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A new wave of suspected delivery scam messages has drawn laughs online after fraudsters tried to sound more “local” by using Cantonese phrases — only to be exposed by awkward wording and strange expressions.
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A social media user shared a screenshot of a suspicious text message on Wednesday (Aug 12), saying the message was so unnatural that it was immediately obvious something was wrong.
The message said: “Your parcel delivery failed. Please quickly call: 2XXX-XXX8 to arrange parcel collection or where to leave it. Thank you!”
However, internet users quickly spotted the awkward wording, with many questioning phrases such as “yiu gin” — believed to be a typo for “lo gin,” meaning “collect parcel”.
“Is everyone receiving the same thing?” one user joked, while others said they had also received similar messages in recent days.
Some users said the scammers appeared to have tried to make the messages look more like everyday Hong Kong Cantonese, with fewer obvious clues such as simplified Chinese characters, but their unnatural sentence structures gave them away.
“Cantonese is basically a scam filter,” one commenter joked, while another said the language’s complexity made it difficult for outsiders to imitate.
However, some users warned against mocking the messages too much, saying people should not “teach scammers” how to improve their wording.
They said fraud groups could quickly adjust their tactics, and warned that some people could still fall victim despite the obvious mistakes.
Some users also suggested that scammers may deliberately include errors to filter out less cautious recipients and avoid automated detection systems.
They reminded the public that the safest way to verify delivery messages was to check through official courier apps or contact delivery companies directly, rather than clicking links or calling numbers provided in suspicious texts.
