BrickLink is currently offline following a suspected hack, so here’s everything we know so far about the secondary LEGO marketplace’s shutdown.
Access to BrickLink – along with its stores, price guide, catalogue and everything else the online marketplace has to offer – is currently suspended. A generic landing page proclaims that maintenance is in progress, while an accompanying statement says the site is closed due to ‘unusual activity’. But what has happened behind the scenes at BrickLink, and when can we expect to see the marketplace – which is owned by the LEGO Group – back online?
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These are questions to which we have no official answers at the minute, as BrickLink and the LEGO Group are remaining relatively tight-lipped on the entire situation. But reports from reddit and other corners of the internet have shed some light on events that reportedly occurred late last week, and which have prompted the temporary suspension of BrickLink. Here’s everything we know about the shutdown so far…
BrickLink has allegedly been hacked
According to posts over on the r/BrickLink subreddit, the site has apparently fallen victim to a cybersecurity incident. BrickLink seller pshbrk claims that ‘one or more hackers’ have managed to access ‘several dozen’ BrickLink accounts, belonging to both buyers and sellers, and have changed inventories and prices at previously-dormant stores. These hackers have reportedly used buyer accounts to leave false positive feedback on these stores as a way to lure in unsuspecting buyers.
Examples of changed prices and inventories provided by pshbrk include dozens of copies of 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser for $300 (less than half RRP), 75331 The Razor Crest’s Mandalorian minifigure for $25, and 43230 Walt Disney Tribute Camera’s Bambi figure for just $5. These prices – in conjunction with huge inventories of recent releases – were ‘pretty clear red flags’, the redditor says. However, there were apparently even more tell-tale signs that something was amiss.
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The first of those was that the hacked stores only accepted payments via bank transfer or debit/credit card. Most BrickLink stores allow buyers to pay through PayPal or Stripe, both of which offer buyer protection – but neither of these options were allegedly available through hacked stores. Second, the payment links given to buyers reportedly did not match the location of the BrickLink seller. (One example pshbrk gives is a French store sending out payment links that stated the merchant was actually located in Italy.)
Some buyers may be at risk
If you paid for a BrickLink order via bank transfer or debit card in the past week, there’s a chance you may be at risk – and may not get your money back at all. If you’ve placed an order with PayPal or Stripe, or via your credit card, you’ll likely be fine, as these payment methods all provide some form of buyer protection.
Redditor pshbrk suggests that as many as 200 to 300 orders may have been affected by hackers, but not all of these will actually have resulted in people losing money: some buyers will likely have backed out after not being offered the chance to pay using Stripe or PayPal, while BrickLink was apparently quick to suspend hacked stores and cancel orders.
One hacker reportedly posted a ransom note
BrickLink’s relatively swift action was apparently made possible by users reporting suspicious stores, which then prompted admins to shut down stores and notify buyers. Following this initial pushback, a hacked buyer account is said to have posted a ransom note on the site’s forum demanding €50,000 in Bitcoin within 30 minutes, or they would begin deleting inventories from ‘big stores’ and stealing data.
It’s unclear at this stage whether that note came from the same people responsible for the purported hacking of BrickLink’s stores, however, or someone else taking advantage of the situation. Either way, it was reportedly published through a compromised buyer account with roughly 20 feedback.
BrickLink’s communication has been limited so far
BrickLink then shut down for unscheduled maintenance sometime on Friday, November 3, with no official statement provided at the time. A little while later, the site’s admins updated the maintenance message to read: “We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We are currently investigating some unusual activity, so it’s too early to speculate further. We will share more information once it’s available.”
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The marketplace’s official communication has been relatively limited so far, with further updates offering little insight into the situation. On November 4, the landing page message changed to: “We’re sorry BrickLink isn’t currently available. We continue to investigate the unusual activity. We want to make sure we take the time to investigate fully. We will be back up and running as soon as possible.”
As of November 5 at 9.40pm UK time, BrickLink reads: “Friday we temporarily closed the BrickLink site due to unusual activity. Since then, the team has been working super hard to make sure we can reopen as soon as possible – and we’re getting closer to doing that. Thank you for your patience and support. We’re grateful to have such amazing members.
“We know it’s frustrating and disappointing. We want to assure you we’re working as fast as we can – and not getting much sleep – to restore BrickLink.”
The site has also responded to concerned users on Twitter, reaffirming that the team ‘take[s] the security of the platform seriously’ and wants to ‘complete a thorough investigation’, and has contacted sellers to assuage fears over delayed payments of fees and potential negative feedback while unable to fulfil orders. Sellers will apparently not be reprimanded for late payments, and has advised sellers affected by negative feedback to reach out to BrickLink’s customer support for help getting it removed.
What’s next for BrickLink?
So, what now? Well, it’s basically a waiting game on BrickLink’s side, as it’s impossible to say how long the team’s investigation might take – and how quickly it will be able to remedy the situation.
If you’re a buyer on BrickLink, the platform apparently does not record payment data, so none of your details should be compromised. But that unfortunately doesn’t extend to passwords, so it’s definitely worth changing your BrickLink password once the site is back online, and in the meantime those of any other accounts that may share the same password across the web.
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Source: https://t-tees.com
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