As parcel volumes reach three million per week in the run-up to Christmas, the public has been warned about an online scam purporting to come from An Post.

The email contains an An Post logo, in on-brand colours, and request for a small payment for the shipment of a parcel, held up due to unpaid customs duty.

The following was received in an email by a member of the Gazette team last night, and helps to flag to our readers the how the scam looks.

Cunning

A spokeswoman said the scam is “extremely cunning” but is purely a ploy to extract bank details.

“An Post will never ask for money by email,” she said.

An IT expert said that online scams are becoming a lot more sophisticated, but pointed out that credit-card online payments would be covered by insurance.

Anyone caught out by the scam is advised to contact their bank immediately and arrange cancellation of the debit or credit card used.

This is the second scam that the Gazette has brought to the attention of two separate Government agencies in recent weeks.

"We have been successful in having many of these scams taken down and will investigate this one," an An Post spokesman told Gazette.ie