ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Scammers so commonly change the appearance of what you see and hear, and that’s how they take your money.

So, on this April Fool’s Day, News10NBC’s Consumer Investigator Deanna Dewberry takes you inside one of the most prevalent scams circulating today, the USPS undelivered package text message scam so you can see exactly what to look for.

The first red flag is the fact that a message allegedly from USPS would come in the form a text message.

This text message scam about an unclaimed package is so prevalent that the USPS has released a video to educate consumers.

Text messages claiming to be from the United States Postal Service have been pinging phones across the country, asking recipients to claim a package, but it’s a scam.

The second red flag, the link shown in the message above. You should always be wary about clicking on any link you get in a text message because some will release spyware or malware on your device.

In this particular case, it’s a phishing scam, and the link eventually takes you to this official looking page complete with a tracking number and a message, delivery failed, addressee unknown.

But look at the web address. That’s the third red flag. The US Postal Service address is USPS.com.

To learn the scammer’s methods, our Consumer Investigative Reporter Deanna Dewberry put in fake information. At name, she put in her favorite American supermodel Beverly Johnson. For address, she put in the address of Parcel 5, 285 East Main Street, as well as a fake phone number and email address.

And that’s when the scammers charge you a bogus 30 cent delivery fee and ask for your credit card number, and that’s when they take your money.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost nearly $330 million to text message scams last year, with the USPS scam leading the way. So, on this April Fool’s Day, it’s a good time to remind all of you that often nothing is as it seems. And that’s your consumer alert.