Beware of phishing scams on Carousell

 

Carousell joins hands with police in warning against online shopping scams

Police have warned people who use the popular trading platform Carousell against clicking on supposed payment links, as this could lead to their bank accounts being hacked.

The warning issued Tuesday came as the police reported 644 cases of people being defrauded of a total of $36 million in the first 10 months of the year, after they clinked on a link supplied by bogus buyers on Carousell.

But this number represents just a small fraction of the total number of technology crimes recorded in the same period.

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According to the authorities, 28,000 such scams have been reported so far, a 23.7 percent increase over the same period last year.

Of these, a third involved online shopping, where the total losses amounted to a total of $332 million, more than double than in the previous year.

In the case of Carousell, the number of scams rose ironically, after the online selling platform introduced a new system in August to prevent fraud. Under this set-up, a seller receives payment only after the buyer has confirmed receipt of the goods.

But scammers found a way to exploit the new system from the get-go, resulting in 330 cases of fraud being reported between August and October, involving losses amounting to $25 million.

According to the police, scammers would pose as buyers and offer to pay for the items through the new system, but would then ask the seller to provide an email address.

After the seller provided an email address, the supposed buyer passed on a phishing link, which when clicked, led to a website that asked for details of the seller’s online banking account, supposedly for payment.

The fraudsters posing as buyers would then drain the victims’ accounts.

In one case, the losses involved amounted to $900,000.

Carousell chief of staff Tan Su-lin said users are not supposed to provide their email address when using the payment service, and should definitely not click on links or scan QR codes from unknown senders, or provide sensitive personal information over email or chat.

“In today's day and age, it's really a very risky behaviour to click on any links that you receive, whether it's via e-mail, or through your WhatsApp,” she said.

Chief Inspector Felton Leung said buyers eager to snap a bargain on the platform are also victimized, as in the case of people who are desperate to get hold of concert tickets on the black market.

“The scammers … play mind games with the victims. They knew that the victims want [the product] so much and it's so hard to get in any other places, so they will put on some time frame or time constraint on the victims. If they don't settle the deal as soon as possible, they will not get the tickets”, he explained.

Leung advised buyers to transact only with reputable sellers, and to opt for face-to-face transaction whenever possible.

Police said similar scams had been reported in Singapore and Malaysia, so they will investigate whether these are linked to those in Hong Kong, and whether they were the work of the same syndicate.

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