PandaBuy crisis. Data breach and police secrutiny rock online marketplace

The data leak was just the beginning of PandaBuy's problems. Partners collaborating with the network for years are removing their stores from the site. According to some sources, the police have taken an interest in PandaBuy's activities and have entered the store premises.

Shopping in online stores has always been fraught with certain risks. Not every purchase goes smoothly, from transaction security to failing to deliver the product to issues with returns. Despite this, many people often shop online, often from foreign stores. Chinese websites that bring together many different sellers are viral. Customers shop on Aliexpress, Temu, or Shein because of the low prices. The ethical issues and quality of the ordered items often become a secondary concern.

On April 1, 2024, at midnight GMT, PandaBuy was the victim of a cyber-attack, resulting in the data leak of over 1.3 million customers. Hackers easily accessed the names, surnames, mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers of people who made purchases on PandaBuy. Some sources then reported that the leak could be likened to a list of shame due to the number of influencers and celebrities who bought counterfeit luxury goods on PandaBuy. The website began to crash when it seemed like the worst was over for the store's owners.

Overnight from April 10 to April 11, 2024, GMT, the PandaBuy site stopped working. It was impossible to make purchases, payments did not go through, and the stores of trusted partners began to disappear. According to information from people associated with PandaBuy, the problems were related to the police entering the company's headquarters. Although the company's management has not issued any official statement, customers believe in the version involving an ongoing investigation.

Currently, it is impossible to place orders on PandaBuy, trusted stores have disappeared from the platform, moderation on the company's Discord servers is not functioning, and support is not responding to customer inquiries. What about people who recently placed an order on PandaBuy? Opinions are divided. Some suggest withdrawing transactions through the bank, while others believe waiting and seeing how events unfold is better.