Asos hack fears after thousands of shoppers sent sinister phone message

| Senior science and technology reporter Published October 6, 2026 10:26am Updated October 6, 2026 11:00am Asos is an online shopping website and app (Picture: Patrick/BFA.com/Shutterstock) Hundreds of Asos shoppers have received a bizarre phone notification suggesting that the online shopping platform has been hacked. The notification sent just before 10am reads: ‘Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.’ It includes a link to a Telegram channel called Xuanye gateway that asks users to join a second broadcast channel, the Xuanye group. In a post sent just before 11am, the group said: ‘Regarding ASOS, payment information is not affected. That is all for now. Xuanye group say this is its ‘legitimate channel’ and to ‘please be wary of impersonation and deception’. ‘Enquiries’ must be directed to a Telegram account, which charges 10 Telegram stars – the messaging app’s currency – per message. The notification dinged on phones this morning Sophos, a security software company which monitors the dark web, told Metro that the Xuanye group is a ‘new group’. ‘There’s no mention of them on any dark web forums,’ referring to the underbelly of the web that uses tech to hide a user’s identity and location. ‘DPO’ in the notification refers to a data protection officer, a company worker who safeguards customer information. Snowflake, meanwhile, is a cloud platform companies rely on to keep on top of data. Hundreds of users are also reporting issues accessing the Asos mobile phone app, according to online outage tracker Downdetector. Asos has been approached for comment. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. Arrow MORE: Barrel-leg jeans, Harrington jackets and chunky knits dominate Topman’s new collection Arrow MORE: Never Fully Dressed launches AI tool that lets you try on clothes without buying them Arrow MORE: Looking for a Barbour jacket alternative? M&S shoppers recommend this £110 style News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.