Scammed

[UNUMCLAY]

Within an hour of opening my account, I received 7 or 8 emails which I now realise were not from Etsy!  It was in "Shop Manager" so I assumed they were all from Etsy...  wow these a***holes work fast...  and I didn't realise they were setting me up.  I'm a complete newbie (opened shop 24 hours ago) and the setup was also a bit of a process, but I got there in the end. 

The following day, (Today) I received a message from a "potential first buyer".  Another message said that they had made a purchase but couldn't pay because my set up hadn't been properly autorised. And The next message above said that I was on a temporary block and I needed to verify my bank details.  Keen to make my first sale, cooking dinner, helping with homework, etc, I followed the instructions... and got caught out!

Out of the 18 inboxes messages I have received, EVERY SINGLE ONE of them is a scam of some sort...  Am I just unlucky?  Or does everyone have to work out everyday which one is a scam and which one is not?  

And yes, now I have been able to read the forums and have familiarized myself with the interface a little better, I now know better.  No "Should Haves" please.  I'm already feeling pretty crap.

[TandemElementsShop]

this seems to happen to new shops for the most part, so at some point, it should stop. until then... doubt everything, and remain vigilant. 

Am I just unlucky?  Or does everyone have to work out everyday which one is a scam and which one is not?  

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Welcome to Etsy! 

That's an awful first experience.  Unfortunately the scammers are rife and they particularly target new shops for the very reasons you were caught out.  I hope you didn't lose too much money!!

In your messages you will see to the left that it says "From Etsy" .  Genuine emails will be in that folder.  

Always go to your shop manager to see if you really do have a sale as you are likely to get a lot of those messages where they say they are trying to buy!

Here is Etsy's article: How to Handle Scams and Suspicious Messages – Etsy

[CraftyCornishMaids]

under every message in your inbox, it says

.... To stay protected, stay on Etsy. Never follow links to other sites, and don’t share contact, account, or financial info with anyone in Messages. Learn how to spot spam.

and if you click,  the learn how to spot spam, the first thing it says, highlighted is

Authentic messages from Etsy always appear in a From Etsy inbox on Etsy.com and are clearly marked with a "From Etsy" badge below the subject line.

If someone claims to be an Etsy employee and the message is not located in the From Etsy folder, or does not have the "From Etsy" badge, mark the message as spam and don't reply. 

......

So do what it says, and mark spam messages as spam

[Natalya1905]

All legit messages from Etsy go to "From Etsy" folder.

Be super cautious about messages in your Inbox. Don't click any links. Don't scan QR codes. Don't give any personal or financial information for "verification". Buyers have no way to know if your "set up has been properly authorized". All legit orders appear on your Orders & Shipping page. 

If you see the message is scam, be sure to mark it as spam. If the message is a legit one from a buyer, reply within 24 hours. 

Besides, finish your shop. There are some unfinished areas (banner, title, sections, About, shop policies, etc) that need your attention.

Hope it helps. Good luck!

[Natalya1905]

@UNUMCLAY Your shop is still unfinished. You may want to check the Shop Critiques forum section for detailed and helpful information. 

[UNUMCLAY]

Arghh..  really.  Thanks for looking and checking!

[GreatStuff80]

If you gave them bank or any other personal info, did you notify them to watch your accounts? You may have to close and change the account! I'd change all my passwords immediately. And sadly, yes new accounts ( both buyers and sellers ) are targets. I wish etsy would put up a huge notification warning new accounts when they sign up. 

[UNUMCLAY]

Thanks, Etsy community.  I appreciate your support!

Yes, THIS.  I wish that Etsy would put up a huge notification when opening new accounts or at least send a message in the "From Etsy" to reiterate the warning.

  Scanning through the forums, this happens to too many new sellers  

Thank you @Natalya1905 , my kids have helped me to finish the page set up.  I thought I could do a soft launch and come back and finish it when I had time. So hopefully this keeps the scammers at bay! 

...  and I have just gone into my messages and I have 7 more scammers!  A total of 25 in just under 48 hours.

[BootifulLabels]

No "should haves" from me, but some practical advice.  On your message page, in the menu at left of the reading area, there is a folder labelled From Etsy.  Anytime you receive a message that purports to be from Etsy, check that From Etsy folder.  If the message in question does not show up there, it is NOT from Etsy at all.  Send it spam and it will flag the sender so you don't receive more from that user account.  Of course scammers likely open hundreds of accounts at a time so it doesn't mean you won't get any, but it slows them down and teaches them that you are not a good target, so they may just move on to another newbie and leave you alone.

As for any losses from this strike, contact your financial institution sooner rather than later, they can often get your money back.  I had a scammer (not on Etsy) recently who managed to hit my bank account out for several transactions of $150 or so over several days.  My bank was able to claim it all back and there have been no repeats since.   I still check my account closely though, "the price of freedom is constant vigilance", can't remember who said that, but he sure was a clever man.  Hope you will be as lucky.

[UNUMCLAY]

I'm glad you got all your money back.  

I called my bank within the hour of it happening (or lets just say they answered after an hour!).  Card and payments are blocked... 

It would be great if Etsy could send a message in the "From Etsy" section sharing this information for new sellers.

[Amaradorn]

I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you have contacted your bank and stopped the card (if relevant). Unfortunately new shop owners are being targeted because they often don't know how the system works yet. Once you get established and have a few sales the scammers will hopefully move on to someone else. Quite how they find the new shops, no one knows. 

[CoyoteMountainTack]

I opened my shop about a year ago and I had maybe one scam message a month. Something changed for you to be receiving this many in one day. good luck.

[UNUMCLAY]

Yep...  now up to 25 messages from different scammers in under 48hours...  

[ButterflyFeetDigital]

More to read:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Protect-Your-Account-From-Scammers/m-p/143158945#M1882

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/How-to-Spot-a-Scam-No-a-Buyer-Doesn-t-Need-Your-Ema...

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/New-From-Etsy-section-in-Messages/m-p/143722497#M1899 

If you receive an actual order, you will see it in your "Orders and Shipping" section and you will receive an email from Etsy notifying you that you have a sale, and there will be a notification in your dashboard as well. 

[Thedinkydoodlestudio]

It would be helpful to new sellers on opening their accounts to be sent an e mail to warn and educate them as this is not an isolated event.  As so many are walking into the trap,  current messaging, if any,  does not appear to be hitting the mark.