Scam messages

[TheHoneyWitch]

Hi all,

I’ve received 2  messages from 2 different people, stating they want to buy a lot of stuff from me… and to click on a google link…. 
NO WAY would I do that… 

Why is this happening??

anyone else getting these requests?

[UppNorthEh]

good thing.  don't click.  mark messages as spam.

it's happening because etsy has enabled rampant scamming on their site.

[Vintorious]

So far I've been spared, but many have been posting about this in the forums. Glad you didn't click their links! 

[Smudgekitty]

I've seen reports of such a scam a while back, but it seems to be resurrected and is making the rounds again, possibly scammers hoping for a piece of the pie their competitors have been feasting on the last several months.

[NancyQstudio]

During harder times scams and fraud seems to increase.  Unfortunately Etsy sellers are easy targets since the corporation does not consider this problem a priority. 

[Amaradorn]

Yes, don't click on that link. I've heard just clicking on it can download and install malware on your device/pc which enables hacking.  Mark the message as SPAM (using a browser).

[CryzalisDesigns]

No one should ever click on links in their messenger or emails.  

[ZenCatPottery]

@TheHoneyWitch   These scams have been going on here for at least 6 months, and there have been 2-6 (or more) posts about this per day for about 6 months too.  These scams are the reason Etsy created a “From Etsy” section in messages - so sellers can know if a message is really from Etsy or a scam.  If it’s truly from Etsy, the message will be in both your inbox and in the “From Etsy” section.  If it’s in your inbox but not in the “From Etsy” section, then it’s from a scammer.

Despite repeated warnings from Etsy, Etsy deactivating many scam accounts each day, Etsy initiating the “From Etsy” section in messages, etc, many many sellers have fallen for the scams, losing thousands of dollars and lining the scammers’ pockets.  Until people wise up, the scammers won’t stop.

[ClickifyDesigns]

I am experiencing the same issue too. one last week and one just today. both i had marked as spam since no way a google link has a gmail link inside. These scammers are so desperate to hit their daily scamming quota or something? 

[EclecticAcclaimShop]

I received a few,the person sends a link that also contains a little photo of a listing I recently posted…not quite sure how they did that-as I only recently discovered how to send a link to a specific listing and thought it was only possible from shop manager using the ‘promote’ option in the listings area of shop manager… could this mean such people gain access to one’s account or they just have an ability I am not yet aware of? Some of the people have been banned but I still get more. This is .very. recent. What is annoying is that they require the ‘respond within 24 hours’ and some don’t reveal themselves as spammers until they hear back from you and start their scheme…

Also,to save you the trouble,watch out for this: about a month ago as that is when I opened my shop here in Etsy I received a message in regular messaging section (as someone else also noted if the message is not in the From ETSY section-it isn’t legit) that said ‘Etsy staff’ on it,claiming I was ‘restricted from making purchases and sales’ but that ‘my item was paid for and email verification was needed to collect the $’. This was bs. And spam. The real Etsy staff was informed via email and within 2 days they assisted me & confirmed this was all fake and neither to respond nor provide email.

Also what is one to do if they are receiving messages that require a reply,spam or not(I thought we weren’t penalized but sometimes this is not the case) or more seriously to buying/selling and messaging is providing an error and not working? This started immediately after I finished a legitimate convo with a seller about my payment delaying via Etsy messages. (wasn’t spamming anyone) To report,I’ve tried Etsy chat which was ineffective and email reporting while also providing screenshots and it just sends an email asking to verify identity,when I do so,I either receive the same email again or get ghosted- It keeps going in circles…has this happened to anyone else?

[ChillwolfArt]

@EclecticAcclaimShop  Yes, it happens way to often. Knock on wood, I've not been targeted so far, but it really bothers me to see it happening to so many Sellers, both new and seasoned.

This is true though. For the Star Seller Metrics, you still must Respond to the Message or Mark as Spam (obviously for the spam ones).
In your last paragraph, when you said Chat keeps going in circles...I've not used Chat to date. But when you say it sends an email asking you to verify your identity; I don't think this is the REAL Chat.  Rather, a Spammer. Some Sellers have posted they had a spammer trying to get to them thru a "Chat". And many scammers are using "Verification" as the subject. I hope this isn't what you're referring to. Just don't click on any link or email they may send you within the Etsy Message. That's what these scammers want, so they can steal your banking info, or get you to click on a link which put malware onto your device.

Hope this is helpful to you.

[EclecticAcclaimShop]

Thankyou for your input,Chillwolfart! The email I received was not in the chat conversation-sorry I did mention those rather close together so I might’ve confused you-

*So,Not during chat: I received the email with the ‘verify your identity questionnaire for ‘if you are buying or if you are selling on Etsy’ after -emailing- Etsy support directly. So I don’t suppose it’s a scam. That did cross my mind at first bc I thought they were asking for a lot of personal info for one of the options. So I responded to it with the question: before I proceed,why do you need that information? The response I received was an -the same exact email- just going in circles. The questions for ‘if you are a buyer on Etsy’ are all I answered & they were less…invasive. The ‘if you asking as a seller on Etsy’ questions were weird..it even asked for the exact $ amount in bank account-now why would anybody be needing that??? I considered answering portions of those questions and skipping some and sending the email out but later decided it wasn’t a good idea.

 Regarding the chat I found it in the help section of ‘shop manager’ and clicked on help with ‘buying on Etsy’ (since I had an issue with an order)…I clicked on one of the links the chose the option at the bottom of the list ‘I still need help’.

The chat function however worked once for me and that was it. The next time I reached out because my issue had become more serious. I needed messaging ability restored in order to resolve the issue-but alas no contact from the chat for an hour-except from somebody called ‘chat bot’,let’s not forget him! It told me to express my concern while it fetched a human to speak with… I did so and proceeded to wait -an hour- with no reply. I even asked ‘is there anybody there helllooo?’ And nein,nothing.

Small backstory my issue was I ordered something from out of the country and was informed by seller that it was sent back to them-they wanted to re-send it to me but need my ‘ok’ first via Etsy messages & problem is I could not respond as Etsys system turned off my messaging ability directly after I finished a legit convo with a seller about my order and a processing issue. I wasn’t trolling spamming or harassing nor was anyone else-but of course this happens to -ME- but the spammers are still contacting me merrily along the way lol. I posted that issue in my own thread in Tech support forum,as a last result effort since all else imaginable has failed.