If it looks like a scam and feels like a scam it’s most likely a scam.
If Etsy send you a message it will be in the “from Etsy” section in messages in your dashboard.
Be careful Etsy has become a place for scammers to target sellers daily mainly it’s bc Etsy don’t have a strong enough protocol put in place to flag their messages.
This is based on my own opinion and observations:
How to spot someone who may be a scammer:
(this is not always the scenario, use your judgment, if you think it’s likely it’s a scammer, trust your gut - it’s highly likely it is!)
- no profile pic (use your own judgement some people just don’t want to have a profile picture)
- their profile name may make you suspicious
- no favorites / profile info like their location (again use your judgment)
- If they message you asking for your email or other personal information
- If they message you just one word to see if your account is active/if you’ll reply
- If they message you asking trying to befriend you to inquire your marketing plan
- If they message you pretending to be interested in you shop or your shops products
- If they message you pretending to be a shop owner trying to befriend you to inquire your marketing plan
- Common spelling mistakes like “shore” or “sa le” is done on purpose sometimes to avoid bot detection!
It would be in Etsy best interest to focus more on ways to prevent and penalize the scammers who create fake Etsy accounts literally just set up to target Etsy sellers!
