Woman Claims Temu Sold Her Bank Info To "The Black Market": "Do Not Use Temu"

Remember years ago when our parents would warn us about putting our private information on the internet? It's interesting how much society has changed in a short period of time – now we just enter our bank details into Chinese apps and trust that nothing will happen with our money.

One woman on TikTok is alleging that Temu, a giant e-marketplace like Shein, stole her bank information and sold it to the black market. The retail store surpassed 100 million active users in the U.S. this year, a significant boom from its 10 million customers back in October 2022. The online megastore offers cheap clothing, accessories, toys, school supplies, home and kitchenware, and more. Think Amazon but for super cheap items.

The customer, who goes by "Phev" (@phevayaa) on the platform, recently made a TikTok detailing the purported fraudulent charges from her card. "So my bank details got sold to the black market by Temu," she says. Her video garnered 12 million views and over 100,000 shares. She continues, "So they took $400 [total], but it was in really small portions for two months. So, like, once a day, they would take out $3."

Phev explains that her bank notified her of the "suspicious activity" on her account – but, ironically, she thought that her bank was trying to scam her. "I was just like, this is so b*llshit. I'm not falling for this sh*t. Like, that is for me to click the link, and then they can hack me." She continued to receive these updates from her bank even when $100 was taken out of her account, assuming it was a scammer trying to phish her into clicking a link.

Eventually, Phev could no longer make purchases on her card. "I was like, to mum, 'I think my card has been hacked. 'Cause I couldn't buy something today," she recalls. The young woman finally called her bank to notify them that her card got hacked – and she learned that the bank had three pages worth of charges from different countries on her account after they looked into it. "Like all of them were from different countries and people," Phev adds. "Because the black market people use a different IP address or something. I don't know." Luckily, they were able to assist her and waive these charges.

When she asked the people assisting her what they were buying, she said they couldn't tell. In the end, Phev got a new card and learned her lesson to delete the app and never order from Temu again. "Moral of the story is do not use Temu," she tells her listeners, "and don't put your f*cking bank details into it. If you really want that $2 ELF primer, just buy the real thing or just use Paypal."

While other customers didn't claim that their bank details were sold to the black market, many have alleged that Temu "scammed" them. "This company has scammed me and ripped me off," someone wrote on the Better Business Bureau site. "I had placed two orders with Temu on 05/25/2023 but the supposed order was shipped in one badly damaged and torn box. Upon receiving this order there were numerous items missing from the order." The complaint explains how Temu reportedly did not give them a refund. "I am so tired of dealing with this company," they added. "This company is nothing but professional liars and scam artists!!!!"

These privacy invasion claims aren't surprising at all, especially since Temu's sister app – Pinduoduo – was pulled from Google's app store due to malware that was said to exploit vulnerabilities in the Android operating system. Insiders reported that these exploits were used to spy on customers and competitors to increase profit. Temu doesn't seem as bad as Pinduoduo, but it has as many as 24 permissions, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth access. Why does an online retail store need access to those things? "These permissions might seem innocuous at first glance, but cybersecurity experts argue there is no need for an e-commerce app to store biometric data, and any request to do so should be treated with suspicion," writes Nicholas Foisey of Compass IT Compliance. "Unlike passwords, biometric data like fingerprints cannot be changed, which makes them a lucrative target for cybercriminals."

So, in addition to the high lead content in fast-fashion brands' products and their unethical business practices, we now also have to be mindful of potential privacy risks.

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