The winter holidays are a time for everything nice. But criminals and their scams can cost you a hefty price. These Scrooges target consumers, along with Postal Service™ employees and contractors, with the following schemes:
n Phishing scams,
n Smishing scams,
n Brushing scams, and
n Quishing scams.
And they can’t wait to take advantage of the giving spirit by stealing mail and packages.
To help keep everyone safe from these scams, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service® “Cut Out Crime” 2025 holiday campaign will provide safety tips on the USPS® and Inspection Service websites, Blue and LiteBlue, and the Inspection Service social media pages.
Please help the Postal Inspection Service cut out crime and keep this special season merry and bright. Stay informed, and follow these tips to keep purchases and personal information safe.
Phishing and smishing schemes are cyber-attacks that steal personally identifiable information (PII), like credit card or Social Security numbers. In these attacks, cyber criminals impersonate the Postal Service’s leadership or organizations and ask for personal data in emails (phishing) or text messages (smishing). The official-looking emails and texts contain a fake URL or a file designed to steal your personal information and may even infect your device with malware that, if clicked on and opened, can activate a virus that allows the criminals to steal PII.
A phishing or smishing message might say: “Dear Team Member, your account has been compromised. Click this link to verify your credentials — USPS Leadership.”
Postal Service employees and contractors should follow these tips to cut out phishing and smishing crimes this holiday season:
n Be suspicious of text messages or emails that request personal or business information.
n Be suspicious of text messages or emails from unknown or suspicious numbers.
n Don’t click on links in unexpected or unsolicited text messages or emails.
n Don’t reply to or respond to suspicious text messages or emails.
n Block notifications from unsaved phone numbers to decrease the likelihood of falling for a smishing scam.
n Forward any suspicious emails received on USPS-issued devices to the Postal Inspection Service’s spam-reporting account: spam@uspis.gov; forward smishing text messages to 7726 or email spam@uspis.gov.
If you open your front door to find a package addressed to you, but you didn’t order it and it is from someone or a company you don’t know, beware. This seemingly free item is a “brushing” scam. Brushing scammers send you goods you never ordered and write fake online reviews about their products in your name, which helps boost their sales.
By law, unsolicited merchandise is yours to keep. You don’t have to return it — or pay for it. But some of these “gifts” come with a QR code. When scanned, these QR codes direct to “quishing” websites that ask you to give up your personal information.
Help cut out brushing and quishing crimes this holiday season:
n Don’t scan unknown QR codes.
n Never give out your personal information to unknown sources. If you do, your identity may be compromised.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service makes thousands of arrests for mail theft each year. While mail and packages can be stolen at any time, the higher volume of mail and packages during the holidays gives greedy thieves more opportunities to steal holiday cheer. Rest assured that U.S. postal inspectors keep an eye out for mail thieves across the country throughout the holiday season — and all year long.
Help cut out mail theft crimes this holiday season by encouraging postal customers to follow these tips:
n Do NOT leave letters and packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time. The longer mail stays in your mailbox, the more susceptible it is to theft.
n Never send cash in the mail.
n If you are going to be away from your home, use Hold for Delivery, a delivery locker, or ask a trusted neighbor to pick up your mail and packages.
n Request signature confirmation on packages, and add package tracking.
n Hand outgoing mail to your letter carrier, mail it at the post office, or mail it from a secure receptacle at your place of business.
n If you have a camera system, make sure it’s aimed and focused on capturing activity at your front door or mailbox. If your camera catches mail thieves in the act of stealing U.S. Mail, save the video and contact postal inspectors at 877-876-2455 or www.uspis.gov/report.
As you’re making your shopping list and checking it twice, help the Postal Inspection Service cut out crime and keep the holiday season nice.
For more information, go to our holiday website at www.uspis.gov/holiday-scams-2025.
— Communications, Governance, and Strategy,
U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 11-13-25
