I smell something fishy

[THECANADIANTEEPARTY]

I have a suspicion about someone with the username [REMOVED] sales that messaged me claiming to work for Etsy, and is offering to help me with my SEO keywords for the price of 3 dollars a listing

[Adorabilities]

Someone who works for Etsy would be getting paid by Etsy.

[chocolaterabbit]

Scam. Send to spam and run away.

[MaynardMillinery]

Lovely, Etsy staffer with an SEO side hustle!

Yeah, he’s trying to scam you (and he’s not a staffer!)

[Adorabilities]

Make sure to report the account to Etsy -- I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate someone impersonating Etsy staff.

...Unless they're here giving help, of course.  : )

[THECANADIANTEEPARTY]

[This content has been removed by Moderation. We ask that you please review Section 1, Item 1 of our Community Policies prior to posting.]

[bradgoodell]

Bonus points for that.

[BeaconwoodDettman · Accepted solution]

Yikes, be careful - don't make them mad at you. So many of these scammers are laughable (like "I'm calling from the FBI IRS Police Department") but there's a dark side too, where if they want to make someone's life miserable, they can. 

[TheVintagePineapple · Accepted solution]

@THECANADIANTEEPARTY I understand you want to 'play' with the scammer, but you're giving them advice as to how to clean up their scam for the next attempt.   While you have time left to edit your reply, it might be wise to take out the hints and tips.

[ExtremeCreation]

Any suspicious message or emails I get, I do not reply to and send to spam. I don't take changes that I can easily prevent from getting hacked or scammed. 

[PlatypusDream]

Don't give scammers tips to get better at scamming.

Just send to spam and report the profile to Etsy.

[GallagherRourkeGems]

Probably an international scammer! Don't do anything with them!

[bradgoodell]

Basic rule of thumb:  Do not take the conversation off Etsy.  Do not give someone your email address, your phone number, or agree to use WhatsApp for communication.  

There is no good reason someone needs to contact you off Etsy, since they have already contacted you ON ETSY.

Next rule:  Don't click on links.

Third rule:  If they are asking you for money, say NO.

[ExtremeCreation]

How did they message you? Via email or through Etsy?

Either way, if they sent you a message through Etsy, that is not allowed. And if they were "working for Etsy" they would know this.

Sellers are not allowed to just reach out to other Esty sellers to try to sell their products unless they have that authorization from the person they are trying to reach. Like an Email list, one has to get permission from the person that owns the email address or if the person is a customer of theirs. Even then, they can only email the customer about an order they are currently working on. After that order is completed, no more communication should be sent the seller to the customer unless the customer reaches out.  

I would not point out to or give them advise on what they need to "improve" to not seem so suspicious.

[THECANADIANTEEPARTY]

I got messaged through Etsy.

[VintageRescueSquad]

Do not engage, and do not give them tips on how to be better scammers

[miagefaellts]

Etsy itself doesn't remember how they break their SEO here