How Carousell has been working to keep our users safe

Trust and safety is a top priority for us and we are committed to do our best to keep users safe. We have implemented various measures to build a robust and holistic Trust & Safety strategy. Our multi-layered defence approach has four key areas: i) Proactively stopping bad actors from getting a chance to harm users; ii) Taking swift action on any evidence of fraudulent behaviour; iii) Driving user awareness about scams; and iv) Partnering authorities and external stakeholders to share best practices and exchange information

i) Safeguards to proactive stop bad actors from getting a chance to harm users

• Machine learning and automated detection tools to quickly identify bad actors
  We engage a third party service, an all-in-one integrated tool to detect fraud trends using their extensive network of fraud data and real-time machine learning models. We are constantly updating the tools to pick up new trends and patterns, as scammers quickly change up their tactics to avoid detection.
  
  
• Community guidelines and policies to govern appropriate content and conduct.
  We provide users with a set of rules and guidelines to help everyone understand what it means and what we expect of those who are part of our Carousell community. These policies are transparent and public for all to read and abide by!
  
  
• Dispute Banners
  Dispute banners are surfaced in chat when users are dealing with another user that is under review or restricted. This helps to warn our users and serves as an additional tool to help gauge the credibility of a Carouseller before entering a transaction with them.
  
  
• In-app educational prompts
  As a community-focused marketplace, we actively educate our users, so that they can make more informed decisions in their transactions. We use multiple channels to reach our users, including in-chat prompts that advise users not to take their conversations out of the platform, as well as bite-sized safety tips for users, direct messages to users and social posts.
  
  
• 2FA email verification for suspicious logins
  When a Carousell account is being logged in through a new device, we have 2FA codes sent to the account’s email address to confirm and inform the account owner that there is an attempt to log into their Carousell account.
  
  
• Mobile verification
  All buyers and sellers have to verify their mobile number in order to chat or for their listings to be successfully listed on the marketplace. This gives our community more confidence in trusting one another, and helps to create a safer and more enjoyable marketplace. A phone-verified badge will be added onto the user’s profile once they have successfully verified their number, and this badge is visible to all on the marketplace.
  
  
• Ensuring users are up-to-date with security measures
  Users are disallowed from logging in and signing up from older app versions where the latest security measures are not available to ensure users are adequately protected with enhanced measures that are not available on older versions. We encourage users to keep their apps updated regularly.
  
  
• Buyer Protection
  Buyer Protection is an in-app payment feature that allows payment for items bought on Carousell, through supported payment methods. With Buyer Protection, money is safely held until the item is confirmed to be received as listed. Users are not required to visit external websites and provide personal details. Buyer Protection is  available in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

ii) Processes to swiftly take action on any evidence of fraudulent behaviour

• Dedicated moderation team
  On top of our automated fraud detection tools, we have a dedicated moderator team that works 7 days a week to monitor and review fraud reports.
  
  
• Report a user or listing
  Our users play a very important role on the ground as our eyes and ears to monitor the integrity of the marketplace. We allow users to report other users or listings to us that violate our community guidelines. This culture where everyone, especially our community of users, feel empowered to own some part of Carousell’s Trust & Safety, is integral in helping us keep our platform a safe and pleasant marketplace for all. Note that reports are kept anonymous unless a direct follow-up from the report is required.

iii) User education to drive awareness about scams and how to protect oneself

• Enhancing our scam education materials
  Our user education team has enhanced Carousell’s Help Centre with updated resources to help users better understand and identify potential scams, including the latest phishing scam patterns spotted on Carousell. 
  
  
• Ratings and Reviews
  Ratings and reviews help to build trust within the Carousell community. It is a tool to help gauge the credibility of a Carouseller as it reflects their transactional experience with other members of the community. Our users are encouraged to provide an accurate representation of their transactional experience.
  
  
• Education Campaigns
  We regularly run education campaigns on our platform to inform users of scam trends, as well as tips on how to transact safely.
  
  
• In-chat safety messages
  Carousell has been constantly iterating our message blocking filter on Carousell Chat to adapt to the latest trends in scams and trigger relevant warnings to users of the risk of sharing personal details.

iv) Collaborations and partnerships to share best practices and exchange information

• Government partners
  We actively collaborate with policymakers and authorities in all our major markets to share best practices, exchange information, and respond to law enforcement requests where appropriate.
  
  
• Brand Partners/Industry Experts
  To deal with counterfeit goods, we introduced the Carousell Rights Owners Programme (CROP). Under this anti-counterfeit programme, we partner trusted brands and give them the power to directly remove listings of counterfeits on Carousell with zero processing time. This has drastically reduced the time needed to takedown counterfeit listings, and allowed us to protect Carousellers from inadvertently purchasing counterfeit goods while at the same time protecting brands’ rights.
  
  
• Media
  We collaborate with various media outlets and utilise a range of social media communication channels to provide tips on how to deal safely on Carousell, what to look out for and how to avoid suspicious accounts and high risk activities.