.g., archives, executables, PDF and Microsoft Office documents, JavaScript, etc. When they are opened - the infection chain is jumpstarted.
For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. This process begins when a document is opened in Microsoft Office versions released before 2010. Later versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents it; instead, users can manually enable macros (i.e., editing/content).
How to avoid installation of malware?
Suspect and irrelevant emails must not be opened, especially any attachments or links found in them. It is important to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.
Aside from spam mail, malware is proliferated via dubious download channels (e.g., unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, etc.), illegal activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates. Therefore, it is advised to download from official/verified sources and activate/update products with tools provided by genuine developers.
It is crucial to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. This software has to be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Australia Post" scam email letter:
Subject: Your package could not be delivered on 13.09.2021 because no customs duties were paid (12.99 AUD)
Dear customer
Your package could not be delivered on 13.09.2021 because no customs duties were paid (12.99 AUD).
As a reminder, Australia Post informs you that your shipment AU1950317-0935 is still awaiting instruction from you. Follow the instructions :
Dispatch Date: 14.09.2021 / 15.09.2021
Reference : AU1950317-0935
Beneficiaries : Australia Post
Amount to be paid : 12.99 AUD
Please confirm the payment of the delivery costs (12.99 AUD) and the shipment of the package
To confirm the shipment of a package, click here
We thank you for recording it and wish you continued convenient sending with a waybill online.
Best regards.
Australia’s postal market is competitive for most services but Australia Post has an exclusive right to deliver reserved letters – generally letters less than 250 grams. We administer the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 and the Australian Postal Corporation (Performance Standards) Regulations 2019.
The Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 requires Australia Post to meet community service obligations, including performance standards defined in the regulations. Those performance standards include requirements about frequency, accuracy and speed of mail delivery, street posting boxes and retail outlets.
In cooperation with the Department of Finance, we also provide oversight of Australia Post as a government business enterprise, wholly owned by the Australian Government. The Australia Post Board and management are responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation. Australia Post is required by law to operate commercially and does not receive funding from the government.
With many Australians staying and working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia Post has experienced a significant surge in demand for parcel deliveries. To meet the unprecedented parcels demand, Australia Post has established at least 18 new or recommissioned parcel processing facilities, chartered additional freighter flights, is operating some of its processing facilities 24/7 and has employed hundreds of temporary staff.
Appearance of the "Australia Posy" scam email (GIF):
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Quick menu:
- What is Australia Post spam?
- Types of malicious emails.
- How to spot a malicious email?
- What to do if you fell for an email scam?
Types of malicious emails:
Phishing Emails
Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.
Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.
After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.
Emails with Malicious Attachments
Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.
In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.
If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.
While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.
Sextortion Emails
This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.
To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.
How to spot a malicious email?
While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:
- Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
- Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
- Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
- Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.
To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
Example of a spam email:
What to do if you fell for an email scam?
- If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
- If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
- If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
- If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
- Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.
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