The Judiciary Police urged the public in a statement yesterday to beware of “blind box” promotion scams when shopping online to prevent their credit card information from being stolen.
“Blind box” is a type of sealed package that keeps what’s inside a mystery until it is opened.
According to the statement, the Judiciary Police had recently received a number of reports that someone faked the name of a local shop on an online social media platform, claiming to be selling “blind boxes” of toys at low prices, requesting buyers to click on the link in the post to purchase the products and pay by credit card. After paying for the “blind boxes”, they ultimately failed to receive any goods.
The statement noted that the scammers obtain the credit card information under the guise of selling “blind boxes” at a low price, and then conduct an unauthorised large-value transaction.
The police urged members of the public to stay vigilant against crime at all times, stressing that they should always choose reputable shops when shopping online, be careful and sure to check the authenticity of online shops and the transaction amount in text messages sent by the relevant bank when using a credit card for online transactions.
If fraud or other crimes are suspected, call the Crime Report Hotline on 993 or the PJ’s Anti-scam Hotline on 8800 7777 for help.
This handout illustration photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns the public to beware of “blind boxes” online shopping scams.
