Phishing for payment card details

The idea behind the scam is quite simple, but scammers, using social engineering techniques and, unfortunately, taking advantage of the ignorance of their victims, reap quite a harvest.

Who is a potential victim?

The scam targets both sellers and buyers, so we advise everyone to be vigilant.

What does the scam involve?

The seller is contacted by an interested customer.

They can communicate with the seller through various channels: by chatting on Allegro Locally, sending private SMS messages, or via WhatsApp. When contact is made, they state that they are willing to make a purchase and, under various pretexts, ask for the seller’s e-mail address. They explain that they need it to make a purchase with delivery. When the seller shares their e-mail address, the scammer sends them an e-mail impersonating a message sent from the Allegro website and purporting to be a purchase confirmation. The content of the notification may vary, but it always leads to the same thing: providing payment card or e-banking login details. In this way, the scammer gains access to the victim’s payment card/e-banking platform and can withdraw funds from it without hindrance.

The buyer may also fall victim.

They find an attractive offer for the sale of a valuable item on a classifieds website. When they contact the seller about the purchase, the seller informs them that confirmation is required to complete the purchase. The fraudster sends the customer a fake page on which they are told to confirm the purchase (by clicking "Buy now"). The pattern of the scam is similar: the customer is redirected to a fake website where they enter their payment card or e-banking login details. The scammer thus gains access to the victim’s funds and gets hold of them. The aim is to access and withdraw funds held on a payment card.

How to maintain your peace of mind given all of this?

• Remember, Allegro provides its users with secure transactions all the way through – from confirming the purchase to making the payment. These functionalities are available on the Allegro website.
• All transactions and payments made via the transaction page are available in your bookmarks (My purchases/My sales).
• Avoid contact outside of Allegro and avoid giving out your e-mail address and phone number.
• Never give out your payment card details.
• Take a closer look at the e-mail address through which you received the message and the address of the website where you are logging in.
• If in doubt, please contact us through the available contact channels.