Local Trends and Safety Advisories [Hong Kong]

Avoid these latest scams in Hong Kong! We update these safety advisories regularly to share with users what to look out for and how to protect themselves. 

If you come across any suspicious accounts, please report it to our team.

• [July 2023 till now] 🔥🔥🔥 Attention - Ongoing phishing scams! Scammers may impersonate as Carousell customer support, staff or buyers, to send you links, emails, text messages or QR codes directing to phishing websites which look like a genuine one, tricking you into paying fees or inputting credit card details. Here are some common tricks:
  • Pretend as our system message, claiming that you need to sign some documents and make payment first, otherwise your Carousell account would be suspended. They will also ask you to continue the conversation offline via a link provided. 
  • Impersonate as buyer to chat with you on Carousell, later claiming that they need your email/phone number to pay you, or asking you to scan a QR code they provided to receive their payment.
  • Impersonate as our staff to contact you directly via other third-party platforms (e.g. WhatsApp), claiming that there are unusual activities in your Carousell account and you have to make fund transfer in order to unlock your account.
    
    We would like to remind our users that, please avoid taking the conversation off the platform, bypassing our system prompts, clicking on any link or providing personal information at will. It is obviously suspicious if there are deliberate typos in the message/URL/email address, e.g. "Whats@pp", "Te!egram" etc. Meanwhile, please note that there is no official on-platform payment system and courier service for transactions of Carousell in Hong Kong at this moment. Our support team will also not ask users to make payment to unlock Carousell account or provide complete credit card information. If you are not sure whether the one contacting you is from Carousell or have any doubts, feel free to go to our Help Centre support.carousell.com and verify with official support team first.
    
    

• [Sep 2023🥮] With Mid-autumn Festival around the corner, pay extra attention if you are looking to buy mooncakes vouchers online! We strongly encourage you to avoid making upfront payment, choose meet-up and only buy from verified sellers with good reviews and more selling history. Check here for more tips!
  
  
• [July 2023] Concert season is around the corner and concert ticket scams are on the rise. Avoid listings with unreasonable pricing and opt for meet-ups to cross check the authenticity of the ticket physically. Be wary when sellers try to get you to make advance payments or pay immediately to secure the tickets – scammers will try to create a false sense of urgency by claiming that they have other buyers lined up to get you to transfer to them as soon as possible.
  
  
• [Apr & May 2023] Beware of individuals impersonating as Carousell staff and protect yourself from scams. We've received reports that scammers may approach people via other platforms (e.g. WhatsApp) and:
  • Impersonate as our staff to offer paid tasks and use various pretexts to lure people into paying fees. After snatching the money, they will be out of contact; Or 
  • Impersonate as our support team and claim that there is issue in your Carousell account. They will urge you to click on the link they provided to contact the so-called "customer service agent"; Or
  • Impersonate as our staff and claim to provide cash reward after finishing a survey.
    
    When in doubt about whether someone contacting you is from Carousell, please always feel free to cross check their contact information with our team first through our official Help Centre support.carousell.com
    
    

• [Mar 2023] Looking for high value items? Beware of accounts that suddenly posting high value products which have never been listed before, with empty description and/or the price is too good to be true! Usually scammers will also refuse to meet in person on various pretexts or ask for advance payments. Please be alerted and always do your due diligence to make sure sellers indeed have the products on hand and opt for a meet-up so that you can check before making payment.
  
  
• [Jan & Feb 2023] Scammers might take advantage of high demand items such as latest concert or event tickets and ask for advance payments and/or do delivery only. Always do your due diligence especially before making such a high value item transaction: check for seller's profile and reviews, avoid listings with unreasonable pricing, beware of fake tickets and opt for safer dealing method such as meet-up if possible.
  
  
• [Dec 2022] Attention sellers - Phishing fraud is on the rise. Scammers are now posing as interested buyers. The buyer would claim that:
  • They will arrange for a courier to collect the item, and that payment has already been made. You will then be asked to provide either your mobile number / email address to receive payment. Shortly after, you will receive a link from the "courier".
  • Or, they are paying through Carousell Protection and that they will need your mobile number / email address to complete the order. Shortly after, you will receive a link from "Carousell".
    
    That website is often disguised to look like it's from the delivery courier or Carousell, and you will be prompted to key in your credit card details to receive payment. Sometimes, the link may even direct you to a fake Carousell customer service site, pretending to be a Carousell customer service agent to ask for your credit card details to receive payment.
    
    We would like to reminder our sellers in Hong Kong that Carousell Protection is NOT available in Hong Kong at the moment and that our customer service agent will never ask for your full credit card details.
    
    Be wary when receiving links / SMS / emails / QR codes, and never key in personal details into unknown links. Even if you receive an SMS from "Carousell", keep a close look out for Carousell impersonators. For example, the sender may be from "Carouse I I" (using capitalised "i" or "1" to look like a small "L"). Also, just because a link contains "Carousell" doesn't mean that it is a legitimate Carousell link! For more tips on identifying suspicious links claiming to be from Carousell, please refer here.
    
    

• [Oct 2022] Seller - Beware of the rise in cheque scams. When you receive bank transfer payment from buyer, we strongly advise you to check your bank account to ensure the payment is instantly reflected in your available balance. If you are meeting up with the buyer, avoid accepting cheques as payment as there is a risk of the cheque being invalid.
  
  
• [Aug 2022🥮] With Mid-autumn Festival around the corner, pay extra attention if you are looking to buy mooncakes / mooncakes vouchers online! We strongly encourage you to only buy from verified sellers with reviews and more selling history. Also, choose meet-up if possible. 
  
  
• [Jul 2022] Stay alert if you are: 
  • Buyer who is looking for furniture items - We've noticed scammers who use new accounts to post furniture listings with empty description. They will try to direct you out of Carousell for contact and become uncontactable once the payment is received. Remember always and only communicate within the platform! 
  • Seller - There's scammers who use new accounts to approach sellers and claim would like to receive the item through delivery. They often direct you out of Carousell for further contact, or instruct you to click on links that resemble Carousell, which ask for your credit card details. Please note that Carousell Protection is not available in Hong Kong and we will never direct you to websites to key in personal information. For more tips on phishing emails or suspicious links claiming to be from Carousell, please refer to here.
  • Seller - Beware of the rise in cheque scams. When you receive bank transfer payment from buyer, we strongly advise you to check your bank account to ensure the payment is instantly reflected in your available balance. If you are meeting up with the buyer, try to avoid accepting cheques as payment.

• [Mar 2022] With the early summer holiday, there is typically an increase in scams involving gaming accounts. Always take precaution when purchasing gaming accounts, virtual or tradable in-game items. Check if the seller has a good record of transaction history and avoid making upfront payment to protect yourself!
  
  
• [Feb 2022] Be careful when looking for Airpods. We've noticed a group of scammers using newly created accounts to sell Airpods, claiming it's a lucky-draw gift or they no longer need it for specific reasons. The scammers will only accept delivery and become uncontactable once payment is received. 
  
  
• [Jan 2022] Be careful when dealing with sellers whose accounts are newly created with gibberish usernames (e.g. hdhdhshjd). These scammers usually sell polaroid camera, toys, currency exchange service. Buyers will be asked to make payment via Alipay, only to have the seller becomes uncontactable afterwards.
  
  
• [Nov 2021] Don't drop your guard just because it's an old account / long-term seller! We’ve noticed a trend whereby scammers use older accounts to sell items including electronics (e.g. Kindle, Logitech, VR headset), themed park tickets, hobbies & toys. The scammers will initially pretend to be willing to do meet-ups yet to have them cancelled with excuses and suggest delivery instead. The recipient last name is often specific and non-local such as "JIANG", "XIU", "ZHANG" etc,. 
  
  
• When it comes to luxury items, be extra alert if the product is brand new, claimed authentic yet significantly cheaper than the market price --  it's probably too good to be true! Ask the seller more questions before you proceed to purchase.