A racist comment which appeared on a New Zealand post worker’s scanner is thought to be the work of a ‘hacker.’

The worker was delivering a parcel in Halswell this week, when he saw the racist message appear when he scanned the parcel’s barcode for delivery instructions.

The parcel was meant to be sent to an elderly man living in Halswell.

A family member of the eldery man told Chris Lynch when he didn’t receive the parcel, his posted his tracking number on a public website, thinking it was private.

“The number got copied by a “hacker” who then edited the delivery details with racist remarks.”

He is horrified that “something is going to happen to him.”

A council member has asked for a community patrol to drive past the man’s house to make him feel safe.

“The police are aware of the situation and New Zealand Post has been in contact with them to advise that it is not him,”

“NZ post have told me it has come from an untraceable location at this point and are working through it.”

A NZ Post spokesperson said the incident was appalling.

“NZ Post does not stand for any form of racism. The safety and wellbeing of our people is paramount. This incident is abhorrent and unacceptable.

“We are taking this extremely seriously – the matter is currently with the police for investigation, and we are also carrying out our own investigation.”