Latest Scam Alerts

Phishing Scammers Impersonating Carousell
2024-07-23



Defrauding Tricks

Posing as interested buyers on Carousell, scammers privately texted sellers and asked them to leave the platform to conduct transactions of items through the so-called “Carousell Protection”, a third-party custodial service through which Carousell keeps the payment buyers make and transfers it to sellers after buyers confirm reception of items.

 

The scammers asked the sellers for their email addresses and then sent them emails purportedly from Carousell, claiming that payment had been deposited on Carousell and asking the sellers to click on a hyperlink. By doing so, the sellers were directed to a fraudulent website where they were asked to provide bank account or credit card information (such as password and CVV) to receive payment. 

 

As soon as the unwary sellers input the information, their accounts were hijacked and they suffered pecuniary loss. 

 

Our Advice

  • Do not log on to any suspicious websites by hastily clicking on hyperlinks embedded in emails, SMS messages or web pages;

  • Do not input your personal information, credit card details, 3-digit security codes (CVC/CVV) and one-time passwords into unknown applications or websites;

  • Carousell Protection is not yet available in Hong Kong;

  • For more safety tips, please check out the scam advisories on the official web page of Carousell;

  • You may enter suspicious information on “Scameter” or “Scameter+”, the mobile app of “Scameter”, for security check;

  • If in doubt, please call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries.