Scam alert: COD on delivery? Beware!

A parcel arrives at your door. You do not remember ordering it, but think someone else at home did. Beware, this could be the cash-on-delivery (COD) scam!

A parcel arrives at your door. You do not remember ordering it, but think perhaps someone else at home did. That moment of uncertainty is what cash-on-delivery (COD) scammers count on.

Here's what the cash-on-delivery scam is and how you can stop yourself from falling for it. (Photos: @KiranManral/X)

Kiran Manral took to X to describe her experience of the COD delivery scam. (Photo: X)

Writer Kiran Manral recently described such an encounter on X, prompting several users to share similar experiences. In this scam, an unsolicited parcel is sent to an address and the recipient is asked to pay before opening it. The package may contain something worthless, or an item different from what the recipient thinks was ordered. With multiple deliveries arriving at many homes, it is easy to mistake an unfamiliar parcel for a genuine order.

The rule is simple: if you did not order it, do not pay. Check your shopping apps, messages and order history, and ask others at home before accepting a COD delivery. Do not let a caller or delivery agent rush you into making a payment.

If you have already paid for a suspicious parcel, report it via the national cybercrime helpline, 1930, or at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the parcel, payment receipt, tracking details and messages as evidence.

X users sharing similar experiences of the reported scam. (Photo: X)

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