A 28-year-old woman in Singapore fell victim to a scam while attempting to sell her branded Louis Vuitton bag on Carousell, a popular online marketplace.
The Initial Contact
According to Shin Min Daily News, Lu Jiamin, the victim, had listed her Louis Vuitton bag for sale at a price of S$3,400 on Carousell on June 21. Soon after, she received a message from an interested buyer who claimed to be purchasing the bag for his mother. The buyer even provided an email address for Lu to send pictures of the bag for his mother to review.
After sending the photos, Lu received a message from the buyer expressing satisfaction with the product. The buyer also informed her that he had made full payment using CarouPay, the in-app payment feature on Carousell.
It is important to note that Lu was not familiar with CarouPay and had not set up the feature previously.
To complete the transaction, Lu received an email from a sender claiming to be from the Singapore Carousell team. The email contained a “confirmation link” that she clicked on.
Unfortunately, this led her to an external site that resembled the Carousell homepage. The page indicated that the buyer had made the payment and instructed Lu to enter her bank details to set up CarouPay.
Trusting the process, Lu complied with the instructions and entered her bank details. Unbeknownst to her, this was a trap set by scammers.
Shortly after, Lu discovered that a substantial sum of S$9,900 had been transferred from her account to an overseas location. Realizing she had fallen victim to a scam, she immediately took action.
Lu acted quickly by contacting her bank to freeze her account and lower the transaction limit. She also lodged a police report to report the fraudulent incident.
Fortunately, due to the prompt actions taken by Lu and the cooperation of her bank, the entire amount of money was recovered within two days.
Lu considers herself fortunate, as many scam victims do not have the same outcome.
Reflecting on her experience, Lu shared that this type of Carousell scam is prevalent in Malaysia and has recently started targeting individuals in Singapore.
She hopes that by sharing her story, others will become aware of such scams and be cautious when engaging in online transactions. It serves as a reminder for everyone to stay vigilant and adopt safe practices when using online marketplaces.