In recent years, there has been a rise in fraud attempts involving failed delivery notifications, fake prize games, humanitarian campaigns, fraudulent payment and parcel pickup links, sales of undelivered packages, and scams related to online marketplaces.

As part of efforts to strengthen trust in e-commerce, the eCommerce Croatia Association launched a new webshop certification system, Safe Shop, aimed at raising trust to a higher level. In this context, we reached out to a number of partners who encounter various types of fraud attempts in order to share their experiences and efforts in combating such cases.

We also sent an inquiry to Hrvatska pošta, asking for comment on cases where scammers impersonate the postal service and request recipients to enter their card details in order to receive a package.

The Corporate Communications Office of Hrvatska pošta stated that in recent years there has been a wide range of fraud attempts, including failed delivery notices, fake prize games, humanitarian actions, fraudulent payment and pickup links, sales of undelivered parcels, and scams connected to online classifieds.

“As soon as a new type of fraud appears, we regularly warn users through our website and social media,” the Post emphasized.

They advise anyone who receives a suspicious message to ignore it and not follow any links, as doing so could result in financial theft. “We recommend that users report to the police if they have been victims of online fraud, and the best prevention is to pay close attention to the details in the message,” they added.

How to recognize fake notifications?

According to Hrvatska pošta, fake notifications can be identified by suspicious sender addresses (the official domain is posta.hr), grammar mistakes, and unclear links that typically request entry of card details such as the number and CVC/CVV code. The presence of just one of these elements is enough to question the legitimacy of the message.

“Official notifications from Hrvatska pošta include a tracking number that can be verified via the shipment tracking system – https://posiljka.posta.hr/. If you receive a fake SMS at the same time you are expecting a parcel, it is purely coincidental. Only the sender or recipient can access basic shipment information using the tracking number, provided the shipment includes tracking,” they explained. They also stressed that any payment or transaction related to parcel delivery with Hrvatska pošta can only be made directly to the postal worker, at a post office, or via a parcel locker.

They reiterate that users should report cases to the police if they have been victims of online fraud, and that careful attention to message details remains the most effective form of prevention.