Posted by 30 July 2025 — Carousell, the leading multi-category classifieds marketplace across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, today published its Regional Scam Trends Report 2024, a deep dive into the top fraud tactics targeting online shoppers and the concrete steps users can take to avoid them.
Scammer’s playbook: Top 5 scams observed in 2024
The eight‑page report, produced by the Carousell Trust Working Group, ranks the region’s most prevalent scams last year received via police and user reports:
- Counterfeit Items: Scammers sell fake goods, particularly sneakers and luxury fashion items. This is especially common in Hong Kong and Singapore.
- E-commerce Scams: Fraudsters post listings for high-demand gadgets to exploit buyer urgency, and then often disappear after receiving payment.
- Concert & Event Tickets: Scammers offer tickets to popular or sold-out events, only to send fake tickets or none at all. This is also a major issue in Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Fake Buyer Phishing: Scammers pose as buyers and send phishing links that mimic Carousell or banking sites to steal personal and financial information.
- Fake Carousell Support: A phishing variant where scammers impersonate Carousell Support via chat or SMS to resolve a fake “error,” tricking users into revealing their details.
While the tactics above are widespread, the single most prevalent scam differs in each market:
- Malaysia: Fashion Item Scams, where the seller disappears after receiving payment.
- Hong Kong: Concert Ticket Scams, capitalising on high-demand events.
- Taiwan: “50% Off” Scams, using steep, unrealistic discounts as a tactic to rush buyers.
- Philippines: Digicam Scams, focusing on fraudulent sales of digital cameras which have risen in popularity.
- Singapore: “Enabler” Scams, where users are recruited (often via fake job offers) to use their accounts for posting fraudulent listings, allowing the actual scammers to remain anonymous.
How Carousell and its community stayed ahead of scams
Throughout 2024, Carousell’s multi-layered safeguards actively protected its community by:
- Blocking 1.28 million external links, 727,000 email addresses, and 20,000 QR codes from being sent in chat to reduce users’ exposure to phishing risks
- Pushing 23 million in‑app safety alerts that warned buyers and sellers in real time
- Suspending 422,000 suspicious accounts and reviewed 309,000 community reports to swiftly stop scammers from taking further action
“User education has always been a cornerstone of our trust strategy. This year, we’re taking that commitment a step further by publishing our first-ever Regional Scam Trends Report. By revealing scammers’ playbooks, we’re empowering sellers to spot phishing attempts and helping buyers question suspicious deals. Our technology is a crucial safety net, but ultimately, an educated community is our strongest line of defence,” said Mr Gijs Verheijke, Director of Trust and Customer Experience at Carousell.
Quick tips for safer buying and selling
As a general reminder when buying and selling on any platform online:
- Keep conversations within the platform: Always use the built-in Carousell chat. Scammers often try to lure users to other chat apps like WhatsApp or Telegram to send phishing links or make claims that cannot be monitored or verified.
- For maximum protection, pay through the platform: On Carousell, use the ‘Buy’ button for payment and delivery. This secures your payment, which is only released to the seller after you confirm the item has been received as described.
- Safeguard your personal information: Carousell and its users do not need your email or password for a transaction. All necessary information is managed securely within the app when you use the ‘Buy’ button.
To further amplify these insights, Carousell will also be running a month-long user education campaign across its platform and social media channels.
Visit support.carousell.com to learn more safety tips and advisories.
Download the reports here
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About Carousell
Carousell is a multi-category classifieds and recommerce marketplace that makes selling as easy as taking a photo, buying as simple as chatting. Carousell is available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan. The Carousell marketplace has a diverse range of products across a variety of categories, including cars, lifestyle, gadgets and fashion accessories. To increase the trust and convenience in buying and selling secondhand, Carousell has launched recommerce programmes such as the Carousell Certified programme that allows users to buy secondhand items that have been inspected, and Sell to Carousell programme that allows users to sell directly to Carousell for instant cash. Download the app for iOS or Android, and visit www.carousell.com for more information.