The checker reads one suspicious email. Batmail reads your whole inbox overnight.
Paste the DHL email into the checker and it reads it for the signs below.
The checker reads the sender address, the wording, any link address you paste with the email and what the email asks you to do. It gives a verdict, a risk score from 0 to 100, the exact wording behind each red flag and what to do next. It is free and needs no signup.
Batmail phishing email checker
A fake DHL email holds a parcel hostage for a small fee and a short deadline.
The FTC says a fake shipping notice might say you missed a delivery attempt, or that your item is ready to ship but you need to update your shipping preferences, and that some create a sense of urgency by saying they will return your package to the sender. DHL’s fraud page describes the same pull with a payment attached. The email below is invented, and each number is one of the signs.
Example
Hello customer,
Your parcel 0000000000 is held at our depot because a customs and handling fee is unpaid.
Pay $3.49 by card today to release it.
If you do not pay within 12 hours, the parcel goes back to the sender.
The button says dhl.com/pay
The sender's address is not one DHL names.
The name says DHL, but the part after the @ belongs to someone else. DHL lists its sending domains, covered in the next section.
A parcel on hold that you did not ask about.
The FTC says a fake shipping notice might say you missed a delivery attempt, or that your item is ready to ship but needs an update.
A small fee paid by card.
DHL says the only payments it requests via email or SMS are for customs duties and taxes, with a one-time passcode sent to the consignee's registered contact before the payment is processed.
A deadline and a threat to send it back.
The FTC says some fake shipping notices create a sense of urgency by saying they will return your package to the sender.
A button that says dhl.com and goes somewhere else.
DHL says it never links to a website other than its own, such as https://dhl.com/ or https://dpdhl.com/, or a country or campaign website.
From DHL: Fraud Awareness (United States), read 7 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: Fake shipping notification emails and text messages, read 7 November 2026.
DHL lists the domains its email comes from, so you can read the sender against it.
Anyone can put “DHL” in front of an address. The part to read is the domain, after the @. Read it from the right: the last two parts name the owner, and everything in front of them is only a label the owner chose. DHL says official communication is always sent from @dhl.com and its subdomains such as @express.dhl.com, from @dpdhl.com or @dhl-news.com, or from an address with a country domain after @dhl such as @dhl.de. It also says it never uses @gmail, @yahoo or other free email services.
Read the domain from the right
express.dhl.com
From DHLOwned by dhl.com. DHL names @express.dhl.com among its sending addresses.
dhl.com.parcel-fees.example
Not from DHLOwned by parcel-fees.example. dhl.com is only a label in front of it.
dhl-parcel-clearance.example
Not from DHLOwned by dhl-parcel-clearance.example. The name has DHL in it, but the owner is someone else.
DHL adds one warning: a spoofed email can come from a fake address that uses a legitimate DHL domain. When the sender looks right but the email still seems wrong, DHL says to inspect it for an urgent tone, grammatical errors, unfamiliar URLs or attachments.
From DHL: Fraud Awareness (United States), read 7 November 2026.
DHL says the only payments it asks for by email or text are customs duties and taxes.
DHL does not say you will never owe anything. It says its notice does not change a consignee’s obligation to pay shipping, customs, VAT or similar charges that are properly payable at delivery. What it limits is what it asks for by email or text, and how.
| Question | What DHL says | What a fake DHL email does |
|---|---|---|
| Who sent it? | What DHL saysOfficial DHL communication always comes from dhl.com and its subdomains, dpdhl.com, dhl-news.com or a country domain after @dhl. DHL never uses free email services. | What a fake DHL email doesIt comes from a look-alike domain or a free email address. |
| What does it ask you to pay? | What DHL saysThe only payments DHL requests via email or SMS are for customs duties and taxes, with a one-time passcode sent to the consignee's registered contact first. | What a fake DHL email doesA small fee to release a parcel, paid by card on the page its button opens. |
| Where does the link go? | What DHL saysDHL says it never links to a website other than its own, such as dhl.com or dpdhl.com, or a country or campaign website. | What a fake DHL email doesA button that says dhl.com and opens a different domain. |
| How does it sound? | What DHL saysDHL says to inspect a suspicious email for an urgent tone, grammatical errors, unfamiliar URLs or attachments. | What a fake DHL email doesA deadline of hours, and a threat to send the parcel back. |
From DHL: Fraud Awareness (United States), read 7 November 2026.
DHL names three signs of a fake DHL text, and one address takes the screenshot.
The same parcel story arrives as a text. DHL’s page lists what its fraud team looks for, and says fake emails using its name mostly concern goods sold over the Internet, where payment may be asked for before the goods are delivered.
Three signs of a fake DHL text
- A shortened link
The link hides where it really goes.
DHL says SMS scams often include a shortened URL, for example one starting with https://bit.ly/.
- A generic sender
A name such as “Delivery” instead of a number.
DHL says the sender number is not visible, and you find a generic name instead.
- A strange number
A country prefix you would not expect.
DHL says the number starts with a country prefix outside an expected territory, for example +235.
For a text, DHL asks you to send a screenshot to phishing@dhl.com and to include the suspicious phone number in the message.
From DHL: Fraud Awareness (United States), read 7 November 2026.
Five steps tell you whether a DHL email is real without clicking anything.
- Leave the button and every link alone. DHL says to refrain from clicking on any unknown links or opening attachments that seem suspicious.
- Read the sender’s address from the right and compare it with DHL’s list above. If it is not on the list, or it is a free email address, do not trust the email.
- Check the parcel yourself. The FTC says to go to the site where you bought the item and look up the shipping and delivery status there, or to contact the shipping company using a phone number or website you know is real, and not the information in the message.
- Paste the email into the checker at the top of this page for a second read.
- Drag the email into a new message and send it to
phishing@dhl.comas an attachment, because DHL needs the complete mail headers and a forwarded message does not include them. DHL also says to report it as spam in your mail app. In Gmail you can choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
From DHL: Fraud Awareness (United States), read 7 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: Fake shipping notification emails and text messages, read 7 November 2026.
From Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails, read 7 November 2026.
If you clicked or paid, the FTC lists the steps that match what you did.
DHL’s page covers how to report, not what to do after a click. The FTC’s phishing page covers a download, and its page for people who were scammed covers payments and personal information. The FTC also warns that the link in a fake shipping notice can install malware that steals your information.
What to do depends on what you did
You only read it.
Send it to phishing@dhl.com as an attachment, then delete it.
You clicked the link or opened an attachment.
Update your computer's security software, run a scan and remove what it finds.
You paid, or entered card details or a login.
Follow the FTC’s steps for what to do if you were scammed and the steps at IdentityTheft.gov.
From FTC Consumer Advice: Fake shipping notification emails and text messages, read 7 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed, read 7 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, read 7 November 2026.
The same checks work on other delivery emails.
A parcel on hold for a fee is the most common delivery scam. The guide to fake USPS emails covers the same message in a postal version, and the guide to fake Amazon order emails covers an order you never placed. The holiday scam emails guide puts the kinds side by side.
These are the questions people ask next.
Does DHL ask for payment by email or text?
DHL says the only payments it requests via email or SMS are for customs duties and taxes, and that the process includes a one-time passcode sent to the consignee's registered contact before the payment is processed. It adds that this does not change a consignee's obligation to pay shipping, customs, VAT or similar charges when they are properly payable at the time of delivery.
What address does a real DHL email come from?
DHL says official communication is always sent from @dhl.com and its subdomains such as @express.dhl.com, from @dpdhl.com, @dhl-news.com, or from addresses with a country domain after @dhl such as @dhl.de. It says it never uses @gmail, @yahoo or other free email services, and warns that spoofed emails can use fake addresses with DHL's legitimate domains.
What does a fake DHL text look like?
DHL says scam texts often include a shortened link, such as one starting with https://bit.ly/, hide the sender number behind a generic name like "Delivery", or come from a number with a country prefix outside the expected territory, such as +235. It asks you to send a screenshot of the text, with the phone number, to phishing@dhl.com.
Where do I report a fake DHL email?
DHL asks you to send suspicious emails to phishing@dhl.com. From a computer, drag the email into a new message and send it as an attachment, because DHL needs the complete mail headers and a forwarded message does not include them. DHL says it investigates every report but generally will not respond to personal inquiries.
Does DHL take payment for goods bought or sold online?
DHL says fake emails using its name mostly concern the sale of consumer goods over the Internet, where payment may be requested before the goods are delivered. It says it accepts no responsibility for costs, charges or payments made which were improperly incurred as a result of fraudulent activity.
What should I do if I clicked the link or paid?
If something may have downloaded, the FTC says to update your computer's security software, run a scan and remove what it finds. For details you shared, such as a card number, IdentityTheft.gov lists the steps that match what you lost.
Every step on this page comes from these official pages.
Read on . Spot a step that has changed? Email support@batmail.ai and we will fix it.