Tag: online

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“The most sophisticated online scam I have ever seen.” This is how new Vinted users are being scammed


Pablo Grueso, CEO of the technology consulting firm TecnoFor, published a thread on Twitter yesterday that began like this: “I just witnessed the most sophisticated online scam I have seen so far”. Next, Grueso recounted his recent experience on Vinted, detailing step by step how this user fell into the scammers’ trap.

It all started when the user in question, practically new to the platform, put a garment for sale on Vinted. A simple step that quickly became complicated when she received an email supposedly from the “Vinted Team.”

This is, received an email from the address “[email protected]” (Remember that it is possible to spoof legitimate email addresses, although that does not mean that it comes from that address). The e-mail simulated collecting an internal message from an interested buyer…

…message that includes a screenshot of the mobile phone of said ‘buyer’ in which you can see how the Vinted app asks for the seller’s mobile phone (that is, the aforementioned novice user).

And this is where we get to the key part of the scam, because in addition to the text message and the screenshot, the email (remember, supposedly official) includes a link that, when clicked, took the user directly within the Vinted application… or, rather, an almost perfectly duplicated website.

“A screen where you don’t notice the difference, where you can’t click on ‘info’ but you can navigate to the Inbox, for example”

The seller, confident that he is operating within Vinted’s own platform, ‘completes’ his data by entering his phone number… in such a way that the information goes directly to the cyber fraudster who sent you the email in the first place. And now this one, having the number of his victim, sends you an SMS (again, supposedly coming from Vinted).

In said SMS, the user/victim is informed that, to verify their credit card, “they will make the typical virtual charge that they later cancel…”…a practice commonly used to confirm the authenticity of a card, with the particularity that this time “the charge is €500“.

Another user, also affected by the scam, expands the information about said SMS:

“One of my daughters put some things up for sale, it was the first time and it was as if they suddenly wanted to buy everything. The following was what you describe, a message within the app to enter the mobile phone and an SMS to enter the data of the card”.

That is, a textbook phishing strategy in two rounds, impersonating Vinted, to provide the scammers with our personal data, first, and our financial data, later. And, furthermore, when we receive the authorization notice of the supposed voidable charge to Vinted, The victim of the scam will authorize it because he believes it is legitimate and that it will be returned to him. Oh, innocent.

Result and data to take into account to avoid falling yourself

Result of all this story? 500 euros less, and the item for which the victim registered on Vinted will remain unsold because there was never an interested buyer. Always remember to take these data into account:

  • Make sure that any data you enter in an app you are actually doing it on the official domain of the appnot just on a “look-alike” website.
  • To facilitate the above, never access the platforms through third-party links (even if they seem to be your real interlocutor): access the website/app yourself and look for the section in question.
  • Remember that, if entering data is necessary to operate on a trading platform, it will have warned you about it during registration. You will not receive a message afterwards.

  • Ask yourself some obvious questions: “Why would they spend money on sending SMS when you can send a notification to the mobile app?” or “Why would Vinted ask the seller’s number… from the buyer?”

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Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag 2 with new design appears in online store

Samsung hasn’t officially launched the Galaxy Smart Tag 2 yet, but the design has already been leaked. An online store published images and specifications of the Bluetooth tracker.

New design of Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag 2 leaked

Samsung will soon release a successor to the Galaxy Smart Tag and Smart Tag Plus. Although this Bluetooth tracker has not yet been officially launched, we already know what it will look like. The British online store has simply placed the device online. This shows, among other things, that the Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag 2 will have a new design.

While the old version was square with a small hole in it, its successor is elongated. Moreover, the opening is much larger, making it easier to attach it to your key ring, for example. The Smart Tag 2 is a bit like the signs you can hang on the door of your hotel room if you don’t want to be disturbed.

The webshop also confirms that the tracker uses Bluetooth 5.3, as we read earlier. This makes it more energy efficient and you don’t have to replace the battery as often. The location of your belongings can also be determined more accurately than with its predecessor. In addition, there is less delay in the signal. This is useful if you attach the Smart Tag 2 to your pet’s collar. You can then follow him or her closely.

In addition to Bluetooth, the tracker also has ultrawideband. If you have a recent smartphone from Samsung itself, you can detect the device with an accuracy of up to 10 centimeters.

Price seems to be going up

It is not yet known when Samsung will launch the Galaxy Smart Tag 2. However, we probably won’t have to wait much longer. According to Mobile Fun, the recommended retail price is approximately 70 pounds, or 80 euros, for two copies. That is slightly more expensive than the Smart Tag Plus. They sell for about 65 euros per duo. However, it is not clear whether the prices of the webshop are final.

Read the latest news about Samsung:

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Online advertising: million-dollar fine against Google in France


The French competition authority accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in the ad server market. The group now has to pay a fine of 220 million euros for this; Google itself has also offered changes.

In France, Google pays a fine of 220 million euros imposed by the antitrust office for giving preference to its own services when allocating online advertising space. The US company did not deny the allegations and the fine was now ordered as part of a settlement, the French competition authority in Paris said.

The cartel office had been contacted by several publishing groups, including the international media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and the French Figaro publishing house. They accused Google of abusing its dominant market position.

Google’s advertising sales business accounted for 13 percent of parent company Alphabet’s sales of almost $183 billion (€150 billion) last year.

DoubleClick and Google Ad Exchange

In this specific case, the question is whether the search engine giant has unlawfully exploited its dominance in the digital advertising business. Since taking over the advertising specialist DoubleClick in 2009, Google has operated a platform for advertising (“DoubleClick for Publisher”), which is now operated under the Google brand. This platform is used by many large online publishers and publishers to offer advertising space for sale. The complaint was that Google customers were given an advantage in the actual allocation of advertising space at the advertising auction house Google Ad Exchange (AdX). Google customers were partly provided with information about competing bids.

“The Authority has found that Google has granted preferential treatment to its own technologies offered under the Google Ad Manager brand(…),” the competition authority said. These practices are “particularly serious” because those disadvantaged include publishers whose economic model has already been seriously weakened by the decline in sales of newspaper subscriptions.

Google changes model

In the settlement, Google also agreed to change its behavior and make it easier for competitors to use its online advertising tools. The changes were accepted by the authority. “We will test and develop these changes over the coming months before rolling them out more broadly, including globally,” Google said.

The French competition authority recalled that companies with a position like Google have a special responsibility. “These very serious practices disadvantaged competition in the emerging online advertising market and allowed Google to not only maintain but also expand its dominant position,” said Isabelle de Silva, chairwoman of the French competition authority, according to the statement.

“We believe we provide valuable services and compete. However, we are committed to proactively working with regulators to make improvements to our products,” the US group said. They have been working with the French authorities for the past two years and now want to improve access to data or increase the flexibility of Google Ad Manager.

It is still unclear whether and how the comparison will affect other markets, as complaints against the dominance of the DoubleClick platform had also surfaced outside France. Experts now expect that these obligations from the settlement will develop into a template that publishers in many other countries can also demand.

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Consequence of the insolvency proceedings: Hallhuber closes its online shop


The Munich fashion retailer Hallhuber is closing its online shop as a result of the ongoing insolvency proceedings. Existing claims from returns that have already been made cannot currently be paid out.

In May of this year, Hallhuber had to file for bankruptcy for the second time in a short period of time. The Munich company wanted to reorganize itself under self-management. The reasons were the “well-known effects of the Ukraine crisis, increased inflation and general reluctance to buy”. Now the fashion retailer has also closed its online shop – temporarily, it seems, “they are working hard to have it fully available again as soon as possible,” according to a message on the website.

For the time being, customers should use the almost 200 Hallhuber stores in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands “to discover, try on and shop our current collections,” the company continued.

returns

Circumstances now arise, especially with returns: Existing claims from returns that have already been made can currently no longer be paid out to customers. The claim will not be lost, but once the self-administration process is completed, only a portion of this will probably be able to be paid, the amount of which has not yet been determined.

Hallhuber continues: “If, however, you are considering returning the item now, we would like to point out the following to you as a precautionary measure: The returned goods will become the property of Hallhuber. However, your resulting claim for repayment must unfortunately be treated in the same way as those that already exist Payment claims from other creditors. This means that it cannot currently be paid out and will only be paid at an indefinite rate at the end of the insolvency proceedings. It is also not possible to personally return returns in our stores. This means that we cannot accept items from you on site either Please decide for yourself whether you want to exercise your basic right of return under these legal conditions or whether you want to keep unwanted items and resell them privately.”

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According to SC24.com, online team sports retailer Geomix is ​​also insolvent


The next big bang in the team sports industry: After SC24.com had already gotten into trouble, it has now become known that its large (former) partner Geomix is ​​also insolvent. However, the continued existence of the company appears to be assured.

The steep rise of the Austrian online team sports retailer Geomix (Liezen/Styria) has come to an abrupt end: Today it was announced that the company has filed an application with the Leoben regional court to open self-administration restructuring proceedings. The reason for this, it is said, is “the massive deterioration in the economic conditions in the industry in recent years”.

The crisis-related decline in sales in some business areas and a failure in Germany would have resulted in liquidity problems. However, the continued existence of the company appears to be assured.

Sales in the double-digit million range

The online team sports retailer is one of the top players not only in Germany, but also in Europe. The online shop went live in 2013, and five years later sales were in the double-digit million range. In 2022, that was the goal in Corona times (even during which the company was able to grow strongly despite the stricken market), the 100 million euro mark should be cracked.

Geomix now has to pay tribute to the massive expansion – thanks to its less economical pricing policy. It was heard from dealer circles that the online player had granted football clubs discounts of 45 to 50 percent and a refund of up to ten percent on sales sales. Of course, the local brick-and-mortar retailers couldn’t like this because it also stole customers away from them. One team sports provider complained: “The large team sports online companies in particular are changing their pricing policies significantly and are acting more and more aggressively, that is to say, more desperately.” It has been the case for a long time that there is a tough fight in this market. In times of crisis, however, this action takes its toll.

At SC24.com, the former and equally insolvent partner, the situation is as follows: As the provisional insolvency administrator Marc Lang from the Tappmeier law firm (Ulm) reports, the club’s business is running stable again. “The clubs are supporting SC24.com. They are also currently being supplied,” he reports. The problem child, he emphasizes, was the online shop. The company around board member Markus Müller has now (for now) said goodbye to this consumer business.

Regarding the future of SC24.com, Lang says: “We have already initiated an M&A process, which will start this week, so that we can find an investor who can continue to run the company. We think we have to act pretty quickly here. I hope that we will have the first results available in July so that we can act quickly and present them to the investor.”