Prevent people starting an account with a name Etsy to get rid of spam?

[CaracalStudio]

I have been receiving numerous spam messages daily, claiming to be from Etsy. The senders use account names like 'Etsy Support' or something similar. I believe it would be wise to prevent users from choosing nicknames or account names that include the word 'Etsy' to avoid confusion and potential scams.

[NanaLetha]

I would think the bots would be able to do that.

[bradgoodell]

It would be a good idea, but not perfect.  What if a seller's name is "Betsy"?  Etsy is right in the middle of it.  And we've seen people fall for these scams even when the scammer misspelled Etsy to "Esty" or misspelled "help" or "support" or used Cyrillic.  Etsy put a warning on messages (sadly, not on the app) and I've seen new sellers say "I saw the message, but I was so excited to get my first sale...."  

The fact the before this, people continually fell for the Nigerian scam which is well over 20 years old (fake Cashier's Check, send overage via Western Union) That scam is still going strong, but now it's Venmo not Western Union.  Scammers adapt quickly and well to changes. 

Not saying it's not a good idea, and I do wish Etsy would do more.  

[CaracalStudio]

I'm not saying this will prevent 100% of the spam, but I mean no  one should be able to send me a message with a username "Etsy Support" and their profile photo is Etsy logo in this time and age. 

They can get a list of 1000s words similar to Etsy they wanna block. Even an intern can come up with a list with all the variations and "cyrilic". 

They can also code it in a way that full words Etsy or similar in account names. 

Even if they blocked the full word "Etsy", that'd cut the spam in half.

[EightMileVintage]

I reported an account via Chat months ago for pretending to be Etsy. The account name was literally Etsy Support. Months later it's still here.

[stuartroadvintage]

I always thought this wasn't allowed from the beginning?

[BrooklynStVintage]

@stuartroadvintage 

I remember this as well.

[audreytherese]

There's much on this site that is not allowed, but that doesn't stop people. Just having it in the rules isn't enough, they need to actually enforce it. 

[JDTotesnDolls]

True the information is in Our House Rules about using Etsy's name

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Once again, they are just hopelessly bad at their job.

How hard would it be to hire people who could actually make the site work?
It must be ingrained in all Etsy employees that truth, honesty and integrity do not matter in business.

[WitticismsRus]

Just to clarify...

They arent actually starting/opening accounts using Etsy as part of the account name. Account/user names are automatically generated string of letters and numbers now and have been for at least 5 years or more . The scammers aren't picking an etsy username because they can't. What they are doing is changing the prefered name (used to be called display name) to etsy support or whatever.

Usernames https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015653248-Your-Username

Preferred name https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000337387-How-your-Username-Shop-Name-and-Preferred-Name-...

[CaracalStudio]

I feel it is still blockable. You can code it like,

No full words:

Etsy
Etsy Support
..

in 

Display name
Preferred name
Store name

etc.

[audreytherese]

Don't forget...

EtsySupport

Etsy Supprt

EtsyS upport

Esty Support

and so on...

Just like they change their fonts and intentionally misspell words to avoid detection in messages, the same would happen with the names. And since most of the people falling for these are already missing dozens of red flags, they would probably overlook a slight misspelling in the name too. 

[FeltOnTheFly]

And what about users?  Do they bear some responsibility for so easily falling for scams?  Seems to me like many of the people getting scammed here haven't read Etsy's Terms of Use and actually have no idea what happens when they get a sale, and how they get paid.  They are often unaware of what information they've already provided to Etsy, and they don't know to visit the forums regularly.  And they fall for really common scammer tactics...

The scammers must be making a hefty profit from unsuspecting Etsy sellers.    

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

While I agree users are responsible to read available information before setting up shop (though there's a TON of it and it's often inaccurate / contradictory because Etsy don't keep it properly updated), I also don't want to blame the victims of scams.

Etsy could and should do a LOT more to weed out the scammers.  Not letting people pick user names that look like "Etsy Support" (or variations)  is one of those easy things.  Another is to train their bots to not let people use a white on orange "E" initial as their user photo.  Etsy could also put a warning alerts on suspected scam messages in sellers inboxes, reminding people to be wary and that if the message is not in the From Etsy folder, then that message is not from Etsy.  All those are super-easy things to do.  

There are so many scammers here because they KNOW and SEE that Etsy is not very vigilant about screening them out.  

[FeltOnTheFly]

I totally knew someone was going to toss the old 'victim blame' accusation in here.  Yes, I totally believe that people should do what they can to protect themselves.  I do believe people should be aware of online risk and scammers.  Knowledge is power.  As is taking care of yourself.  

That being said, of course Etsy should be doing more. 

There are so many scammers here because they know and see that Etsy is not very vigilant about screening them out, and because they know there are a lot of people here that are being pretty easily scammed.  

I feel very sorry for those who are falling for the scams.  It's really unfortunate.  

[BootifulLabels]

@FeltOnTheFly 

You are absolutely right, Etsy can only do so much, and to be honest, they have been doing it pretty quick of late, often the offending account is gone, before the victim has a chance to answer the opening message.  I feel for the newbies, I really do, but in the end, it is up to individuals to make themselves aware of the signals that usually accompany a scam message. 

Unfortunately there are far too many new Etsy members who have watched a Youtube video or read a Tic Tic or Twitter article about how quick and easy it is to make a mint on Etsy, selling stuff you didn't create, but can claim you did.  They take the bait and jump in and open an Etsy shop without even taking the time to read about how things work on the site, and what to expect when that first sale comes in.  The fact is that this particular scam targets mostly brand new shops and many of those are so eager to get that first sale, they jump straight in and swallow the bait, taking the whole process off Etsy where Etsy has no way to stop it.

Until more people start taking responsibility for their own actions, and stop blaming anyone but themselves when they run into trouble, this will keep happening.

[CaracalStudio]

The disturbing thing is, even if you don't fall for it, you'll still get an app notification, an email, and a message box notification. It will steal your attention and distract. Think about mutliple messages from multiple accounts. It is irritating. 

[JDTotesnDolls]

When an accountis opened, the user is assigned a bunch of letters and numbers.  The user can then change the name.  Etsy is doing their best to stop them but it is a hard task.  Unfortunately, a few slip through the cracks but Etsy does remove them as quickly as they can.

Sellers have to do their part in being aware.  Scamming is not just happening here.  It is happening everywhere.  Sadly we must all step up our game to prevent being taken advantage of and what to do in case it happens.   

[OneEyeCatStudio]

"Etsy is doing their best to stop them but it is a hard task."

In any business I've ever worked in, if your best isn't getting the job done you get replaced by someone who can get it done.

[vintageNCtreasures]

IMO etsy is clearly NOT doing it's best to stop these scammers.

8 months and counting and these scammers are worse than ever here.
And that's just based on sellers that have got scammed out of $100's or $1,000's of dollars or have gotten these scam messages that post in the forums which is probably a VERY SMALL percentage.

They're probably 1000's or 10000's sellers that have been targeted and/or scammed that you never hear abot.

And for sure it's way MORE than just a few that slip through the  cracks.

I'll say this again, if scamming is everywhere why don't I see posts on eBay forums from sellers that they've gotten messages from these scammers pretending to be eBay?
I don't and look at their forums a few times a week.

Why? Because eBay does monitor messages and those scam emails never get sent.

[CaracalStudio]

I mean if I'm getting multiple emails/messages, getting notified on the app,  and my Etsy message box for obvious scams, someone is not doing their job.

I have been notified 10 times at least daily in the last couple of weeks for the same sort of spam, I can't imagine the scale these people are operating. 

I mean, we don't even need to go far and start with how can someone send a message with a title "Etsy Support".

[Amaradorn]

The sad thing is, I fear unless Etsy gets better at stopping these fake accounts then it's either going to continue like this (as the new normal) or get worse. They need to do more, and if that means Betsy can't have a screen name then she can choose something else (Sorry to all those named Betsy). I'm almost certain that a programmers can set up the system to tell the difference between 'Betsy' and 'Etsy' though.

[Adorabilities]

They don't even need to refuse those user names. They can just flag those iffy ones and have a human review them, just like they do with questionable listings. 

[MetroRetroVintage]

"I believe it would be wise to prevent users from choosing nicknames or account names that include the word 'Etsy' to avoid confusion and potential scams."

I agree.  If they can lock a seller's shop for using her own first name (Amber) in the shop title section, then I don't see why they can't restrict the use of the company name when creating or renaming an account.