Security News > 2021 > May > Eight suspects busted in raid on “home delivery” scamming operation
As Naked Security readers have pointed out before, you don't always know in advance which courier company an online vendor might might use, so even if the crooks send you a fake message from a company you wouldn't normally expect, it's easy to fall for it.
The trick you see in the "Pay page" above is very common: to set your mind at rest, the crooks ask for very little money, typically from about 99 cents up to amounts such as £1.49, €1.99 or, as shown above, $3. The idea is that the modest fee sounds believable, and it might feels at though it's worth the risk of paying out the money anyway, given that it's only a few dollars, in case it is a real delivery and you miss out.
Of course, the crooks aren't after 99c, or £1.50 or €2, and in all likelihood they won't even try to process a payment against your account right away.
After you've filled in the fake payment form on the fake site, the crooks have all your card data anyway, including the all-important three-digit security code on the back.
If the crooks sent the message, you can be sure the number will just lead back to them and they will pretend to be the bank to continue the subterfuge.
The crooks know which numbers they used for which scams, and prepare accordingly, so the answer you hear when the crooks pick up will sound perfectly believable.