Beware of email scam pretending to be Qatar Post

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Are you a Qatar Post customer? Be careful if you received an email about a parcel awaiting delivery.

We recently received a bogus email with the subject line "Parcel awaiting delivery" from a suspicious email address. The email states that a payment needs to be confirmed to be able to proceed with the delivery of the package.

Screenshot of the email sent by the account pretending to be Qatar Post. The email was sent in Arabic and this is the English translated version.

We called the Qatar Post hotline (104) to verify this email we received and the staff clarified Qatar Post does not send such an email for online payment and they have received many similar complaints and they said to not click any link attached.

You can reach out to Qatar Post through the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected].

These types of emails are known as "phishing" scams which aim to trick people into giving up personal and sensitive information such as credit card details.

What is phishing?

According to phishing.org:

Phishing is a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.

The information is then used to access important accounts and can result in identity theft and financial loss.

How to protect yourself?

Always check the full email address of the sender even if it looks like the email came from a legitimate company. If the email looks suspicious, don't respond. Mark it as spam or delete it directly. Do not click any of the links on the body of the suspicious email. Remember, if in doubt, don't click the link!

You can also contact the company directly, in the case above it's Qatar Post, to confirm if this email is really sent officially and to report the malicious email.

LEARN ABOUT OTHER SCAMS HERE:

Where to report scam emails?

You can also report it to the company directly or to the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA).

Ministry of Interior (MOI)

The MOI continuously warns all residents in Qatar - local and expats – to be careful of these scams, and not to keep or share any personal information or banking details online.

In case of any scam or suspicious online activity, the MOI urges people to call Cyber Crime Investigation Centre +974 42347444 or 66815757 or send an e-mail to [email protected].