Etsy Scams

[LaCausEffect]

I'm brand new to selling on Etsy. I received messages from potential customers that said they were trying to purchase an item and Etsy was asking them for the sellers email address. Of course I sent it to them. Then I received an email saying that I needed to VERIFY my shop. I clicked on a link to verify and there was a form for a CC. I did not enter any information. I just want to confirm that this is a scam to get my credit card information. Thank you for any insight.

[GieseDeseiGns]

Yes any time someone wants to take you off Etsy through email (which they have when you signed up), these are scammers. They want your CC and bank acct. so they can take the funds from you. They will say we cannot verify your acct. for security purposes re enter your cc and bank info, or they may want you to click on QR code too.In messages via browser see the “From Etsy” message look in that, if the messages you are unsure about are just in messages and not under that tab they are scams. Run a virus scan on your computer, you may have a virus even though you didn’t give them anything.

[bradgoodell]

@LaCausEffect Yes, it's a scam.  Buyers NEVER need your email to make a purchase.  What the scammers want to do is take you off Etsy and steal your CC info and empty your bank account.

Some things to consider to keep you safe:

1. When you get a REAL order, the order will appear on your ship dashboard, and the money will show in your shop payment account.  
2. If Etsy ever needs to confirm or verify anything, Etsy will put that notification on your shop dashboard.  
3. Don't let anyone take the conversation off Etsy.  No email, SMS/text, phone calls, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.  Keep everything within Etsy messaging.
4. Do not click on links or scan QR codes sent in a message.  
5. When in doubt, check your shop from a browser, not the app.  The app is limited.  Any message from Etsy will be in the "From Etsy" section in messages. 

Good luck.

[ButterflyFeetDigital]

Things to read:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Protect-Your-Account-From-Scammers/m-p/143158945#M1882

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/How-to-Spot-a-Scam-No-a-Buyer-Doesn-t-Need-Your-Ema...

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/New-From-Etsy-section-in-Messages/m-p/143722497#M1899

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000343128-How-to-Handle-Spam-and-Suspicious-Messages

[audreytherese]

"Etsy was asking them for the sellers email address. Of course I sent it to them."

Think like a buyer. Have you ever ordered anything online? Did you ever need the email address that belonged to the shop you were buying from? Could you think of any reason why you would ever need that? Does that make any sense at all? Of course not. You may need your email address, but you never need someone else's email address to make a purchase. Of course no one would ever need your email address to buy from you. 

[DougsVintageStore]

Glad you were informed enough to not fill out the CC info and hit send.

Scammers are rolling thru here with amazing numbers lately.

Just make sure you have protection against viruses too from those links you did click on.

Best of luck.

[ModJose · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Etsy is actively engaged in preventing scammers from targeting our community members. If you receive a suspicious message, please proceed with caution. Etsy Support will never ask you to provide personal information via Etsy Messages, such as your email address or password. Any legitimate message from us will show in your "From Etsy" folder.

If you receive a suspicious message, here’s how to report it:

1. Sign in to Etsy.com and go to Your Account.
2. Go to Messages. 
3. Select the suspicious message from your inbox. 
4. Choose Mark as Spam.

You’ll find examples of common scammer techniques and phishing messages here in our Help Center. Read our Account Security Checklist in the Seller Handbook for more steps you can take to protect your account.