Tuesday, November 22^nd Black Friday offers mean ever-increasing levels of in-store and online transactions.  An Post, the nation’s delivery partner wants everyone to enjoy their shopping sprees knowing that we are all united in beating the fraudsters.

An Post no longer  includes any payment links in texts or  emails so that customers can be clear about what is a genuine message and what is not, when they are shopping online or corresponding about orders or deliveries.

“Seeking out gifts for family and friends is an important part of the build up to Christmas and we want customers to feel as secure as possible so they can enjoy shopping online and steer clear of the scammers” says Julie Gill of the An Post Mails & Parcels customer team

“An Post will never ask a customer to pay charges or provide payment information through a link in a text or email. Customers should never ever click on any link asking for payment or delivery a customs charge.   Such fees should only ever be checked and  paid directly through anpost.com or at any local post office .

An Post has created a handy check list for customers to use when they do receive a text or email. The guide has been delivered nationwide and is also available at anpost.com

For customers buying online to send internationally, An Post reminds customers to send early and also watch out for the last dates of posting to ensure gifts are received on time.

The last dates for posting parcels to USA and International destinations is December 7^th, Europe is December 13^th, Great Britain is December 19^th and Northern Ireland is December 20^th,and posting within Ireland is December 22^nd. There are different dates for posting letters which can be found on anpost.com/Post-Parcels/Christmas/christmas-postal-dates or your local post office

For further information, contact Angus Laverty, An Post Communications at 087-6867024.