A young Aussie is urging others not to get duped by a “believable” new scam after she saw her entire bank account drained within a matter of minutes. And she’s not the only one.
Kayla Emilie saw $1200 “siphoned” from her bank account in real time after she fell for a phishing scam impersonating popular online fashion app Vinted.
Want more finance news? Download our new app for even more coverage
“Turns out you don’t need to be a Boomer to get motherf***ing scammed,” the 27-year-old from Brisbane said.
“I’m probably exposing myself here and I can feel the pre-bullying coming in the comments, but I actually just thought I would share what happened to me so no one else does the same thing.
“I know I’m an idiot, but low-key it was believable.”
If you’re interested in finance, check out our new Stress Tested podcast on YouTube, or your podcast platform of choice
Kayla had listed a $300 dress for sale on Vinted, a European app for buying and selling second-hand fashion that launched in Australia in July.
The Lithuanian-born app has already proven popular with Aussies, becoming one of the country’s most downloaded apps on Australia’s iTunes charts after launching.
Within two hours of listing the dress, Kayla received a message within the Vinted app, purportedly sent by the platform, advising her the dress had been sold.
She was then told to connect her bank account to the app in order to receive the payment and was directed to click a link to do so.
After clicking the link and entering her bank account details, she then received a two factor authentication code on her phone.
“I put the code in, I went, that’s kind of weird,” she said.
“I look at my bank account. Boom. Literally within not even two minutes, they’ve siphoned my whole bank account.”
Scammers made three transactions to a travel company, a cryptocurrency platform and a social media subscription website totalling about $1200.
The bank account that she connected was luckily her second account, which she uses for spending and bills so keeps less money in.
Kayla told news.com.au she was surprised she had fallen for the scam.
“Especially working in marketing, I will never click on a link I don’t know. That’s just 101 of how not to get scammed, so I was just so surprised that it happened,” she said.
“But it’s so easy when you’re trying to get money.”
In hindsight, Kayla said it was “absolutely” her fault for clicking on the link and entering her details.
“That said, I still think platforms like Vinted could do more, such as proactive phishing removal or mandatory scam awareness tips at sign-up,” she said.
More than 130 Aussies caught up in scam
Kayla isn’t the only Aussie who has been scammed while using the platform.
Multiple people commented on her video about the scam, sharing they had lost money too.
“I fell for it too. It seemed legit. They stole over $700. Currently disputing now,” one said.
“I got scammed $1475 on Vinted. I’m only getting my money back now this was 3 weeks ago,” another said.
“Happened to me! Just lost $300 waiting to see if I can get my money back,” a third wrote.
On social media, numerous users have also reported messages from scammers impersonating Vinted and telling them their item had been sold.
IDCARE, Australia’s national scam, identity and cyber support service, is warning Aussies selling items on the platform over the impersonation scam.
From July to September, it received more than 130 reports of scammers impersonating Vinted in the three months from July to September this year.
The average loss reported was $2200.
“People are losing money to these criminals, and that has an immediate financial impact,” IDCARE interim CEO Charlotte Davidson told news.com.au.
“What also concerns us is that criminals are collecting significant amounts of identity information. That information can be used in future scams, identity theft and other criminal activity, meaning the harm doesn’t necessarily end with the initial loss.”
It has received reports of Aussies being asked to provide information including driver’s licences, passports, Tax File Numbers, selfies, addresses and dates of birth.
IDCARE said the scam typically begins when a seller receives a message claiming their item has sold and they need to “verify” their account to receive payment.
Victims are then directed to a fraudulent website impersonating a legitimate payment provider or bank and are asked to provide online banking credentials and personal information
“This is a scam pattern IDCARE sees regularly. Criminals impersonate businesses, platforms or services that people are already dealing with, or expecting to hear from because it makes the communication appear legitimate and lowers suspicion,” IDCARE said.
“People are then directed to convincing but fraudulent websites where their money,
banking credentials and personal information can be stolen.”
Vinted responds
A Vinted spokesperson told news.com.au the “vast majority” of its members had a smooth experience with the platform.
“We work continuously to keep our members safe from emerging risks. On our Help Centre, we try to best educate our members and provide our community with guidance on how to avoid and report phishing messages and scams,” the spokesperson said.
“We also use in-app warnings to alert members if they try to share contact details or leave the platform, and we strongly encourage members to keep all chats, payments and orders within the Vinted app.
“As a reminder, Vinted will never ask for your personal or bank details via SMS or external links.”
Vinted recommended sellers use the platform’s checkout and shipping features, and avoid leaving the platform to contact others or send payments.
Users should watch out for messages pressuring them to act quickly, with Vinted aware of scammers pressuring users to open a link before it expires, threatening to block their account or cancel orders if they don’t act immediately.
Users are also being urged to check message details carefully, with scammers often replicating real websites and email addresses with slight differences.
Aussie recovers stolen cash
Kayla immediately lodged a dispute with her bank over the transactions and was able to recover her stolen funds.
“That took about like six weeks. But they ended up coming through and giving my money back to me, thank God. But it took a long time and there were rejections at first,” she said.
She’s urging other Aussies not to click on any links contained in direct messages on the app.
“Don’t ever respond to those DMs. They’re never going to ask for payment in a DM or anything like that,” she said.
Phishing scams are one of the most common scams in Australia, with Aussies losing $97.6 million to the tactic in 2025. They are also the most reported, with 65,361 reported to Scamwatch.
IDCARE has encouraged users to avoid clicking links contained in messages or emails about sales or account verification. Instead, users should navigate directly to the official Vinted app or website to check the status of their account or transaction.
Anyone who thinks they have provided banking information to a fraudulent website should contact their bank immediately. If you have provided identity information to a scammer, you can contact IDCARE for support and advice.
Read related topics:Brisbane