German consumer organisation warns against new DHL scam

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale) has warned residents in Germany against a new DHL scam which asks customers to pay additional fees for “overweight packages”.

DHL email scam spreads in Germany

Germany’s Verbraucherzentrale is warning customers against a new email scam. According to the organisation, scammers are sending emails which appear to be from DHL. 

In the emails, scammers claim that customers’ packages have “been stopped because they are overweight”. The email asks customers to “settle the open payment so delivery can continue without further delay” and presents them with a large, red “pay now” button.

The Verbraucherzentrale explains that users can identify the DHL email as a scam based on specific features; the package tracking number is identical on all DHL email scams, the email text only begins with "Hallo" and doesn't address recipients personally. DHL only requests payment via its official website or app and never via email.

What should you do if you receive a DHL scam email?

If you receive an email which you suspect is part of the DHL scam, you should never click on any links included in the email and move the email to your spam folder immediately.

If you are uncertain about whether the email is a scam, you can copy and paste the package tracking number given in the email and search it on the official DHL website (www.dhl.de).