The holidays are right around the corner and many online shoppers are eagerly anticipating the delivery of their online purchases. But consumers also need to be wary of scammers posing as a delivery service provider like FedEx or UPS.

The Better Business Bureau is reminding consumers to be wary of unsolicited delivery company emails. 

"Phishing through a missed delivery scam is something we've seen in the past, but it’s growing in popularity,” said Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau Miguel Segura.

The attempts to fool people is growing during the holiday season as online shopping becomes more and more popular, the BBB said.

"Your parcels are ready to pick up, please open this attachment so we could send you your package. It’s ready for pickup or we tried to deliver your package, but no one was home please respond to this email," said one man targeted by scammers.

"By clicking on this link, you download malware on your computer which accesses or gives access to a scammer all of your sensitive information. Or what it can do is redirect you to another website-a fake website, and it’s going to ask you to enter your credit card information and pay an additional sort of delivery fee. Both of these cases result in identity theft," Segura said.

The scammers often impersonate well-known shippers or steal the identities of popular retailers to appear more legitimate. With the chaos of the holidays, con artists know that people may be more likely to ignore the warning signs of a fake package notice, especially if they are getting a head start on holiday shopping and expecting an actual delivery.

Here are some examples of fake emails that look legitimate.

Consumers should keep in mind that in the event of a missed delivery, the driver will leave a ticket at the door to arrange for a subsequent delivery or pickup at the depot.  

Better Business Bureau suggests the following tips if you receive package delivery notice in an email:

Watch for poor spelling or grammatical errors - Fraudulent email is often filled with typos and misspellings because many of them originate in countries where the scammers' knowledge of English is limited.

Ignore calls for "immediate action" - The con artists often claim that they have made multiple attempts to contact you and that if you don't act immediately, you will no longer be able to retrieve your package. Scammers create a false sense of urgency in an effort to get their victims to react on an emotional basis and let their guard down.

Don't always believe what you see -Just because an email may display a well-known company's logo or appear to come from a reputable source, it doesn't always mean that it's legitimate. Fake email addresses may vary somewhat from the real ones and it's easy for a scammer to copy and paste a company's logo or text into their message.

Don't be lured by cleverly-labeled links and attachments ­-A good rule of thumb is to never click on any links or download files from unfamiliar email addresses. Remember that a hyperlink may not actually lead to where it's claiming to go. By right clicking on it and selecting "copy link address," you can paste the link in a text document to see its true destination.

If you are expecting a delivery and concerned that there may be a legitimate delivery problem, contact the company directly using verifiable contact information - not information contained in a suspicious email.

Did your package disappear?                                       

At this time of year, millions of people ship packages to friends and family across the country. Unfortunately, theft of parcels delivered to businesses and individuals also increases during the holidays. Thieves have even been known to follow trucks to steal packages as soon as they are delivered.

If you place an order online, BBB recommends keeping a copy of the order form and tracking number, and following the shipment until its final destination.

Here is a checklist to help make sure your package is received by your intended recipients:

Insure all packages
Require a signature for delivery
Have packages delivered to a post office, UPS, FEDEX, or other carrier's facility
Ask a friend or neighbor to accept or pick up your packages
If allowed, ship packages to your office
Let recipients know that a package is on the way and when to expect it to arrive.  Follow up to make sure it was received

If you think a package was lost or stolen:

Make sure that it's not a simple mistake such as the driver leaving the package out of sight
Ask a neighbor if they saw the delivery
Contact the shipper to verify the items were sent
If you believe your package was stolen, file a police report. If there have been numerous such thefts in your area, the police can be on watch to deter thieves.
You will find additional tips and warnings at bbb.org/detroit.

The BBB is asking people to be careful when reviewing these types of emails, they may look very real, but are in fact, fake. One way to check is to hover over the hyperlink, you will see a box pop up with the web address where it will take you. But rather than clicking on the provided link, it’s much safer to type in the web address to the site you want to visit on your own and then enter your tracking number.

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