Trade Me phishing scam doing rounds again

Saturday, 23 December 2017

A scam that tricks Trade Me users out of their personal details has resurfaced.

The barbecue scam first did the rounds of 2014 but is back again.

People are sent an email telling them they have bought a barbecue for hundreds of dollars, or more. They are told to click a link if they had not authorised the transaction.

But it is a phishing scam. 

The link collects data from users so that scammers can access their online accounts and credit cards.

A Trade Me spokesman said they were working to shut it down again.

Customers who had provided their credit card details via the fake site should call their bank immediately and cancel their cards.

'If you believe you entered your Trade Me login details into a phishing website, you will need to reset your Trade Me password immediately via your My Trade Me page.

'As a security precaution, we recommend you run a full virus scan on your computer immediately.'

People who used the same password for other sites could risk scammers getting into those accounts, too.