Account hacked and am now permanently suspended

[JAWares]

Hi all,

This is the first time having to reach out to the Etsy community for support! As the title suggests my (other) Etsy account has been placed on permanent suspension.

ANYWAYS! 

I started a different account in 2020-2021 called Jawbone Art Studio. To date I've only had 31 sales, I mainly did it for fun, which it was.

Sometime December 20th, 2024 my studio computer was hacked! My personal Facebook account, Amazon, Instagram were compromised!

I managed to regain access to my accounts after Christmas and have since added 2 factor on those accounts. I forgot about my Etsy store account because I placed my shop in "Vacation Mode" until the start of the new year.

On December 27th, 2024 I get five messages from what seems to be random Etsy users. All messages all said the same thing word for word.

They all asked to please respond to their inquires. No detailed information as to what their "inquires" were. I was in the process to respond to some of the messages using the Etsy app on my phone and then I get logged out of the Etsy app! I try to log back in and a message pops up saying that I've been suspended!

I have received a total of FIVE emails from Etsy stating that I've been permanently suspended! I have already applied for an appeal explaining the situation I was in. I have then received an email on December 30th explaining that my suspension is permanent! I have also contacted Etsy live chat and they have referred my issue to a "specialist" I feel pretty lost in this and I'm worried I wont be able to shop or sell on Etsy!

[TheVintagePineapple]

Those random Etsy user messages sound like scam messages.

Were you selling other things related to Nintendo's Castlevania video game besides the stained-glass print?  Did you ever get a notification that Nintendo or Etsy removed one or more of your listings for infringement?

Be aware that, since Etsy closed your other shop, the shop you're posting from could be shut down too, especially if you plan on continuing to sell ''video game inspired artwork''.

[JAWares]

I have reviewed the emails from Etsy and it never stated why my account was suspended. Only stating that my account was permanently suspended for violating Etsy's Terms of Use. I never received any notification(s) that any of my listings were removed for copyright reasons. My apologies for the correction, but Nintendo does not own the copyright for Castlevania, Konami does. I have seen many listings for Castlevania on Etsy, so it seems a stretch to have mine removed specifically. That does not mean the copyright holder DIDN'T report my listing to Etsy, it just seemed a little unlikely to me. I just wish that if my Etsy store was deactivated because of infringement that I would have been notified what listings were infringing. The timing of everything happening with my other accounts being hacked makes me think that my Etsy account was hacked as well...

[UniqueGiftOrnaments]

@JAWares   Etsy will never tell you why items were deactivated or shop closed. But if you knew Castlevania was owned by Konami, why even use it. A trademark is a trademark. Anyone selling with a gaming theme needs to be very careful.

[BagmakerSupply]

@JAWares: "... my (other) Etsy account ..." Are you familiar with Etsy's requirement that "you must list all the shops you run in the Public Profile section of each account."? Etsy seems to be cracking down on technical violations. See https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017604474-How-to-Open-a-Second-Shop-on-Etsy?segment=selli... for more information.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

If etsy decides you have multiple IP infringements, they do shut shops completely, straight away

you might have been hacked and then came up on etsys radar, and they didn't like what they saw.

an appeal suspension for IP infringement is no point, IP infringing is illegal, etsy will ignore your requests, and they don't have to give you a reason.

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