Is that "USPS package on hold" text a scam?

How to spot the USPS scam

• You never signed up for tracking on this parcel. USPS says plainly that its tracking tools require you to request updates first, so an unrequested notification is the whole tell.
• It came from a 10-digit mobile number or an email address. USPS uses five-digit short codes for its text messages.
• There is a fee to release the package: redelivery, customs, unpaid postage. A small amount is chosen to be worth paying rather than worth querying.
• The link is not usps.com. Endings like .icu, .shop, .top and .vip are cheap to register in bulk, which is why these campaigns keep using them.
• It wants more than a payment. These pages harvest names, addresses, dates of birth, card numbers and PINs, because the card is only the first crime.
• There is a deadline: final notice, action required today, returned to sender by morning.
• You are not expecting a parcel at all, or you cannot match it to an order.

What to do now

1. Do not tap the link. If you think a delivery is real, go to the retailer you actually ordered from and use the tracking number in your order confirmation.
2. Check tracking only at usps.com or in the official USPS app, typed or bookmarked, never reached from the message.
3. Report it. USPS asks for smishing to be forwarded to spam@uspis.gov, and forwarding to 7726 (SPAM) lets your carrier act on the sender. Then delete it.
4. If you entered card details, ring your bank now, dispute the charge and freeze the card.
5. If you gave up a date of birth or Social Security number as well, treat it as identity theft and follow the recovery steps at IdentityTheft.gov.