PETALING JAYA: Scammers are posing as Grab representatives to trick users into becoming merchants for a fake ecommerce website with the company’s brand.
The issue was highlighted by a LifestyleTech reader, who said that a scammer contacted him via WhatsApp, fraudulently claiming that Grab had opened a store to service international customers.
He was told that he would profit in US dollars but would have to cover the cost of the item upfront, with a promise of being repaid in full, including profit, once the user paid for the item.
Once he signed up on the fake website, mystorevip.com, it was automatically populated with products. However, he had doubts, as the website didn’t look professional.
When contacted, Grab confirmed that the website was fake and referred to a notice issued to its merchants in April.
When contacted, Grab confirmed that the website was fake and referred to a notice issued to its merchants in April.
The Grab notice highlights several red flags and warns users to be wary of signs that they are being duped, stating that legitimate Grab websites will always be on grab.com.
It also notes that authentic emails from Grab will have the domains @grab.com or @grabtaxi.com and feature a GrabMerchant banner at the top, further stressing to only trust messages sent via WhatsApp from the official GrabMerchant WhatsApp channel, which has a green verified tick.
The notice also advises users not to respond to suspicious messages or emails, click on suspicious links, provide personal or business details, or make any payments via such websites.
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