How does the scam work?

  • You advertise a product. Someone gets in touch and wants to buy it. You agree that you will sell it to the person.
  • You will be asked for your email address.
  • You will receive an email from “TeamShpock”. The email looks like it actually comes from Shpock. In reality, it is fake and fraudulent.
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Screenshot: Fake email from “TeamShpock”
  • The email states that the buyer has “successfully completed the transaction” and you must confirm the purchase. To do this you can click on a button.
  • When you click on the button, you supposedly land on the “official Shpock payout page”.

What happens on the fake “withdrawal page”?

Your product, the purchase amount and the buyer’s data are already created on the “payout page”. Everything seems professional. Below you can see two screenshots of fake “Shpock withdrawal platforms”.

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Screenshots: Fake Shpock “withdrawal sites”.

The criminals are particularly sophisticated. There is also a live chat on this payout site. There you will instruct the criminals exactly what you have to do now.

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Screenshot: Live chat on fake withdrawal page with instructions.

You will be instructed to enter your bank details and approve the payment in your banking app (in this case s Identity). In the chat they explain to you that you will get the money if you confirm the amount in the app. In reality, you release a payment and transfer it to the criminals.

This scam exists on all common classifieds platforms. Read how criminals operate on Willhaben , Vinted or Facebook Marketplace .

How do I protect myself from sales fraud?

  • Always communicate via the platform’s messaging portal.
  • Do not provide buyers with your phone number or email address. The purchasing process is completed in the app.
  • If you receive emails from the classifieds platform, check the email address. If you are unsure whether it is the real address, compare it with previous emails from the platform.
  • If the process was different in previous sales, you should be suspicious! It's better to cancel the sale and trust your gut feeling.
  • Be skeptical if buyers try to pressure you into a certain course of action. If buyers are pushy, there's probably a reason for it: to steal your money!
  • Never release payments in your banking app. When you receive money, you do not have to confirm or accept it in your app.

I have transferred, what can I do?

  • Contact your bank immediately. It may be possible to stop the transfer.
  • File a police report.

Also read: Smartphone shock: The sophisticated scam of digital fraud

Source:

Watchlist Internet


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