Flow of scam messages pretending that they are send by Etsy

[LatitudeLaineShop]

Dear friends,

I'm receiving more and more scam messages pretending that they are send by Etsy. The texts are always that something went wrong with an order or with my shop and that they need my email or other confirmation. Today I received two such scam messages.

Is it the same for you?

I really hope that Etsy will be able to look more into this!

Have a nice day everyone

[Vintorious]

Interesting. Based on comments in forums, they had been concentrating these scam attempts on new sellers. 

[ButterflyFeetDigital]

They tend to target newer shops.

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

If you receive an actual order, you will see it in your "Orders and Shipping" section and you will receive an email from Etsy notifying you that you have a sale, and there will be a notification in your dashboard as well.

[bradgoodell]

I have only received one scam message on Etsy in the last year, they wanted to buy my shop.  

However, I received 5 scam messages overnight through FB/Insta.  The scammers are ramping up there.  I used to get 1 a week, then 1-3 a day, now 5-6 a day.  I belong to two business groups on FB, and all of a sudden there are daily posts asking "Is this a scam?" just like here on Etsy.  In those, the scammer pretends to be from Meta and they are going to close your business page for IP infringement, but you can appeal by clicking on a link.  Must be lots of people falling for it, because it has really exploded.

[bradgoodell]

Adding since I can't edit:

The scammers on Etsy target new shops heavily.  People often get their first scam message within minutes of listing their first item.  

[LatitudeLaineShop]

Apparently they also target older shops - mine is from 2020. Really enervating and also heart breaking to imagine brand new shops falling prey to this...

[bradgoodell]

@LatitudeLaineShop Did you just list a bunch of new items?  From what I've seen, they seem to have found way to target new listings.  I know a long-term seller with 3 shops who is constantly creating new products, she gets a lot of spam too.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

Not an older shop.  You are still considered quite young.  So scammers target such.  They also target shops that are incomplete.  You don't have shop policies for the EU.

But back to the original.  Etsy has posted a great deal of information.  They have a banner in messages warning sellers to be careful (except the app)   And if the Etsy message is not in the Etsy folder then it is a scam. 

[michellepatterns]

Besides new shops, I think they also target shops in countries where English isn't the first language.  The OP is either French or lives in France.  

The wording the scammers use is not how people who speak English as their first language write or speak. It's obvious something isn't quite right with how they are written.  So I think the scammers know it's going to be easier to steal from shops where the seller might not notice the messages don't sound natural. 

[LatitudeLaineShop]

Thank you.

Yes, my shop is based in France.... I didn't notice any issues with the message in English. But the fact that they ask for my email address, for example, makes the alarm bells ring!

From what I have read in one of the Etsy articles, it looks like they also target shops selling more expensive items...

In any case this kind of thing is really not cool and I hope everyone stays clear!

[EtaGeminiArt]

I received 3 yesterday. It always happens when I renew items.

One was from "Etsy Stuff" instead of Etsy Staff. Lol

[TDKJdesign]

Problem is people are still falling for the scams so they're like bunch of starving rats going ballistic at a buffet.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I got a spam message right before Christmas from "Amazing John." The name alone cracked me up. He said my products are "not making sales in the market" and he wanted to help me with "core factors hindering your store potentials of generating revenue." Um, what? I told him not to contact me again and he had the nerve to send another message. (yes, I marked it as spam)

[tresorprints]

I have just been scammed 762$ by someone pretending to be Etsy, right after opening my shop for the first time. They sent me a fake email pretending to need to verify my credit card. PErhaps Etsy should not publish my email so people cannot scam me next time? Something needs to be done for sure. Etsy has washed its hands, they say it is outside of their platform and therefore they do nothing about this. Obviously, I am not interested in selling with them anymore. Extremely disappointing and you feel stupid and helpless.

[BagmakerSupply]

@tresorprints: "They sent me a fake email ..." Was it a free standing eMail or just the eMail copy of an Etsy Message? If the latter, was the original message in the "From Etsy" section on your Messages page when checking messages using a browser or have a colored blurb of text on the Message saying "From Etsy" using the app?