There’s a huge shopping week ahead with Black Friday 2025 officially kicking off on Friday, November 28. Whilst that’s great news for those looking for a bargain, it can also be a dangerous period for unsuspecting consumers. Cyber crooks love this period as it’s a prime time to catch people out with convincing text message scams. In a bid to keep customers safe and stop them becoming a victim, O2 has just issued a major warning and is telling everyone “to stay vigilant”.

One of the biggest concerns is delivery scams. With more people buying things online at this time of the year, it can be easy to lose track of what’s been ordered, and this makes it simple for hackers to send out missed delivery and other types of shopping messages.

“With deal-hunters expected to spend billions over the Black Friday weekend, a quarter (25%) of Brits admit to often forgetting what they’ve bought and only remembering when it arrives at their door. This can make delivery scam texts more believable – something scammers are planning to exploit,” O2 explained.

To keep customers safe, Virgin Media O2 says it now uses AI and firewall technology to prevent scam texts and calls from reaching customers’ phones. Since it launched this technology, the UK network says that hundreds of millions of scam texts have been blocked this year alone, including millions of fake delivery scam messages.

If you are worried about this type of threat, O2 has 5 useful tips aimed at helping you stay safe.

HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM DELIVERY SCAMS

Keep a note of what you’ve ordered and where from: With 6 in 10 Brits doing much more shopping over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s easy to lose track – noting down what you’ve ordered and where from helps spot fake confirmations and phishing scams.

Before you click, always double check any link that looks suspicious: Delivery scam texts typically try to take you to a fake online website. If there’s a link that looks unusual, is shortened using bit.ly, or an especially long address when it’s claiming to be from one of the big providers (DPD, Evri, Royal Mail or Yodel) it could be a scam.

Watch out for urgent payment requests: Fraudsters often try to get their victims to act immediately. If a message claims your parcel won’t arrive unless you pay immediately, it’s a major red flag. Legitimate delivery companies don’t demand instant payments via text.

Check the sender details: On most new smartphones, trusted delivery companies appear as the brand, for example ‘DPD’ or ‘Royal Mail’, instead of a random number. If you see an unfamiliar number or something that looks odd – particularly if it is not a UK number (+44), treat it with caution.

Be cautious of generic messages without any specific reference to where or what you’ve ordered: Scammers are hoping to catch out as many people as possible which is why they keep their messages generic. If they provide too much information – such as the fake website or fake package details – they know Brits are likely to be warier.

Speaking about the latest threat, James Harwood, Fraud Prevention Strategy Lead at Virgin Media O2 said: “Black Friday should be about landing great deals – not becoming victim to fraud. But unfortunately, sophisticated scammers know busy shopping periods are a perfect time for them to act.

“We have blocked hundreds of millions of scam texts, including fake delivery messages, this year alone. But this festive season we’re issuing new advice to help more Brits swerve the scammers. Don’t get stung this Black Fraud-day. If something looks suspicious, don’t click. Instead, report it to 7726 so we can investigate.”