Mercari Sellers Bombarded With Verification Phishing Spam
Mercari US sellers report a sudden influx of phishing attempts using the Mercari messaging system for fake verification scam.
The messages come from an account using a Mercari logo for their profile image, claiming the user will need to undergo additional verification due to "new rules" on the platform and directing them to contact a generic gmail address - not an official Mercari support email.
While most savvy sellers would see a giant red flag with that email address, new or inexperienced users may be more vulnerable to falling for the scam - as evidenced by the large number of posts flooding Reddit unsure if the message was real or not.
Is this “Mercari” message real or a scam?
Got this message from Mercari with a Gmail address- it doesn’t show up in the open tickets/support items. Has anyone else received this? I sent screenshot to support but I have no clue when they will respond. It also came attached to an item I listed but says account verification in the top of message.
To be clear - this is definitely a scam and under no circumstance should anyone email that address or respond to the message within Mercari.
This type of phishing scam is not uncommon, for example Etsy created special tags and a separate inbox for official messages in their battle against similar attacks earlier this year.
Liz Morton
The fake verification account shown in the screenshots shared by some users on Reddit appears to have finally been shut down now, but there are likely other accounts being used for this scam - so keep an eye out!
The fact that users who are not sure about these messages have had to turn to other Reddit because they could not get answers from Mercari's actual support channels highlights the serious work the company still has to do on the safety and security of the site.
Mercari Japan recently launched new initiatives to strengthen safety, security and customer service, including enhancing user identity verification and combating counterfeits on the platform - could those efforts be coming to the US soon too?
Liz Morton
Did you receive a fake verification phishing scam message on Mercari today? Let us know in the comments below!
