Shoppers at Shein are being alerted to a new phishing scam that threatens their personal information and finances. A concerning trend has emerged where individuals receive an email, seemingly from Shein.
The email purports to offer a sought-after Shein Mystery Box and encourages recipients to click a link to claim their reward. However, the website linked is not the authentic Shein site.
Inputting your details into this counterfeit site allows scammers to use your information. Tech guru, Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator, has outlined what shoppers should do if they encounter such an email, reports Wales Online.
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“If you receive an email with a Shein mystery box, do not open it. It is a phishing email, not from Shein but from unidentified hackers looking to steal your personal information.
“Designed to trick recipients into clicking on a link that redirects them to a fake website, this website mimics Shein’s official website, allowing users to enter their personal information to win a prize. Whilst Shein does offer legitimate mystery boxes during promotions or special events, the way to know if they are legitimate is to recognise the website you are directed to.
“The website you are directed to by scammers mimics Shein’s. The obvious way to indicate this is the URL, which is different from the official website.”
There are numerous fraudulent Shein websites circulating online, however there are methods to identify these. Marc Porcar advised: “When speaking with customer service at Shein, it is important never to share any personal or payment information via phone call, text message, or WhatsApp. Shein only uses email and in-site chat for customer service.”
He added: “Shein is one of the world’s most popular shopping platforms, with more than 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store alone, scammers have a lot of potential to trick shoppers.”
In light of recent findings from cybersecurity researchers who discovered a malware campaign called ‘Mal. ‘ The campaign saw over 1,000 phishing emails impersonating Shein, using misleading subject lines and links to credential-harvesting sites.
For anyone who might have fallen victim to this scam, Marc Porcar offers clear advice: “First things first, immediately contact your bank or payment provider to stop any pending transactions and explain you have paid a scam website impersonating Shein. You can then dispute the charges as fraud.”
He urged customers to check credit card statements and bank accounts closely for any unauthorised charges from the fake website, reporting any instances. Porcar stressed that victims should reach out to the legitimate Shein customer support team using their officially listed number to alert them about the phoney website.
“To warn other potential victims, leave online reviews about your experience with the scam site to warn other potential victims. Continue to be vigilant about any potential identity theft that could occur if personal information was entered on the fake site and monitor all of your credit reports.”
If you’ve been the victim of a scam, fraud or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it to Action Fraud online or via 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm). Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime- it collects reports about fraud on behalf of the police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Shein has been approached for comment.
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