Unordered Cash-on-Delivery Parcels and Fake "Parcel Waiting" Texts in the Philippines: What to Do if You Paid or Clicked

Recognising unordered COD parcels and fake delivery texts

Both scams follow predictable scripts, and recognising them is most of the defence.

1. Have you recently ordered from this platform or through this courier, and do you have a tracking number?
2. Genuine courier notices do not ask you to pay through an unknown short link.
3. Is the link on the courier's official domain? Look for subtle misspellings.
4. Is the message pushing you to act immediately or lose the parcel? Manufactured urgency is a hallmark of scams.

For other scams common in the Philippines, see common scams and how to avoid them. Treat any unexpected request for payment around a delivery with the same suspicion, whichever company it claims to come from.

The parcel is at your door: how to refuse it properly

If you are sure you did not order it, refuse it: do not pay, do not sign, do not open.

1. Ask first. Ask the rider to show you the label: who sent it, which platform, what order number. Open the platform app on your own phone and check your order list.
2. If there is no matching order, refuse. Say politely that you did not place this order and are refusing it. The parcel goes back and you owe nothing.
3. Do not "pay now and sort it out later". Recovering a COD payment is far harder than refusing at the door.
4. Brief your household. Helpers, building guards and front desks often receive and pay for COD parcels on residents' behalf. Tell them in advance not to pay for or accept any COD parcel you have not mentioned.

Sometimes the parcel is genuine: a family member ordered in your name, or you forgot an order. Spend a minute checking with family and your platform accounts before refusing, so you do not turn away something real.

If the rider insists you must pay, note their name or ID number, the courier company and the time, and complain to the courier afterwards. Legitimate couriers do not force recipients to pay for parcels they did not order.

If you order often, a simple habit removes most of the doubt: keep your platform apps signed in on your phone and glance at the order list whenever a rider calls. Ten seconds of checking settles whether a parcel is yours.

Keep the exchange calm and brief. The rider is usually just doing a job and may not know the order is fake; refusing politely and reporting it afterwards gets the same result without an argument at the gate.

Already paid: unopened or opened, courier or platform

Paying does not mean the money is lost, but speed matters, and so does contacting the right party.

Amounts are usually small, and recovery takes time, so you decide whether it is worth pursuing. But at least report the seller to the platform; it helps the platform identify these accounts and reduces the chance of it happening to you again. The full sequence after being cheated is in what to do after being scammed in the Philippines.

When you contact the courier, give them the tracking number, the amount you paid, the time of delivery and a one-line explanation that the order was not yours. Clear, specific details get a case opened faster than a general complaint.

Keep your payment proof and photos together in one place until the matter is closed, and write down the dates you contacted the courier and platform.

You tapped the link: damage control by what you did next

Tapping the link is not automatically a disaster; what matters is what you entered.

Afterwards, think about which accounts share the same password as the one you may have exposed, and change those too. Scammers routinely try leaked passwords on other services, so one careless tap can affect more than the account you typed into. If your bank or e-wallet offers transaction alerts by app notification, switch them on; they are the fastest way to spot a problem before it grows, and they cost nothing to keep running.

Whatever the level, screenshot the text, the link address and the page you saw. You will need them for reports and disputes.

Free mystery parcels (brushing): a sign your data has leaked

An unpaid, unordered small parcel is often a brushing scam. It costs you nothing, but it tells you someone has your details.

In brushing, a seller places fake orders using real names and addresses and ships cheap items to create "genuine" delivery records that inflate sales and reviews. What arrives is usually worthless, and nothing is owed.

1. No payment or return is needed. A parcel that requires no payment generally creates no obligation for you. Do not scan any QR code inside or contact numbers on enclosed cards offering prizes or cashback.
2. Report the seller to the platform if the label shows the platform and order number.
3. Think about where your data came from. Recall sites, promotions or surveys where you recently left your name, phone and address.
4. Check your accounts. Make sure your shopping platforms and e-wallets show no unfamiliar orders or logins; change passwords and turn on two-factor authentication where needed.

If around the same time you also receive calls or texts from people posing as Customs or a courier demanding fees, your information has spread more widely, so be especially careful. For Customs-impersonation scams, see how to tell real customs notices from fake ones.

If brushing parcels keep arriving, keep the labels and photos in a folder and mention the pattern when you report to the platform. Repeated reports from the same address help the platform trace the seller account behind them, and the record is useful if your details later turn up in a more serious scam.

Brushing on its own is a nuisance rather than a loss, but it is a useful early warning to tighten up your accounts before someone tries something more serious.

Reporting, prevention, and how Yixing can help

Report anything that cost you money, and consider reporting even when it did not. It creates a record and helps others avoid the same trap.

1. Check delivery status only in the courier's official app or website using your tracking number, never through links in texts.
2. Tell family, helpers and guards not to pay for COD parcels you have not mentioned.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication for e-wallets and banking, and never share verification codes.
4. Write delivery addresses clearly, which makes "incomplete address" messages less believable to you.

If you cannot read an English or Tagalog scam message, are unsure whether your accounts are at risk, or want someone with you at the bank or police station, Yixing's Chinese-language settling-in support can help you work out whom to contact, what to say and what to bring. We cannot guarantee recovery and never charge "recovery fees"; be wary of anyone who promises to recover your money for an upfront payment. Yixing is a private consultancy registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Reg. No. CS202009551) and accredited by the Bureau of Immigration (BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1). We have no affiliation with Customs, the postal service, any courier or any marketplace, and we do not promise outcomes on anyone's behalf.

For your specific case, consult a licensed lawyer; this article is not legal advice.

Related in this series: claiming for lost or damaged courier parcels and refunds for broken Taobao orders.