Staff report written from press release
Indianapolis, Indiana – September 19, 2023
Attorney General Todd Rokita is urging Hoosiers to exercise caution and vigilance as a surge in scam texts and emails falsely claiming shipping-and-delivery issues with purported orders sweeps across the state. In an official statement released today, Rokita warned residents to remain wary of these deceptive messages, which aim to pilfer personal information and install malicious software onto unsuspecting victims’ devices.
Image provided by the Indiana Attorney General
The fraudulent communications, purportedly from well-known companies such as Amazon, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and others, have inundated inboxes throughout Indiana. These deceptive emails and texts contain links that allegedly assist recipients in tracking their packages, but in reality, they redirect users to malicious websites designed to compromise their security.
Attorney General Rokita emphasized the importance of public awareness in combatting these scams, stating, “Our team works tirelessly to bring scammers to justice. Collaborating with law enforcement partners, we consistently apprehend and prosecute these criminals. Simultaneously, our mission extends to educating all Hoosiers about these various scams, equipping them to identify and evade these traps.”
One example of a scam text message received by an Indiana resident read as follows:
“Dear Customer, your Amazon order #123456 has experienced a delivery issue. Click here to resolve the matter.”
Rokita cautioned recipients not to click on any links or engage with these messages in any way. Instead, he advised residents to independently verify the authenticity of such messages by visiting the official website of the delivery carrier in question.
