Is It Safe to Shop Black Friday Deals From a Text Link?
Learn how to spot fake delivery and deal texts and shop Black Friday sales without risking logins or card data.
No, it is not safe to shop from an unsolicited Black Friday deal text. Open the retailer's own website or app yourself instead of tapping the link. Smishing means scam texts that push you to click a link or open a file.
Holiday shoppers see many of these messages posed as delivery updates or limited-time offers.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 02, 2026.
Why does a deal text look convincing?
Attackers reuse familiar delivery and store names, logos, and order layouts. A message may warn about a delay, missed delivery, or postage due. It then urges you to tap to fix it.
That pressure is deliberate. Short deadlines and address-update requests push quick taps before you can check. Smishing and fake delivery alerts impersonating retail and logistics brands surged during the 2024 holiday shopping period, often using urgency such as your package is delayed.
What can a wrong tap cost?
A tap can open a lookalike login page that records your password. It can also ask for card numbers or Social Security numbers. The Federal Trade Commission reports consumers reported losing $470 million to scams that started with text messages in 2024, five times the 2020 total, in the FTC report on 2024 text-message scams.
Fake holiday shipping texts link to convincing lookalike Amazon, UPS, or postal websites that harvest logins and personal data, according to FBI Atlanta in its FBI Atlanta holiday scams guidance. Shoppers should navigate directly to retailer sites rather than click texted links.
How do you check the sale safely?
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says legitimate USPS tracking messages never contain a link, and unsolicited package texts demanding a click are smishing, in its USPS smishing package-tracking guidance. Treat any unexpected deal or tracking link the same way.
Do not tap, reply, or open an attachment. If the prices match, shop in that browser tab or app session. If you cannot find the item, let that text go.
- Type the store address yourself or open its app.
- Find the item and price inside your account, not the text.
- Track parcels from an order confirmation you already have.
What should you do with a suspicious text?
Do not click, call back, or enter payment or personal details. Take a screenshot with the sender number visible if you need a record. Then delete the message from your inbox.
Carrier blocking is incomplete, so reporting helps others, according to U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI holiday guidance in the USPS holiday scams guidance and the FBI holiday scams page. Forward USPS spam to [email protected] and scam texts to 7726 (SPAM).