Carousell to step up effort to stop accounts including Singpass-verified ones from being used for scams

SINGAPORE – To prevent accounts from being misused for scams, online shopping platform Carousell will be implementing enhanced verification measures for its users from Jan 31, 2026.

They include improved authentication processes to block malicious takeovers, suspending accounts that have been relinquished to scammers, and blacklisting Singpass credentials previously used to verify scam accounts so they cannot be used to authenticate new ones.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Nov 21 that police investigations showed that scammers are increasingly using Singpass-verified Carousell accounts to dupe victims.

In the first half of 2025, there were

3,237 cases of e-commerce scams

, with losses amounting to more than $7 million, the police noted in their mid-year scam statistics. These scams usually occurred on platforms such as Facebook and Carousell.

In 2024, victims lost $8.5 million to e-commerce scams.

E-commerce scams also made up the second-highest number of reported cases – behind phishing scams – in the first half of 2025.

MHA said fraudsters would gain access to these accounts by phishing for login details, paying Carousell users to relinquish their verified accounts, or using illegally obtained Singpass credentials to verify Carousell accounts.

Under the Code of Practice for E-Commerce Services, Carousell is required to

verify “risky” sellers and advertisers

to weed out malicious accounts. The same regulations apply to Facebook.

Messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and WeChat are required to roll out reasonable verification measures to root out fake accounts run by scammers or bots for malicious activities.

Carousell conducted enhanced verification on selected high-risk sellers and advertisers between July 1 and Dec 1, 2024, according to MHA.

On March 10, 2025, MHA extended the assessment period of Carousell’s user verification pilot for six months till June 30.

It highlighted that if the number of e-commerce scams on the platform did not drop significantly over the pilot, it would require Carousell to verify the identities of all sellers.

From April to June 2025, the number of e-commerce scams on Carousell rose to 513 from 470 in the same period in 2024.

However, there was a 36 per cent decline in the total number of reported scams on the platform, from 1,125 in the period from April to June 2024 to 720 over the same period in 2025.

MHA will continue to monitor the effectiveness of Carousell’s measures in reducing the number of scams and direct it to implement additional steps, if needed.

“MHA takes a serious view of the abuse of Singpass accounts. The police will take enforcement action against Singpass mules if they are found to have abused their Singpass credentials to facilitate scams.”

It added that it is considering legislating new offences to act against users who wilfully relinquish Singpass-verified online accounts for criminal purposes.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesperson for Carousell said it remains committed to providing a safe and trusted marketplace for its users.

It has developed artificial intelligence and data science tools to detect scams, block harmful content and identify suspicious accounts.

The platform offers safer ways for users to transact, such as the Buy button that enables them to select from a variety of payment and delivery options.

Additionally, the Carousell Certified programme enables users to purchase second-hand luxury products, mobile phones and cards that have been checked for quality and authenticity, added the spokesperson.

“Online scams are an evolving challenge across digital platforms, and while no solution is foolproof, we remain dedicated to refining our security measures while keeping our community informed.

“Our goal is to create a marketplace where users can transact with confidence while maintaining the ease and flexibility that Carousell is known for.”

Carousell was rated two ticks in the

E-commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings

released in August.

The ratings, based on platforms’ anti-scam features, range from one to four ticks, with four ticks being the highest grade.

The ratings are assigned by an Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams to e-commerce platforms in Singapore based on the measures they have in place to secure transactions on their sites.

TikTok shop scored the highest rating with four ticks, while Facebook Marketplace had one tick.