Received email from Etsy telling me Bank Info is incorrect but it is correct

[SewYouCanToo]

I don’t know if I am in the right place or if anyone can help me. I can’t find where I can email Etsy directly to ask this question.

I received the following email from Serge at Etsy (see below) basically telling me that I am non-compliant because my bank account has two names on it but my bank account is a JOINT account so of course there will be two names on it. I have been using it this way for years without any issues and now they are threatening to cancel any pending orders and suspend my shop if I don’t change it within 4 days!!! Is this legit or is this SPAM? I would like to be able to reach Etsy directly to ask them but don’t know how to do that.  Thank you to anyone who can point me in the right direction of what to do with this.

Here is the email I received:

This is Serge from Etsy!
 
For compliance purposes, we require your full legal name on the payment account, as per the name on your photo ID. At the moment you have two names on your bank account information. 
 
To update this, we suggest the following:
 

1. On Etsy.com, click “Shop Manager”
2. Click “Finances”
3. Click “Payment settings"
4. Click “Edit” to re-enter your bank account details.
5. Upload a new document. Please know we require the bank document you upload to include your full name, date, name of banking institution and bank account details.

Make sure that all changes are saved.
 
Please note that failing to respond to this inquiry within 4 days will result in any pending orders you may have being canceled and your shop being suspended.
 
Until we complete your Etsy Payments verification, we will not be able to finish processing any future Etsy Payments purchases made in your shop.
 
Once you have made these changes, please respond to this email to let us know of the updates so we can review it for you again.

[hopeandjoystudios]

1. Make sure that message is actually from ETSY not a scammer. 2. the easiest work around would be opening another account in your name only for business deposits. 3. Our attached account has both my husband and my name on it so I feel that is BS...unless it is maybe a Canadian thing?  You have a LOT of sales..why this suddenly?? I'd be suspicious.But they did say to do it via Etsy so maybe not a scammer? Did some CA law change??

[SewYouCanToo]

Yes, I am quite suspicious because as you said “why now?”. 

I clicked on the Etsy name at the top of the email and it shows:

support@etsy.zendesk.com

That seems odd to me.

[Shascreative]

If the message didn't come directly from your "FROM ETSY" box, its a scam.  I got the same message

[hopeandjoystudios]

I think that is their legit email. As they are not asking you to click any links but to change the info IN YOUR FINANCIAL AREA  on Etsy I think it is real. Doing that would not help a scammer at all. I guess if they freeze your account in 4 days you'll know, but I'd want to get in front of this as it seems it is easier to fix things from a live shop than a suspended one. @SewYouCanToo 

[FeltWithAHeart]

Seems kind of strange, all of a sudden. 

And what does "as per the name on your photo ID" mean????

[SewYouCanToo]

I agree. But how can I contact Etsy directly to ask them? I can’t find an email address anywhere. 

It shows that the email came from:

support@etsy.zendesk.com

How do I know if this is legit?

[BootifulLabels]

It shows that the email came from:

support@etsy.zendesk.com

How do I know if this is legit?

Look to the left of the message window where you will see the folder list.  Look for the folder labelled FROM ETSY.  Click that folder to display the contents in the message window.  If the message in question does not appear in the message window of the FROM ETSY folder is is NOT from Etsy.  If it is not from Etsy, send it to spam and ignore.

[CyanotypeCraft]

Make sure the email is from ETSY...lot of scammers.

The best way to know if an email is realy from ETSY is on the message board select "from ETSY".

[SewYouCanToo]

It says:

support@etsy.zendesk.com

No idea if this is legit or not. How can I find out?

[JMOldeVintage]

The OP could have her husband listed as a "shop member". Who a shop owner has allowed access to their shop, their bank account should be irrelevant. As long as their name, etc. is attached to the account.

And seriously, only one name on an account? If something horrible happened to a shop owner, well maybe their spouse or whoever would need access to those funds. The primary & easiest way is to have that person's name on the account. And in many US States that solves any probate issues, etc. should the unthinkable happen. 

[SewYouCanToo]

I guess I could add him as a shop member but I find is so strange that the double name on the account is a problem now when it wasn’t in the past.

And how would this person know that there are two names on my account?

[GroundZeroCreations]

Doesn't sound strange to me at all. I am pretty sure it is the federal government that sets that requirement. I am on Amazon too and the bank statement/account and all supporting documents must match all the documentation exactly, as was used to set up the seller account. Amazon won't accept even a utility bill for documentation purposes if it is in more than one person's name. You could open a second account in just your name. The problem is that I don't know if you opened a separate account in just your name if Etsy is going to accept it until you have at least one statement period.

I don't understand the bit about your name on your license must match the name on the account though. Because my driver's license also has my maiden name but my bank account is just my first and last name with middle initial. 

But make sure that is really from Etsy. Was it in the message folder that is labeled "From Etsy"? If it isn't, then it may well be some type of scam. Don't click any links in the message until you are sure. 

[SewYouCanToo]

My issue is that the bank account information was set up years ago so why the issue now?

But I just realized that the email was addressed to my first name and not to my email address as always so I am now really starting to believe this is a scam.

Also, the email address they have is:

support@etsy.zendesk.com

Sounds like I have been scammed.

[BagmakerSupply]

@SewYouCanToo: "My issue is that the bank account information was set up years ago so why the issue now?" Because as the applicable laws and regulations change, what was 'acceptable' yesterday may be insufficient or non-conforming today.

[BlaqKat]

I didn't think Etsy contacted via email - they go through Etsy Chat and use the From Etsy folder (only viewable on desktop NOT the app). That email address seems sus.

[SewYouCanToo]

I get lots of emails from Etsy but usually concerning gift ideas, my transactions and my payments. 

I looked at the email again and noticed that they addressed it to my first name only whereas they usually address it to my email account.

So I am really believing now that it is a scam.

[Shascreative]

It's a scam.  Mark the message as "spam" and keep moving.  Don't give them any information.  I got the same message from the same bogus email address.  It was directly in my inbox and not FROM ETSY message box.

[SewYouCanToo]

Thanks. Even though I was very suspicious of it and was pretty sure it was a scam, it sure got me panicking. 

[SewYouCanToo]

Thank you everyone for your insights and answers. I now believe that it is a scam. I didn’t realize that Etsy only communicated through their internal messages. I thought that they also sent emails. Moving forward I will know to check the From Etsy section in my messages. Thank you again. So appreciated.

[DianeMabrey]

I wouldn't write this off as a scam just yet. Did you go to your financials and see if there's anything there? I'd probably open a ticket and see if you can get an answer about this.

[SewYouCanToo]

How do I open a ticket? Where do I go to do this?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@SewYouCanToo 

It is NOT a scam,

it is legit,

they are asking you to change it, from the finances in your payment account,

they are not asking you to click offsite, they are not asking for anything else,

the support@etsy.zendesk.com is the support e-mail Etsy use when they want to contact you, I have e-mails going back to 2017 from this address

....

It will NOT be in the "from etsy"  folder, OR your messages inbox, as it is not a message, it is an e-mail

......

laws change all the time, and etsy is tightening up all the time,

They only have 1 field for a tax ID, and they want the names to match exactly, on everything, a lot of people are being asked to correct minor differences, and being asked for missing/conflicting info

[Amaradorn]

@SewYouCanToo The advice above by @CraftyCornishMaids is correct. The support@etsy.zendesk.com email is legit. I have received emails from this address when I contacted support in the past.

[irmaKdesigns]

@SewYouCanToo I think zendesk is Etsy's support email. I hope Etsy admin can confirm here.

Scammers usually ask you to click on link, this email tells you to go to your finances page on Etsy.com. Just don't click on anything in your email, go to Etsy.com directly. Is there any warning banner in your Finance page?

Etsy legal most likely would come to email on file, not through Etsy messages. My guess it's probably from Etsy.