Etsy's Announcement re: Protect Your Account from Scammers

[#1]

It's great that Etsy has finally acknowledged that scammers have been victimizing many Etsy shops with their featured announcement.  My question is why can't we reply to it? 

[ChillwolfArt]

I saw the Announcement yesterday, and was glad Etsy finally posted something.  It was long overdue. To be honest, due to the high velocity of scam attempts and Hacked Accounts taking place here, I felt more examples of current scams should have been given (as was listed in Seller @bradgoodell  Thread; which was Pinned and initially put into the Managing Your Shop Section. And recently was UN-pinned; I couldn't find it in that Section).

Many Sellers don't come to the Forums, so this would benefit everyone as an Announcement in the Seller's Dashboard. I can't begin to imagine how many Sellers have been hacked, and are continuing to be hacked. Also, I really do believe something could be put in place where Sellers could Mark Messages as Scam (and keep the Spam option as well).  Those Marked as Scam could be reviewed by a HUMAN. After all, overzealous bots deactivate listings at lightening speed. 

Hacked Accounts need IMMEDIATE and 24/7 help, with a knowledgeable security team.  There is no reason for a company the size of Etsy, to not have this available. As well as 24/7 assistance for anything financial related. I'm seeing too many Shops hung up trying to get help after Verifying, for example.  No excuse for that. I've been here since 2011 and have never seen the amount of hacking and scam attempts as we see here today. Attempts on new Sellers as well as Seasoned Sellers. Many times these scam attempts happen immediately after Sellers list an item.  There is oftentimes a pattern there. 

So while I am glad to see an Announcement, Etsy needs to ramp up their support big time. 

[vintageNCtreasures]

@ChillwolfArt 
I never found Brad's post on scam's either in the managing forum section. 

I finally did a search for how to spot a scam and it came up though so it's somewhere but who knows how many pages back. 

I really don't see why Etsy didn't leave it pinned given the # of posts every, single, day about these scam messages sellers are getting or why they closed it because supposedly "it had ran its course".

IMO Brad's post was a lot more informative than the announcement that Etsy posted.

Here's the link:
Solved: How to Spot a Scam - No a Buyer Doesn't Need Your ... - Welcome to the Etsy Community

[CanningCrafts]

Considering these scammers seem to be targeting new shops, they could also incorporate the "how to protect your account" info in the initial messages after someone opens a new shop. Like, hey, thanks for opening an Etsy shop. Here are ways to protect your account. We will never ask you to buy an Apple gift card, etc. It seems unreal that people still fall for the gift card thing!

[VintageRescueSquad]

They should also discontinue the admin-sponsored "post your new shop here" threads. They are a goldmine for scammers.

[TrashyPug]

Hello All,

I say the same post this morning and tried to respond to it but it would not let me respond either.  So i actually sent the author a direct message regarding concerns i had about this post (with no response to my concerns).  While everything she said was correct it was very one-sided in regards to fraud and scammers.

I had a very basic issue regarding some older order (from years ago), i had to take the packages to the post office and didn't print the label through Etsy.  This was in the beginning of my selling on Etsy so i didn't update the order as shipped, even though it was.  I had stepped away from selling on Etsy for a couple of years but i had been planning on re-opening my store this week.  So i sent a message to the help desk asking if there was anyway to clear this past orders so i can start fresh.

The Etsy agents (it took 4 different agents to tell me if i could clear these orders or not) responded back asking me to verify the following information...

[This content has been removed by Moderation. We ask that you please review Section 1, Item 2 of our Community Policies prior to posting.]

I was very taken back by the info they wanted me to verify....this is all account based information. 

I responded back to the agents letting them know that 

If someone has access to my account without my permission the questions you are asking are available though my account. Which means the fraudster has access to all the answers to Etsys "security" questions. So that makes Etsy's process of keeping our "accounts secure" not so secure. 

So this is just an FYI to other sellers to keep an eye on your account because Etsy seller verification process is not secure at all.

I have reached out to multiple people at Etsy with no response.  Because of this i have lost trust in Etsy and without sellers selling their items. Etsy has not business.

Thank you for reading and I wish everyone a blessed day

Amanda

[SeasideRoseCreations]

Because then people would be asking for critiques, promoting their shops, etc.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

In my "This week in your shop" email, under Etsy tips, there is the link to the announcement.

So, they are sending it via those emails.

It should be on the dashboard too, though.

[PoochandTabby]

Oddly enough, I got an email this evening from 'Etsy Trust and Safety' about scamming in reply to a ticket I apparently have open from July, which the only thing I've been contacting Etsy about is about the domestic/international pricing tool problem. So completely random and nothing to do with the tool and the actual problem being discussed. 

I wonder if they are just replying to random tickets about the scamming problem? Has anyone else received an email? Unless this too is a scam of some sort....

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

If the email did not provide your ticket # and address your problem, I would certainly consider it as scam mail.  These scammers are really getting bold and dangerous.