An unordered parcel arrives COD at your door — inside is worthless junk
Fraudster sends a COD parcel to your address using details from a data breach. Inside is junk. The cash or UPI collected by the delivery person settles to the fraudster's account — before you can open the box and react.
Also known as: fake COD parcel scam, unordered cash on delivery fraud, doorstep COD scam, fake Amazon COD delivery
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
Call 1930 now- 1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
- 2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
- 3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.
What to do right now
- 1 Refuse any COD delivery you did not order — you are not legally obligated to pay for or accept it
- 2 If you already paid, immediately contact the courier company's customer care with the airway bill or tracking number and request a settlement hold before funds are transferred to the sender
- 3 Lodge a complaint with the courier company in writing (email or app), noting the tracking ID, amount collected, and date
- 4 File a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).
Red flags
- ⚠ You never placed this order, but the parcel shows your correct name and address — scammers source details from data breaches or leaked databases
- ⚠ Delivery person insists payment before you inspect the contents — legitimate COD always lets you verify the package is yours before paying
- ⚠ A prior call or SMS says 'your gift from abroad is coming, just pay the delivery charges' — this is how scammers prime victims to pay without questioning
- ⚠ Tracking the airway bill number on the courier's official website shows no matching order under your registered account
- ⚠ If you refuse, the same address receives a second COD parcel within days, sometimes under a different household member's name
Sources
- The420.in — Fake COD Parcel Scam Spreads Across India, Victims Tricked Into Paying For Unordered Packages
- Storyboard18 — Cash on Delivery scam explained: How fake parcels are targeting Indian homes and offices
- The420.in — Delivery at the Door, Fraud Inside: COD Parcel Scam Drains Consumers' Money
- Free Press Journal — Pune Amazon COD scam: Unordered Parcels Delivered as Scammers Seek to Clone Phones
- MyPunePulse — Beware of Cash On Delivery Scam: How Fraudsters Trap Families With Fake Parcels