At least $180k lost to Carousell buyer phishing scam: Police
Scammers have swindled at least $180,000 from Carousell sellers since July, with at least 63 cases reported.The police warned in a statement on Friday (Oct 23) that scammers are posing as interested buyers to trick victims into giving their personal banking details.First, victims are persuaded to continue the conversation on other messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.Then, scammers send a "Carousell invoice" in a PDF file format, containing a QR code and a link to supposedly facilitate payment or to confirm the transaction.In some cases, scammers sent an additional link using the "carousell.app.link" domain to create a sense of trustworthiness.Once victims scan the QR code or click the link in the file, they would be directed to a fake Carousell website and guided by a chatbot to supposedly verify their bank account to receive payments.Victims would subsequently be directed to a phishing website mimicking a bank's website and prompted to provide their internet banking credentials, card details, OTP and/or approve digital token notifications.