NZ Post investigating parcel redirection scam
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
NZ Post says it is investigating some fraudulent activity that involves unauthorised redirection of customer parcels by an external party.
The postal service said its investigations to date suggest the issue may have affected about 30 customers.
It is understood the scammers may have been able to access NZ Post tracking numbers, which can then be used to redirect parcels which are in transit to a parcel collect service, such as those found at some supermarkets.
A NZ post spokesperson said it was investigating how the offender may have accessed the tracking numbers.
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“We're not entirely sure at this stage how the scam is being conducted - that's a key component of what we are working on with our ongoing investigation.”
One Auckland woman, who asked to be kept anonymous, told Stuff she’d lost out to the scam, and was now working with NZ Post to resolve the issue.
Have you been affected? Email aucklandnewsroom@stuff.co.nz
“I run a business which produces and distributes personalised gift items for children and 10 of my parcels have now been redirected to random pickup points in Auckland.”
She said she was first made aware of the scam from a customer tracking the parcel, who noticed the redirection notice.
“One of my customers in Hamilton after tracking the delivery status of her parcel emailed me and said she noticed it’s got a redirection notice to go back to Countdown Hauraki.”
She said this prompted her to look into all the orders over the last three business days, and noticed the redirections.
“I have six that were redirected to Countdown Hauraki Corner, and they were all redirected to the same name, same person, same fake pickup. I have another one that's re-directed to Countdown Beachlands and another from Hamilton that was redirected to Hauraki.
“I also have two going to Christchurch that have been re-directed back to Auckland. Another parcel of mine is still sitting in the Christchurch depot which has been redirected back to Northcote.”
She said the fraudulent redirections were costing her business money and small businesses needed to be made aware.
“We've lost between $300-500 not including my own personal amount of time. I'm ending up basically recreating the product, and sending them out by deadline at my own cost. I'm just exhausted.”
A NZ Post spokesperson said they were engaging with the customer and were working with her to resolve the issue.
A Countdown spokesperson said the issue had not been raised with them, but it was concerning to hear people’s packages were ending up in the wrong hands.
“In terms of our in store process, our team sight the parcel collector’s identification before handing over any package to make sure it matches with our records from NZ Post.
“If the parcel is being collected on behalf of someone else, they’d also need to provide identification along with the notification email given to them by the original customer. If the names and IDs don’t match or there is no notification email, our team won’t hand over the parcel.”
A police spokesperson said police were aware of the NZ Post’s investigation, but were not actively involved at this stage.
NZ Post said any customers who were expecting a parcel that had not arrived should check their tracking number online.
If you see a redirection notice on your item that you didn’t instigate, call NZ Post on 0800 501 501 or email help@nzpost.co.nz