Ask AI how to check a suspicious delivery text yourself
A Japanese blogger who writes as 酔いどれ (yoidoreo) about bringing AI into life for him and his wife, a couple in their 70s, was handed a phone by his wife with a text from a supposed delivery company. Instead of telling her it was a scam, he suggested they ask AI. It taught her how to check the message herself, and she deleted it on her own.
What they did
The text said a package was being held and asked her to tap a link. The sender's number looked unfamiliar and the link was slightly different from the company's real website, so he thought it was probably a scam. But he realized that if he just said so, she wouldn't learn why, and would bring the next one to him too. So they asked AI whether a delivery text with a link like this was a scam. Then she typed a follow-up question herself, slowly, with one finger: should she not open the link?
How it went
The AI didn't simply say yes or no. It gave three things she could check herself: search the sender's number online, compare the web address in the link with the company's official site, and look at her order history to see whether she was expecting a package. It said that if she wasn't, the safe move was not to open the link and to check on the official site instead. They searched the number, and she scrolled ahead and saw with her own eyes that people had linked it to scams and phishing. Her follow-up got an answer that also covered what to do if a link is opened by mistake. She read it to the end and deleted the text, saying she could do this on her own. His post is in Japanese.
Worth knowing
Fake delivery texts are a common scam. Don't tap the link. Check your package by typing the delivery company's or store's website yourself or using its official app. AI can be wrong, so treat its answer as a guide, not a final word. If you already tapped a link or entered card or account details, call your bank or card company at the number on your card, and report the text at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM). Don't paste your own name, address, or tracking numbers into the chat.
Try it yourself
Copy this into AI assistant (not named in the source) (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
I got a text that says it's from [delivery company] about a package. It says: [paste the text, but leave out the link and any personal details]. Please don't just tell me whether it's a scam. Instead: 1) Give me the steps I can take myself to check it, such as how to look up the sender's number and how to tell whether a web address belongs to the real company. 2) List any warning signs you see in the wording. 3) Tell me the safe way to check on a package without using the link. 4) Tell me what to do if I've already tapped the link by mistake.
Source: 酔いどれ (yoidoreo), note (yoidoreo's blog), May 18, 2026. Read the original →
First-hand account by the person who did it. Summarized in our own words.
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