Hongkonger scammed out of HK$4 million trying to sell HK$100 rug on Carousell

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Harvey KongFebruary 3, 2026 at 05:05 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

A Hong Kong resident was scammed out of HK$4 million after listing a rug for sale for HK$100 on Carousell. The victim was contacted by a scammer posing as a buyer and sent a fraudulent payment link via WhatsApp. Subsequently, a person impersonating Carousell staff claimed account issues and requested multiple "transaction verification one-time passwords." The victim provided these, resulting in the significant financial loss. Hong Kong police reported over 110 online shopping scams linked to Carousell between January 24 and 30, totaling over HK$10 million in losses. The police are warning users to be cautious of suspicious requests for personal or financial information.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

CyberDefender Facebook 40% WhatsApp ×260% Hong Kong Police Force ×270% Carousell ×580% Hong Kong ×290%

Keywords

online shopping scams 90% carousell 80% scam 80% fraud 70% one-time password 60% whatsapp 60% payment link 60% hong kong 50% cyberdefender 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

85%

Geographic Perspective

Hong Kong

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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online shopping scams carousell scam fraud one-time password whatsapp payment link hong kong cyberdefender

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