President Trump’s tariff policies could be opening doors for cybercriminals, scammers and hackers looking to make a quick buck off confused consumers, experts warn.
People will expect to be paying more for their goods, but they might not understand where that price will be tacked on — enabling bad actors to request faux tariff-related payments or advertise relief that won’t ever come.
BforeAI’s PreCrime Labs team found roughly 300 tariff-related domain registrations for cybercriminal use, according to the cybersecurity company’s recent report.
Fake package messages and government emails
Customers could be on the receiving end of calls, texts or emails that claim they owe tariffs on a package they’ve already received or that is headed their way.
Some messages could come from websites and emails that may seem official, given titles like “U.S. Customs” or “U.S. Tariffs,” Lifehacker reports.
But don’t be fooled. Tariffs are paid by the importing companies, which then raise prices and essentially pass on the price hike to consumers — the average American likely won’t have to fork over any tariff payments outside of a typical transaction setting.
Bentley University professor Steve Weisman, creator of Scamicide.com, also warns of emails that look like they’re from common delivery services. The phony postal companies may say a package is available for delivery, but only after a tariff is paid.
“In a variation on the previous delivery scam, someone posing as a Federal Express or other delivery service employee actually comes to your home the day after you received a delivery asking you to pay for the tariff on the delivery you received,” Weisman wrote. “In this case the scammer has learned of the delivery through hacking your computer.”
Tariff-relief payments
Similar to pandemic-era stimulus check scams, consumers should avoid advertisements claiming “tariff relief payments” from the government.
There is no such thing, as of May 2025, and clicking on links for the supposed relief could lead to phishing sites looking for personal information.
How to avoid tariff scams
Like any other scam, avoiding a tariff-related scheme is a matter of thinking before clicking, confirming or sharing information.
The Better Business Bureau urges potential victims to:
- Never send money to someone you’ve never met in person
- Avoid links or attachments in unsolicited emails
- Don’t send personally identifiable information
- Double-check transactions are secure
Those who believe they’ve been a victim of a scam can report the scheme to the BBB at this link.
