Beware of Scammers

[najaferoandco]

Today January 6th I have received about 10 messages in my inbox from supposed customers or pretending to be etsy where they ask me to verify my email in order to sell my items.

Already in December they asked me to verify my card and told me that I had to have more than 400 euros to be able to sell.

Now scammers are the order of the day and ME wanting to make my first sale.

Malicious people taking advantage and malicious people who can't find a way to get their hands on money you don't have.

My question is:

Why Etsy does not block this type of account that surely are not verified because they have nothing in their profile even if it is a buyer should go through a filter where they do not try to harm small artisans or creators who want to make money.

So you have to be very alert and do not fall into these messages that if you realize well when you open your account on ETSY you have already verified all your data and you do not need to send it to anyone when you want to buy.

[Amaradorn]

I'm sorry you are going through this. Lots of new sellers are seemingly being targeted by scammers. I recommend visiting the forum regularly to keep up to date with the latest news.

[Vintorious]

Why Etsy does not block this type of account that surely are not verified because they have nothing in their profile even if it is a buyer should go through a filter where they do not try to harm small artisans or creators who want to make money.

What filters would they use, though? I cannot think of a way to 'verify' buyers, other than their email (as is now done), and their financial details--which cannot be requested if there is no transaction to process. If Etsy requires other personal information, it is equally invasive.

Finally, if Etsy uses financial and personal details to block 'undesirable' buyers, it is discriminatory, and probably not legal. 

[FeltWithAHeart]

And its not just new sellers who are getting scam messages, altho they may get more than others. If anything looks suspicious, or even just too good, be careful what you click on, and don't give out any personal info.

[TimeSpanTreasures]

Etsy has no way of knowing if someone is opening an account to purchase, or to try to scam, but I do agree they should be able to do better at filtering/blocking them.

[NewMoonStudio24]

I have had 55 of these types of messages in the last 3 days! as a new shop its a little disheartening.

[HoneybeedDesigns]

I just got a message today from "ETSY" - with the etsy badge, and an email with the etsy badge, asking me to verify my email address because there was a technical problem with a supposed sale from my shop.  I replied with "NO", and that's it.  I've been on etsy for many years now, but scammers are trying to scam anyone and everyone who isn't vigilant.  Be careful everyone!

[NewMoonStudio24]

i usually just reply with okay or no, im guesssing any real messages from etsy will go in the little etsy folder x

[TheVintagePineapple]

@NewMoonStudio24 No need to reply at all.  Just put it in spam.

[FeltWithAHeart]

@NewMoonStudio24  in this listing, you have one to "wife", but the copy says "a women" and "the women" and should just be "woman" for both. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1651687425/personalised-valentines-gift-print?click_key=aa90d9faf2bd750...

[NewMoonStudio24]

Thank you, ill fix that xx

[tisserande]

Yes, I have had numerous scam emails and am fed up with it.  Don't see how they are able to establish a presence on Etsy unvetted.

[Vintorious]

Do you get asked for an identification card when you walk into the mall? Same thing.

[UptownYvette]

I am not a new seller and I still get the odd message once in a while.  I enjoy writing "scammer" and sending the message to the spam folder.

[OmasFabricStash]

If I were to open a buyer account how would Etsy look to see if I’m a real buyer or a scammer?  Having items favored in my profile would mean a lot of real buyers would be closed as many of us don’t favor things. 
If the account was just opened what would you look at to know if they are real or not? Etsy can’t afford to do a background check on everyone opening an account. When they open the account I bet it doesn’t have the Etsy name anywhere, they change that after the account is opened. 
many sellers have said they went to reply and the account was gone so Etsy is closing them as fast as they can. Etsy has put the information about the scams on all seller accounts, they have sent messages warning about it, and there have been at least 5 new threads every day in the forums about it. 
What we need is for new shops to be less trusting and not give out the information to a message or email without go to the site that it supposedly came from. As long as the scammers  keep getting people to give them access to their bank accounts and credit cards the scammers will continue to operate. 

[Vintorious]

Exactly: scammers like soft targets, and too many new sellers let their guard down too easily.

[secondarycreations]

Etsy does somehow find some of the scam accounts, although I'm not sure how. A lot of people have reported that when they try to respond to a message they're told that there is no such member. Etsy has already closed the account. 

[PuranaJewellery]

Just reopened my shop after 5 years hiatus and have been hit by 8 such messages in the last few hours. 

Does anyone know if sending straight to spam folder affect the stats regarding responding to messages in a timely fashion?

Apologies if this is a silly question. I have been out of the loop for a while.

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

@PuranaJewellery   You should mark the message as spam and it won't count against you for Star Seller metrics.  In the cases where Etsy has already closed the account before you can take action, I'm pretty sure those don't count against you.