Internet Fraud

Online fraud and phishing attempts related to parcel transportations have recently become more common. Criminals abuse the names and logos of well-known transportation companies, such as GLS, in order to commit fraud or gain access sensitive information.

Common examples of such fraud include:

• Fraudulent demands for missing taxes or transportation fees for a GLS shipment or for products transported by GLS.
• Replies to sales listing online that fraudulently claim a GLS courier will deliver a payment to you after you make a payment for the service.
• Fraudulent messages that claim a payment order has been sent to you via GLS and you need to make a payment before receiving the money.

GLS does not offer payment services, where a GLS couriers would deliver cash payments or facilitate payments for private individuals selling their products online, nor does GLS offer cash-on-delivery for shipments to Finland.

The list above contains examples of types of fraud that have come to our attention in the past. However, online criminals are constantly coming up with new types of fraud attempts and other types of fraud exists. Be alert for possible fraud especially if:

• You receive a request for payment and you do not know what the payment is for
• Any messages that request you to first pay a smaller sum of money to receive a larger sum back later.
• The message demands urgent payment and contains aggressive treats such as legal action or destroying the shipment if you do not react immediately. Fraudulent messages often try to create a false sense of urgency with treats or aggressive behavior.
• You receive a message that claims to be related to a GLS-shipment, but the message does not contain a tracking number or the tracking number returns no results on the tracking available on the GLS website.
• A message you receive in the name of GLS contains a lot of misspelled words or grammatical errors, logos or images that are of poor quality or that clearly differ from the usual graphical appearance of a genuine message from GLS.

Also note that genuine messages or invoices from GLS are never sent from address of free email services, such as emails ending with gmail.com or outlook.com.

Even though many fraudulent messages contain warning signs such as above, some fraudulent messages may resemble genuine messages sent by GLS and be written in fluent English or Finnish. Some messages may even include your correct personal details such as street address or phone number, usually acquired from previous data breaches not related to GLS in any way. If you are unsure whether a message you received is genuine, you can contact the GLS customer service for guidance. If you do contact us regarding suspected fraud, never use the contact information that may be provided the suspicious message or answer that message. Always check the contact details from the official GLS website.

GLS is in no way connected to the criminals behind the fraudulent messages and if payments are made as a result of these fraudulent messages the payment do not come to GLS. GLS is therefore unable to reimburse any such payments.

Please note that GLS is not responsible for any losses or damages you may suffer due to criminal third parties abusing the GLS name.

If you want more information about internet fraud or what to do if you believe you have been a victim of internet fraud please see the webpage of the National Cyber Security Centre of Finnish Transport and Communications Agency .