Account Suspended for Potentially Fraudulent Activity

[JabaLeather]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been running my shop on Etsy for over two years without any issues, always following the rules and providing good service to my customers. Unfortunately, today I received a message that said:

“Unfortunately, after careful review, your shop and Etsy account are now suspended for violating our Terms of Use based on potentially fraudulent activity in your seller account.”

This came as a complete shock to me because I have never engaged in any fraudulent activity. My shop has always been run by me and my brother as a small family business, and we’ve consistently met all our responsibilities, including payments and shipping on time.

The most urgent issue right now is that I have orders that need to be shipped today, and I’ve already printed the shipping labels. However, since the account is suspended, I can’t proceed with fulfilling these orders through Etsy.

Has anyone experienced something similar before? What would be the best way to get this resolved quickly? I’ve already submitted an appeal form, but I’m worried about the delay and don’t want my customers to be disappointed.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated

Thank you.

[PlatypusDream]

I would wait to ship those orders as Etsy has been known to automatically refund open orders when they close a shop.

Your shop appears to be permanently closed. You can try to contact Etsy through the Seller Dashboard if you still have access. You will most likely get an initial automated reply, but reply back saying you still need help.

Good luck.

[CryzalisMasksUK]

Yes, as mentioned by Platypusdream, do not send those orders out until you know if they have not been refunded.

I would suggest requesting a call back

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling#issue_sell_offsite_ads-callback

[bradgoodell]

"fraudulent activity" could mean someone attempting to access your account, or a login from a foreign country or location that had previous fraud activity.  Etsy will freeze accounts that are at risk for fraud.  Doesn't mean they think you are fraudulent, but some activity or incident flagged their fraud bot.  

[JabaLeather]

Thank you for your responses. I’ve already submitted the necessary appeals. No one other than my brother and me has access to the account, and we’ve taken multiple security measures to keep it safe. I purchased and printed the shipping labels yesterday and today, and I plan to ship the orders to avoid inconveniencing my customers. Even if refunds are issued, that’s not my main concern - what matters most to me is that my customers are not negatively affected.

It’s truly painful to be accused of fraudulent activity after more than two years of honest selling, especially as a Star Seller with many best-selling products. I hope this situation can be resolved quickly and fairly.

[TBQSC]

Don't ship the products ... Etsy will most likely refund your buyers today ... do you really want the buyers to have both a full refund AND the product too?  

[JabaLeather]

@TBQSC  

I noticed that one of my pending orders was canceled and refunded by Etsy. However, I still have other orders for which I purchased and printed shipping labels, and these currently show as “Pre-transit” in the system. My customers were urgently waiting for these products, and as I mentioned before, the financial impact is not my primary concern - what matters most is ensuring that my customers are not inconvenienced. I don’t believe I made any mistake with my account, and if my shop is reopened, I want to make sure my customers receive their orders without delays.

There was also an order that hadn’t been approved for payment for three days. The order appeared in my Etsy dashboard, but the payment was never confirmed. I don’t know this customer, and today I saw that the order was canceled without the payment ever being approved. I suspect that the issue with my account may have been triggered by this buyer’s bank declining the payment, which could have been misinterpreted by Etsy’s system as fraudulent activity.

[IvanTroyDesigns]

It could have been the order that payment wasn't approved.  So nice of etsy to leave the seller in the dark with many questions.  Hope you get it resolved.  I stopped selling on etsy a few years back because of situations like this, they don't in any way deserve my business.

[GutscheinVorlagen]

Etsy is just crap now. I was suspended for no reason. I haven't received an answer as to why. Just the typical standard responses. Open your own shop and market it well. No one can take that away from you!

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Etsy-suspends-account-and-shop/m-p/149194047#M937798