New form of spam

[AtlasRun]

I have been receiving spam messages asking for my email daily now. But this is a new one impersonating Etsy doing essentially the same thing. Just to give you guys a headsup:

Message I received is below (Copy pasted it)

Неllo, Dear Seller. Welcomе tо Etsy technical support! Your item has been paid for by the buyer but an error occurred as a result of the order processing and the order cannot be displayed in your personal account, please entеr your 𝐞-𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐥 in this chat to receive a customized form to confirm the sale of your item. Thank you!

This message was sent automatically by the system. This account is temporary and will be deactivated within a few hours.

[PillowDetails]

Wow - that last part is interesting!

Bold and cheeky, these scammers!

[DesertChains]

100+ posts about this scam, and it’s still ongoing. That last bit is to create a sense of urgency and to dissuade sellers from taking the time to investigate.

Make it part of your daily routine to visit the forums. You can learn so much about ongoing concerns, problems, glitches, and scams. Stay informed!

For the full discussion about recent scams, see here: https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/How-to-Spot-a-Scam-No-a-Buyer-Doesn-t-Need-Your-Ema...

[bohemians]

"Make it part of your daily routine to visit the forums. You can learn so much about ongoing concerns, problems, glitches, and scams. Stay informed!"

Excellent advice! The forum is the best place to stay current.

[Amaradorn · Accepted solution]

It's a SCAM. It's not new, just evolving. They are trying different tactics to get around any filtering Etsy may have applied to the message system. I notice that 'email' is in a different font face as if they are trying to evade detection. Mark it as SPAM - although I think it's past time we had a SCAM button.

[ButterflyFeetDigital]

I think that last bit is also because they know Etsy will soon be deleting their account so they want the seller to act quickly.

[hopeandjoystudios]

This.

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

And, sadly, there are those so desperate for that first sale or any sale that will jump on this and break a leg giving them the information before the sale goes away.

[LaRenaissanceGirl]

Exactly what I was thinking. 

"this account will self-destruct in 10 sec -- *ahem* I mean Etsy will deactivate this temporary, totally legit, normal, regular  account in a few hours as part of their standard protocol.. nothing to see here." *whistles innocently*

[WolfireBCN]

ayer cree mi tienda en etsy y hoy ya he recibido dos mensajes de ¿compradores'? POR DECIR ALGO, pidiendome el mail para proceder despues a intentar timarme baciando mi tarjeta de credito, todo ello diciendo que debo poner el total del efectivo que tengo en la tarjeta para poder asi realizar mi venta......VAMOS UN TIMO ...NO CONFIESIS POR FAVOR.

[CocoLatex]

Tengo la tienda desde el 2012 y de unos meses atrás recibo constantemente e-mails pidiendo que se confirme el pago y que introduzca los datos de la tarjeta, es fácil saber que es in timo pero seguramente habrán personas que caen.

[bohemians]

This email scam seems to target new sellers who don't have the experience to question it. 

Sellers have nothing to do with Etsy payment processing.

[hopeandjoystudios]

Would Etsy even in their quirkiness refer to us as "Dear Seller?" I think not.

[timelapse]

@hopeandjoystudios - if the AI has been reading enough scam messages, it might just decide to call us that : )

[LaRenaissanceGirl]

Right now, my dashboard says:

"What's New, LaRenaissanceGirl?" 

Lol

[LAKEandFELLart]

An artist I know got this one and was asking if it was legit a couple of days ago ( Showing a screen shot of the message, it looked like Etsy  ) How many are falling fowl to this which i'm sure could be dramatically reduced If Etsy communicated !.

[ZehOriginalArt]

Right. If ONLY Etsy would communicate. But they do not seem to know how. It's so sad.

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

The incredible thing about these types of scams is that Etsy is doing absolutely nothing to inform sellers about them. A message on the Shop Manager Dashboard would put sellers on alert.

[EightMileVintage]

^^THIS^^

[NoFrogsAllowed]

What good does sending to spam do?  So, you don't get messages from that person again, but it does nothing to stop others from sending the same message or to make Etsy aware of the problem.  Report it to Etsy.  They probably won't do anything, but at least they will know what is going on.

[hopeandjoystudios]

Supposedly if any given seller gets enough spammed messages it closes their message privileges. BUT it does not stop them from spamming others up to that limit or then just starting a new account to spam from. They know what is going on. The fact they do not publicly address it in the message area to sellers is awful.

[bohemians]

@NoFrogsAllowed if the messages are coming through Etsy system, sending to spam will satisfy the star seller response requirement.

I would also be alerting Etsy to the account that send the bogus email request though.

****

I can't believe the number of rats that have come out of the sewer lately ... on the phone, via email, etc. etc.

[ONLYCONSONANTS]

Hello everyone,
I have received about 5 messages during this month of August asking for my email to finalize the supposed purchase. I have even been sent logically manipulated Etsy screenshots.
It's exhausting having to fight scammers!

Hello everyone,
I have received about 5 messages during this month of August asking for my email to finalize the supposed purchase. I have even been sent logically manipulated Etsy screenshots.
It's exhausting having to fight scammers!

[ChillwolfArt]

@ONLYCONSONANTS  That is disgusting, and I'm sorry it's happening to you.  Scammers are targeting new Sellers as well as seasoned Sellers (one seasoned Seller reported receiving 40 + scam Messages in one week).  

[ChillwolfArt]

Thank You for your Heads Up. The fact that you've been receiving scam Messages daily is horrible, and I'm sorry.  Sellers are trying to run their Shops while playing dodgeball with these idiots. There has been an infestation of scammers; everything from harmful emails and links within Etsy Messages.  Scammers posing as Etsy Support.  Sellers have reported receiving scam Messages the second they post a listing, which is odd itself.

There should be an option to Mark Messages as SCAM (in addition to Marking as Spam).  Then have a HUMAN review it.  Sellers are constantly working to inform others of ongoing scams, which is essential in keeping the marketplace safe. They are doing Etsy's job. I can't even fathom the amount of Sellers who have not come to the Forum, and are hit with this garbage (and fell for it).
Here is a Thread of ongoing scams, compiled by Seller bradgoodell.  This Thread currently resides in the Managing Your Shop section of the Forum.  It can easily be missed.

(ETA:  I deleted my link to the Thread by Seller bradgoodell.  After posting, I saw Seller DesertChains posted that link above).