Before I commence, I understand that I would have to pay Tax and customs duty.
I haven’t received any email confirmation from pimax with a tracking number. Checked my junk folder as well.
I received an SMS from FedEx-EXP requesting the payment of duty and taxes through a link.
The link directs to a third party service “paydollar” for the payment of fees
The tracking number in the text matches my order on the FedEx tracking website.
I have a FedEx account and nothing is listed under my account there. Nor do I have any emails in junk or inbox confirming the shipment with tracking details.
Could this be a scam? In the past when I preordered an HTC Vive I recall the process of paying duty and tax was different I got a call from FedEx directly when the shipment was in Australia before delivering to my door and I had a written email trail detailing the process.
In this case the shipment is still in Shanghai, hasn’t been sent out yet and all I got a text message out of the blue.
Is this the process other pre-order customers have followed? It might be legitimate and I’d look like an oaf here but I don’t want to risk it until I can confirm.
A package tracking number is provided in the SMS sent to me (on 04/09/2020) by what I assume is FedEx, when searching this tracking number on FedEx’s official website I can see relevant Pimax order details down to the SO number and location so that order is definitely mine.
I tried contacting FedEx today but they are too busy given the current situation, I can’t get to them by phone.
I will try to contacting them again tomorrow, but please do check on your end as well.
My problem is that I can’t confirm whether a third party somehow managed to get hold of my tracking number and send me an SMS. I have received several crafty FedEx phishing emails lately that look very convincing at a glance and FedEx’s suspicious approach towards paying duty does not help in this regard.
FedEx really need to improve their process, using a third party tool for payment and not providing any information besides the tracking number that could be cross checked for legitimacy on their official website is just as bad as their previous approach of cold calling people out of the blue and asking for credit card details over the phone, it does not instill confidence.