First day using Etsy and I get scammed?

[#1]

Hi everyone,

you probably seen 100s of these messages but I just wanted to make sure If I really got scammed.

It all started after posting my first few listings. I got about 4 private messages with the subjects "Support" "Technical Agent" "Etsy support" "Verification"

Each message notified me that I would receive an email to verify my store. True be said I did receive a few links in my email which took me to a page along these lines[This content has been removed by Moderation. Do not share unsafe links in the Forums.] It seemed legit given the web address name and the Etsy logo next to the web address.

I started speaking to lady called Adora. In order to verify my account I needed to run a transaction to prove my bank account is real. Silly me I accepted. She then said, to get a refund and full verification on my store I would have to run another transaction. Thats when the alarm bells started going!

I decided to end the chat upon being told that my store would be suspended. The transaction was just over £100 to a name called Hellcase.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Kind regards

Neil

[TinyIconics]

Wow thats interesting. Iv raised a dispute with the bank. Waiting for them to investigate.

[vintage19something]

Just to be really safe, make sure the bank account you connect to Etsy is dedicated to Etsy only. Don’t keep a lot of money in that account. Check that account for fraud several times a week and move any money you make here to another account asap.

[ParchmentPlacePaper]

This Just happened to me. I'm sitting on the phone with my bank right now. I'm so mad. I'm usually really good at spotting this kind of thing. I got them to stop the charge though, thank goodness!

[bradgoodell]

@ParchmentPlacePaper Some reading for you:

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

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...

Protect yourself.  Good luck. 

[TomCatBazaar]

How are scammers getting their victim's email address? I get that they are using the etsy message system and I have gotten them myself. But not emails. How are they getting email addresses?

[BootifulLabels]

They send a message through Etsy first, which reads as though it is from Etsy support and asks the user for their email.  They then send a follow up email to the address provided by the user asking for additional information to "verify" their account.

[BagmakerSupply]

@TomCatBazaar: In addition to what @BootifulLabels said, it appears that some sellers are mistaking the eMail copy of an Etsy Message to be a direct eMail from Etsy itself.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

scammers message the seller and ask for their e-mail, and the sellers give it to them.

all messages are also e-mailed by etsy to everyone, so they are either giving them their e-mail when they reply to the message on etsy, or when they click the reply button in the e-mail copy.

[SVGRox]

Etsy need to sort this issue as its on their platform not on external messaging. They can easily run a spam filter on messages to block or autospam them

[CraftyCornishMaids]

They do, and they are blocking a lot, as a lot of sellers here complain they can't reply to them..... and there are a lot less reports in the forms now, since the compose message went.

even on my e-mail, through BT, I get scammers impersonating BT, that are not blocked or put to spam. Scammers always find a way round.

people just have to exercise their little grey cells, and not give e-mail addresses out, card details out, and authorise payments to unknown sites/accounts, for hundreds of dollars

people are even bypassing their own bank, when they recognise it as fraud and stop the payment, and setting up a revolut account to pay.

[MinnieMaudsAttic]

@CraftyCornishMaids   I would say that most of my spam emails come through BT despite the fact that I have their spam filters.  

BT’s phone numbers are being spoofed too as are the numbers of other legitimate companies.  

My bank (a telephone/online only bank) makes it really difficult to set up a new payee - I get an interrogation each time.  I have no problem with this as I realise it is for my protection (as well as the bank’s) but I can see that, in a panic, some sellers might be tempted to take the payments to another company if thwarted by their own bank.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I have had quite a few from TV licencing recently

and supermarkets with free gifts,

BT are catching most of the supermarkets, but the tv licencing are not being caught by them

.... and the amazon press button one ones, come through a lot on the phone

............ setting up a new payee should not be a 5 second job, there should be checks, and when they work, it should be celebrated, not deliberately bypassed

[Milancreatecrafty]

The same name Adora just ask me for my bank information. How much money I had in my bank account and then said the they would going to frozen my bank  account for 5min. 

[ManAndStone]

Wow sorry that happened to you! and that this is happening on Etsy.

Thinking what can Etsy put in place to help protect new shops?

Perhaps just a simple onboarding message detailing the process and a warning that anything outside of that process is a SCAM!!! and if in doubt here’s who to contact:…

[CraftyCornishMaids]

etsy has a huge 6 line warning message, about scams.  backlit in yellow, with a link to a great article with more info. it doesn't go away, until you click it to say you have read it,

If you do read it, it says about not clicking links, and not giving e-mail address, and the "from etsy" folder, and a lot more.
and at the bottom, there is a "contact us" button

as I haven't clicked it off, I still have it

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

You can take a horse to water......

[ParchmentPlacePaper]

Yes that would have been very helpful. Or even just saying "All communications from Etsy will be in the 'From Etsy' tab ONLY". I would have had a better chance of noticing the message I got from 'Etsy' was actually a scam.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

you only see the inbox in the app, you don't see any of the other folders, which would mean you miss the real etsy messages

[FrameTowne]

Off topic but I looked at your store, great start to selling!  And you have some really interesting items.  I wanted to just remind you to set up yuour store policies, that can come back to bite you if you don't have policies......   And hope you get the scam thing resolved without losing any dollars.

[Chubbycatspub]

I just got scammed after I started my new shop. Got email right after I opened my shop and same pattern as described others. Chatbot name is Adora and some fake pic. Asking my card info and giving me a scam link with live chat agent. Why the hell Etsy is not providing live chat support or phone call in order to prevent this??? If I didn't look up and found this article, I prob give my credentials. Holymoly, I never experienced this before. Etsy gotta take care of this scammers

[CraftyCornishMaids]

live chat or phone support is there under "help - contact us" I can normally get one or the other.

however, that won't stop anything, the only thing that will stop it, is people not going off etsy, not clicking on links or giving their e-mail, and not giving card details to unknowns, and authorising hundreds of dollars of payments too unknown accounts

just like other phishing scams

[QuirkyAntiquesStore]

@ChillwolfArt Targeting old ones too. I got one today in my regular inbox from Etsy "General support" (first big giveaway there was a weird top of a triangle symbol above the G) second big giveaway-not in the "from Etsy" folder. Something about verifying my email due to global updates blahh blahh.

[ChillwolfArt]

@QuirkyAntiquesStore  Oh man, I'm glad you didn't fall for it.

[ThumbcoastArts]

I just listed my first few items and got the message "your sales have been suspended". Googled it and found this page. Thank you for publishing your warning!

[Kimsbeachydesigns]

Just happened to me but I caught it just in time. Thing is I'm getting messaged through Etsy message not email. And same as you I was building my inventory and loading items. Spent all day doing so. Long story short is my bank card is now locked until I can talk toy bank tomorrow

[GieseDeseiGns]

But look at the message there is a "from Etsy" part of the message, that is where authentic messages come in. The other messages say just Etsy, and you have an order BUT you cannot be verified, because of scams, so they want you to provide your email, in the next 5 minutes etc,  or click on QR code or just click on link to provide your bank acct. and cc. again because they cannot verify it. When you click on a link you are no longer on Etsy you are now in scammers hands.