The buyer has the right to open the package immediately upon receipt and file a complaint and return the goods if they received something they did not order

The security of online shopping has been an inexhaustible topic since internet sales became an integral part of consumer society, and with the development of artificial intelligence-based technologies, the number and sophistication of scams have increased drastically.

For this reason, on the Safe Shop portal we regularly monitor market developments and therefore decided to examine the information stated in the Jutarnji list report by sending an official inquiry to Croatian Post.

From the Corporate Communications of Croatian Post, we quickly received a statement stating that in 2024 they delivered almost 18 million packages, which is an increase of 2.5 million compared to the previous year. They add that the growth trend continues this year, with an increase of 18 percent in the first three quarters, and the peak of parcel traffic is expected during November and December.

The buyer has the right to open and return the shipment

“The buyer has the right to open the package immediately upon receipt, in the presence of the courier, which is guaranteed by law and the General Terms and Conditions of Croatian Post. If it is determined that the shipment is not what was ordered, it is possible to file a complaint and return the goods. In cases of cash on delivery, suspicion of fraud allows a refund and the return of the shipment to the sender,” Croatian Post states.

We also asked about packages that are delivered to parcel lockers. “In accordance with Article 60, Paragraph 4 of the General Terms and Conditions for the provision of other postal services, a complaint due to damage or reduction of contents, when the shipment is delivered via a parcel locker, must be submitted no later than within one hour from the moment the user opened the locker compartment and collected the shipment. After submitting the complaint, the user is obliged, as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the next working day of the post office, to come with the shipment to the post office to complete a report determining the condition of the shipment and the damage incurred,” they state.

Regarding claims about fake websites used to deceive customers, they emphasize that Croatian Post has no insight into the contents of shipments, which are confidential, and employees cannot know what is inside a shipment or whether the recipient actually ordered that shipment.

“Goods from certain well-known e-commerce stores and brands that are contractual users of Croatian Post arrive at the location in Poštanska 25. Goods also arrive there via consolidators, logistics companies we cooperate with, which collect shipments across Europe from smaller or lesser-known e-commerce stores and deliver them in bulk to Croatia for further distribution. Therefore, this location is an entry point into Croatia for shipments whose journey began in Europe,” they explain.

Customer attention is the best prevention of online fraud

Croatian Post states that the most common scams relate to the communication segment of delivery and impersonation. In recent years, there have been numerous fraud attempts involving notifications about failed deliveries, fake prize games, humanitarian actions, fake payment and delivery links, sales of undelivered packages, and scams related to online classifieds. In all cases, the sender falsely presented themselves on behalf of Croatian Post.

“We do not keep separate records of, for example, scams related to sales through classifieds, since the content of packages is not subject to Croatian Post control. If a user or recipient suspects fraud, we advise them to contact the police, as it is a relationship between the buyer and seller outside the Croatian Post system,” they state in their response.

Fake notifications can be recognized by a suspicious address (the official Croatian Post domain is posta.hr), grammatical errors, and an unclear link that typically asks the recipient to enter their bank card number and CVC/CVV code. Just one of these elements is enough to question the validity of the message.

“Official Croatian Post notifications contain a shipment number that can be checked in the shipment tracking system. If you received a fake SMS at the same time you are expecting a shipment, it is a coincidence. Only the recipient or sender of the shipment can obtain basic shipment information using the tracking system, provided they have the shipment number and the shipment has tracking enabled,” they state.

They also emphasize that payment or any other transaction related to delivery in Croatian Post is only possible with the courier upon delivery, at a post office, or at a parcel locker, and that Croatian Post will never request additional payment from users via SMS.

“We advise users to contact the police if they have been victims of online fraud, and the best prevention is paying attention to message details,” Croatian Post states in its response.

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