Antwerp family defrauded to the tune of thousands of euros as a result of internet sales

A family from Antwerp have been defrauded to the tune of thousands of euros after they used the Vinted app, a popular app used to buy and sell second hand clothes.

Vinted has some 700,000 users in Belgium, but clearly not everybody has good intentions.  Dirk Van Houdt’s daughter is contacted when she wants to sell a coat. The fraudster immediately offers the asking price gaining the woman’s confidence.  He then suggests they switch to WhatsApp.  She is then sent a link to execute a payment.  The fraudster says this is necessary to prove her good faith. It’s a classic trick.

The link takes the woman to a page that resembles the ING bank website.  However, this isn’t the case.  It’s a special platform established by the fraudsters.  After the daughter clicked on the link the fraudsters are able to access her bank apps.  As a result the family has lost thousands of euros.

“My daughter is shattered.  She’s lost her hard earned savings.  Her savings account has been emptied.

The Vinted app is of course not to blame.  The fraud happened via a link on WhatsApp and it’s a type of fraud that is becoming more and more common in Belgium.  A second second-hand website 2dehands.be that was recently also in the news as a result of a similar story has already announced extra security measures.

Top stories