Chinese marketplace account hacked: what to do
Secure your email and marketplace account, ask support and sellers to stop unauthorised orders, and contact your UK bank immediately about suspicious payments. Save order records, messages and payment evidence without delaying urgent action. For supplier and warehouse coordination in China, contact Cambridge China Bridge.
Secure the email linked to your account
Use a device you trust and open your email provider's website or app directly. If you are locked out, use its account recovery help. Check recovery addresses, phone numbers, forwarding rules and filters. Record unfamiliar settings, then remove them. Ask your workplace email administrator for help if it is a business mailbox.
Set a strong password that you do not use elsewhere. Change reused passwords on other affected accounts. Use the security settings to end other sessions and remove unfamiliar connected apps. Enable additional login verification where available, and keep recovery details under your control. Do not share passwords or verification codes with anyone offering account recovery.
Recover and check the marketplace account
Open the marketplace through its usual app or a saved address. Use its recovery or support channel rather than a link in an unexpected message. Explain that someone has taken over the account. Provide your account identifier and previous order references through the verified support channel; ask how to restore access and restrict further activity.
Once access is restored, change the password and end other sessions where the settings allow. Review recovery details, delivery addresses, saved payment methods, linked payment accounts and recent messages. Record and remove unfamiliar changes. Check orders marked as paid, awaiting dispatch, dispatched or cancelled, and distinguish genuine business purchases from unauthorised activity.
Stop orders and warehouse releases
Use any available cancellation option for unauthorised orders and separately ask platform support to intervene. Contact each affected seller through a channel you already trust: identify the order, explain the takeover and request a dispatch hold. Ask for written confirmation of whether cancellation or a hold succeeded. Treat an unanswered request as unresolved.
If goods are with an agent, consolidator or warehouse, ask them to pause affected releases and disregard address changes or shipping instructions sent during the takeover. If an agent owns the platform account, they need to contact support. Our platform buying guide covers wider purchasing checks; our sourcing scam guide covers payment redirection.
Contact your UK bank immediately
Call your bank or card provider using the number on your card or its official website. Explain the takeover and identify payments you did not authorise, including pending transactions. Ask about blocking the affected card or payment method, investigating the transactions and recovering funds. Do not wait for marketplace support before contacting the bank.
Describe accurately whether someone made a payment without your permission or you sent money after being deceived. Give transaction references and explain any linked wallet or payment service involved. Ask which claim process applies to your business account and what evidence it needs. Record the case reference and requested follow-up. For redirected transfers, see supplier bank transfer fraud.
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Preserve evidence and report the incident
Keep original emails, messages, login alerts and screenshots showing account changes. Save order identifiers, seller details, delivery addresses, tracking records, payment references and support correspondence. Write a timeline with dates, times and the time zone shown. Keep originals unchanged and store copies outside the affected account. Capture what you can without delaying bank contact or account security. For account closure, see deleting an account before a refund.
For online fraud or a fraud-related hack in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, check the official reporting guidance to confirm whether to contact Report Fraud. In Scotland, report online fraud involving lost money to Police Scotland. Keep the reporting reference with your bank and platform cases. Warn colleagues, suppliers and warehouses through trusted channels about suspicious instructions from the account, and reconcile genuine orders before resuming dispatches.
Frequently asked questions
Should I secure my email or shopping account first?
Secure the linked email first so recovery messages remain under your control. If payments are at risk, contact your bank immediately while account recovery and order holds proceed.
What if the attacker changed my recovery phone number?
Use the provider's verified recovery channel. Give your account identifier and previous order references, explain the changed recovery details and ask for access restoration and restrictions on further activity.
Will my UK bank refund unauthorised marketplace orders?
Ask your bank to investigate the actual payments and confirm the claim process for your business account. Explain whether you authorised them. A marketplace cancellation request does not confirm a bank refund.
What evidence should I keep after an account takeover?
Keep original messages, login alerts, account-change screenshots, order and payment references, delivery details and support replies. Add a dated timeline and store copies outside the affected account.