[Resolved] OzBargain Phishing Links Are Being Sent by Private Message - DO NOT Complete Payment

hamza23 on 11/05/2026 - 10:50
Last edited 11/05/2026 - 22:36

These are fraudulent, the accounts are already deactivated and the PMs are being purged from the database as we speak (there are 100s). DO NOT click the link and complete payment and/or give your banking logins.

Hello

Your account is currently not verified. Until verification is completed, your posts and threads will remain hidden from the forum.

Please complete your account verification within 24 hours to avoid automatic deletion of your account and content:
Complete Verification

If you need assistance, contact our support team

Thank you for your prompt attention.
OzBargain Administration

If you have clicked the link and submitted your payment details, contact the fraud department at your bank immediately.

Update 1115am (AEST): All fraudulent private messages have been purged from the database earlier (approx 459 messages). If you did receive one you will no longer see it, whether you had opened it or not.

I'll mark this as resolved, but this can happen again in the future. Stay vigilant and thanks to those who swiftly reported this.

Site Discussion

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  • Moderatorhamza23 on 11/05/2026 - 11:27

    All fraudulent private messages have been purged from the database earlier (approx 459 messages). If you did receive one you will no longer see it, whether you had opened it or not.

    • Tommohalby on 11/05/2026 - 11:49

      Thanks for all your hard work Hamza

      • 18
  • Nugs on 11/05/2026 - 10:55

    "DO NOT Complete Payment"
    are you trying to get my premium membership to lapse :)
    .

    • 21
    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 11/05/2026 - 14:44

      Do Not Redeem, DO NOT REDEEM!

      WHY DID YOU REEM?

      • 3
    • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 10:57

      Premium membership is obtained by submitting a short dance worshipping JV scotty.

      • 2
    • Nillionaire on 11/05/2026 - 10:59

      Yeah, I accidentally let my Discord Nitro lapse and it bloody reset my Milestone Badge 😭

      • 0
      • surg3on on 12/05/2026 - 10:12

        Oh no! Have you told your family?

        • 1
        • Nillionaire on 12/05/2026 - 10:14

          Nooo, I bought the annual subscription this time on New Years so I'll always remember to renew and don't accidentally lapse again when I disappear for a month or two..

          • 0
  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/05/2026 - 10:57

    on the upside, at least you know ozbargain has officially 'made it' when famous enough to have scammers attack

    • 21
    • VerticallyIntegrated on 11/05/2026 - 10:59

      I thought hamza and scotty were selling feet pics.

      I had my CC ready but lucky I came here first.

      • 5
      • nekov on 11/05/2026 - 11:02

        I didn't get any emails, I feel left out

        • 11
      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/05/2026 - 11:21

        feet pics

        i also came…but didnt get a pm though

        • 3
    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 11/05/2026 - 11:02

      Got pinged after the weekly round up post. Had a look at the account details of the poster. Hmmm.

      • 1
  • Kramo on 11/05/2026 - 10:52

    Mine came from OzBargain Support7. I assume some kind of message limit hit 1 through 6.

    • 6
    • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 10:53

      I got 9.

      • 2
    • JownehFixIT on 12/05/2026 - 08:11

      Mine was 7 too. By the time I clicked the notification I'd received a private message, it was already 404'd. Thankfully so, a quick response from someone 👍

      • 0
  • battler on 11/05/2026 - 11:24

    No gift card payment option?

    • 4
    • UltimateAI on 11/05/2026 - 22:41

      Just Eneloops

      • 0
      • Aussie Paul 58 on 12/05/2026 - 11:08

        I didn't get the memo, but If I had and they were asking for payment in Eneloops, I woukd have assumed it was a genuine ozbargain message.

        • 1
  • pegaxs on 11/05/2026 - 12:41

    This won’t affect my OzBargain Premium membership will it?

    • 3
  • Homr on 12/05/2026 - 15:27

    As always, I was not targeted!!

    • 2
  • A 1 on 11/05/2026 - 11:34

    The typos in the message I received was a bit of a giveaway. Well done to the mod team getting it sorted quickly, thank you.

    • 1
    • VerticallyIntegrated on 11/05/2026 - 12:28

      Was definitely a phishing attack asking for ‘mantadory verification’

      • 1
      • A 1 on 11/05/2026 - 20:26

        Yep, you're correct, I typo'd the typo (above), whoops!

        • 1
        • OZKap on 11/05/2026 - 21:14

          Nautical scammers, perhaps even pirates?

          • 0
    • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 11:40

      Was there typos? Or just wrong terminology, including posts and 'threads' in the forum.

      We don't post threads we post deals.

      • 0
      • A 1 on 11/05/2026 - 11:53

        The subject line of the message I received from OzBargain Support9 was, "Mantatory Verification" (incorrect spelling of mandatory).

        • 3
        • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 11:59

          Ah. I missed that.

          • 0
    • Bidet Mate on 13/05/2026 - 10:25

      We always have forced phishing training at work and it always boils down to the most basic stuff like "look for typos".
      Cool it worked in this case but I always just have to assume that the majority of scammers can use spell check, if anything this training always makes me feel like it's lowering people's defences to an even half motivated scammer.

      • 0
  • choosk on 11/05/2026 - 21:04

    TIL OzBargain has a DM system

    • 1
  • Moderatorscrimshaw on 11/05/2026 - 10:52

    If you've already made payment, please contact your bank immediately and let them know about the situation.

  • bargaino on 11/05/2026 - 11:07

    Was the attack harvesting credit card details?

    These attacks are going to get a lot worse.
    Education can help a bit, but people still do dumb things, and fall for the same old tricks.

    We need major reform of payment systems as a starting point.

    • 0
    • hamza23 on 11/05/2026 - 11:10

      From a closer looks, trying to get internet banking logins it seems.

      Screenshot.

      If you click on one of the banks, it will take you to mock internet banking login page, so they can grab your banking details. Although they still should have 2FA to deal with.

      • 1
      • bargaino on 11/05/2026 - 13:26

        2Fa won't stop a MITM attack. At least a bad one that relies on the mark typing the code into a computer.

        It still relies on people to not do dumb things. And we can all do dumb things sometimes.
        Our banks care so little about security that the still rely on SMS for authentication!

        • 2
      • Nillionaire on 11/05/2026 - 11:18

        Seems they're aware Up/ING/uBank are more popular than ANZ/NAB/Westpac on OzBargain… or maybe not since they didn't put Macquarie higher…

        • 1
        • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 11:42

          They're probably targeting other aussie forums, only need to change the logo on the top left.

          • 0
      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/05/2026 - 11:22

        this is actually pretty advanced…

        • 0
        • gromit on 12/05/2026 - 14:21

          nothing advanced about it, been around for years, they just copy and paste from past scams. customising pages to look good is done with AI now so most of the bad english and spelling errors that used to be obvious signs are gone and because it is so quick and easy to do they can customise to each site they are targetting.

          • 0
      • Bidet Mate on 13/05/2026 - 10:23

        What was the actual scam though?
        Like the payment terminal is convincing and all, but what was the story for needing to click/pay in the first place?

        • 0
        • hamza23 on 13/05/2026 - 10:24

          I pasted the original message in the OP:

          Hello

          Your account is currently not verified. Until verification is completed, your posts and threads will remain hidden from the forum.

          Please complete your account verification within 24 hours to avoid automatic deletion of your account and content:
          Complete Verification(ozbargain.forum)

          If you need assistance, contact our support team

          Thank you for your prompt attention.
          OzBargain Administration

          • 1
  • sween64 on 11/05/2026 - 11:11

    Was the link obviously not an OzBargain link?

    • 0
    • ATangk on 11/05/2026 - 11:39

      You can't tell that clearly when the links are converted, the website link preview in the bottom right corner was ozbargain (dot) forum.

      • 1
  • RM on 11/05/2026 - 11:49

    Waiting for someone to ask for a MS Paint for this too

    • 0
    • pegaxs on 11/05/2026 - 12:41

      *FFS

      • 3
      • MS Paint on 11/05/2026 - 15:35

        Fraudulent F(ph)ishing Scammers?

        • 2
    • Bruceflix on 11/05/2026 - 12:17

      and a dash/web cam

      • 0
  • Craze on 11/05/2026 - 20:35

    I received 2 messages from "OzB support", no links just "hi"

    Both have been purged from my inbox now.

    • 0
  • Ithinkimtheking on 11/05/2026 - 21:06

    i did not get one :(

    • 0
  • tenpercent on 11/05/2026 - 21:07

    I didn't get one either :(

    • 0
  • PopCounty on 11/05/2026 - 22:28

    Thanks. Just a note, this message or info should have come at top and being highlighted.

    I mean I am getting this when it's placed at top 5 forum topics. Maybe after 10 hours. Cheers

    • 0
    • Moderatorhamza23 on 11/05/2026 - 22:30

      This post was highlighted until the private messages had all been purged. There was also a front page notice at that time.

      Thanks

      Edit: I'll mark this as resolved to avoid confusion.

      • PopCounty on 11/05/2026 - 22:33

        Ahh ok. I know I am lazy bargain user. Cheers.

        • 0
  • UltimateAI on 11/05/2026 - 22:38

    Thank-you for the prompt action, last 2 times I have reported scams \ fraud on Facebook, was advised "we have reviewed your report and advise the advertisement does not breach our community standards"
    100% they were frauds, picture of a golf cart on my driveway, house and dogs visible. Think I know my own house. Those products featured are not for sale.

    • 0
  • Oztx on 12/05/2026 - 11:24

    Well now i feel left out for not seeing the phishing messages >:(

    jokes aside, good job purging so quickly

    • 0
  • Tony-Abbott on 11/05/2026 - 16:03

    Any deals?

    • -2
  • perhaps on 11/05/2026 - 11:45

    ADAPHS

    • -4
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