Etsy Support "Verification" Scam

[HubOfDigitalWonders]

I got two messages from "Etsy Support" asking me to confirm my identity because my account has been marked as suspicious. They asked me for my card information, bank balance, and was about to "verify" by making me pay almost $230 USD. The problem is that I gave them my card information! Can someone help me on what I should do next? Thank you.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

contact your bank - report you have been scammed,

get the card cancelled, and get a new one,

depending on the terms you have with your card provider, you may be covered for fraud, and they will refund you, if you authorised the payment.

.....

If the message is from etsy, it would have been in the "from Etsy" folder, as well as the inbox folder

[ButterflyFeetDigital]

The scammers are targeting newer shops mostly. 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

[ThePurplePuppy]

Yes, contact your bank and either freeze your account or ask your bank how to proceed.

Cancel your card and get a new one

Do this NOW. Do not wait, not even a minute. They will work fast to take your money.

[EphemeralExpressions]

Yes, do as @ThePurplePuppy recommended first and foremost before you do anything else and contact your bank and/or cc company immediately. 

Things to remember as new sellers, (or sellers opening an additional shop): Etsy will never send you a message asking you for your email address (they already have it), or request you to follow a link to provide any information, and they'll never send a QR code for you to scan.

Anyone can message you on Etsy; the scammers are using users names such as Etsy Support, Etsy Staff, and Verification Bot (and a host of others), but all message correspondence legitimately from Etsy will be in a folder in your messages titled "From Etsy" when signed in on a browser. Any message not in that folder is not a legitimate message from Etsy.  Fairly newly reported is the seller app (which I don't use) apparently has a lozenge around messages that are actually from Etsy. 

Don't be embarrassed that you fell for it; others have too and the scammers are good at what they do, and continually adapt to bypass security measures Etsy (or any other website) puts in place.   Any questions you have regarding suspicious messages or things you are unsure of, come to the forums - there are plenty of sellers here who will offer advice, often times preventing these type of things from happening. 

[hespgfsl]

Yes I received a from etsy support that looked like I needed to verify my account.  I did until they asked me to give them amount in my account 

[PinkCoyoteJewelry]

This is scary!

A very simple question for Etsy is, why don't you have Good Customer Support for both buyers and Sellers. You are a public company, get with the 21st century.

[BagmakerSupply]

@PinkCoyoteJewelry: Unfortunately "get with the 21st century" means more artificial intelligence bots and less actual human contact. All large companies seem to be moving to this model. And when you do get a real person they often do not seem to have the ability or authority to actually fix something.

[SVGRox]

Etsy needs to get a grip and auto spam scammers it's either a skill or a will issue

[CABJupiterDesigns]

This just happened to me 10 minutes ago....UUgghhhhh.  Seemed quite legit........until they asked what the balance was in my account.  Froze then cancelled the card.  Scammers are just the worst!

[ChillwolfArt]

@CABJupiterDesigns 

I'm very sorry this happened to you. Scammers have been hitting new Sellers as well as seasoned ones.  "Verification" is a popular scam, as well as posing as Etsy Staff/Support, etc.   Scanning of QR Codes is another. When you receive a LEGIT Message from Etsy Support/Staff, etc., it will appear in the "From Etsy" Folder (in Messages). If it isn't there, Mark the Message as Spam (so you don't get dinged for S Seller).  *"From Etsy" Folder was not on the App until recently (a highlighted blurb on the Message). The thing is, should you not see this first (and be familiar with it), you could receive a scammer's Message beforehand. Also, the App does not allow you to Mark the Message as Spam (you must use a browser instead, or use the Buyer App).

Also for future, many scammers are posing as "Buyers", stating they need your email for an Order. They don't, Etsy already has it. When you receive a LEGIT Order, it will appear in "Orders & Shipping" (Left Column of Shop Dashboard); if it isn't there, you have no Order.  Mark the scammer's Message as Spam (so you don't get dinged for S Seller).  And never click on links or engage with them.

Etsy should be able to nail these FAKE accounts who are impersonating Etsy Staff/Support, etc. It's happening way too often. For a while now, Sellers have been reporting that legitimate Buyer Messages are being put in "Spam" by Etsy (obviously a glitch to combat the scamming problem). Here is the Help Article re: Scams.
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000343128-How-to-Handle-Scams-and-Suspicious-Messages?seg...

I'm glad you froze the card, and contacted your bank. To be on the safe side, also run virus scans on all of your devices. And do report this to the authorities; you are the victim of a cybercrime.

Hope this is helpful.

ETA: @hespgfsl  Hi, This if for you too. And I'm sorry you were targeted by scammers. It stinks.

[LuluandMe444]

I fell for this arrghhhh. Bank will not return the $300 unfortunately. Has anyone managed to get their money back?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@LuluandMe444 

Quite a few people in the UK who have posted here, have the money refunded by their bank, because of fraud protection regulations.

It will depend on your bank's tous and how they are regulated in your country