The Internet is huge, no one doubts that, however, here we find both legitimate and extremely useful content, as well as scams and the like that we should avoid. Now we are going to focus on a new scam that has been detected on platforms such as Wallapop and Vinted and of which we should be very attentive.
And it is that malicious users try to take advantage of our trust or good intentions by all means when using certain online services. We tell you all this because recently the Internet Security Office has just published a notice about these platforms. This is an entity that has helped us on many occasions when it comes to detecting scams and scams on the Internet.
This means that we must take the messages and warnings of this security office very seriously, as is the case at hand. As you can imagine, this new warning focuses on these some well-known platforms to sell and buy second-hand objects. For all these reasons, below we are going to show you how we can detect this scam on second-hand buying and selling platforms and avoid it.
This is how you detect the new Wallapop or Vinted scam
As the Internet Security Office publicly explains, the scam in this case focuses especially on sellers of second-hand objects. To give us a rough idea of ​​what to expect, criminals or potential buyers first show interest in a product. They then try to keep communication with us, the sellers, outside of the e-commerce platform. This is how they try to convince us that we can continue talking or negotiating through messaging services such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
In the event that we access the communication through external platforms such as those mentioned, the criminals send us a link to make the payment. However, it must be taken into account that it is a malicious link to impersonate buying/selling platforms like Wallapop. Here we have to specify the data required to be able to receive the payment and finalize the business. Among these requested data are those of our bank card so that we can receive the money.
Obviously from that moment on, cyber criminals already have our bank details and of course we will not receive anything. This means that it is a clear case of phishing of which we have become victims and for which they could misuse our cards.
Don’t fall into the trap, avoid scams
The movements that we must carry out in order not to fall for this new scam that has been detected in Wallapop or Vinted, can be extended to other similar platforms. First of all, we should never contact potential buyers outside of these platforms. They offer us a series of security measures to avoid, in many cases, this type of fraud. In addition, we should always use the payment system offered by this type of online service, since they will be sufficiently protected.
Likewise, before negotiating a sale with a potential buyer, it is recommended that we do a little research on their profile. In the event that we see suspicious movements and the same has not carried out any transaction in the past, it should already make us suspicious from the outset.
