Have you ever heard about scammers or Etsy scammers for those who are selling on Etsy platform? In the business world, no one wants to sell things online and then get tricked by other fraudulent services who want your money after all. Therefore, this article will help you – the sellers and the shoppers on Etsy to have fundamental insight into Etsy scammers and how to avoid them.
Let’s get started!
1. What are Etsy scammers?
We describe scammers as those launching fraudulent businesses or schemes to deceive naive and careless people to take their money, properties, or personal information.
Etsy scammers, for example, may frequently create many accounts and send identical messages to different merchants with little or no individuality. Etsy Scammers will prey on sellers who have many high-priced items in their shop but few sales.
Of course, there are many scammers with various scenarios, and you may not predict what the evils will do. Below, we will identify some common types of Etsy scammers for you:
2. Types and Signs of Scammers
2.1 Send Phishing Email
Phishing is a cybercrime usually aiming at their targets by pretending to be an organization that the users know. This type of Etsy scammers will send you confirmation emails and force you to log in using your Etsy account to a website that does not originally belong to Etsy. By deceiving you into getting access to their fake site, phishing scammers can easily steal your personal information and even your payment account in a second.
2.2 Low price and high awards offer
On Etsy, it doesn’t have to be giving an award to trick someone. Instead, it can be your favorite product, but the shop offers an unexpectedly lower price than other sellers. However gorgeous the provided image on Etsy of that product that you saw, it is all fake or photoshop pictures, and you are being scammed when you receive that product with low-quality appearance and function.
What’s more, Etsy scammers can also send you notifications announcing that you have won a significant award (gifts from their shops, for example). The situation may happen the same as phishing scammers when you will be asked to pay a fee. The scammers will tell you that that fee is for governmental taxes, deposit for your award, and the like.
We all know that money and awards are not easy to take, so stay alert and don’t get scammed by those scammers.
2.3 Urge to act immediately
Scammers pressure you to act before you have a chance to consider your options. They may instruct you not to hang up if you’re on the phone, preventing you from checking out their conspiracy. Moreover, those Etsy scammers may try to terrify you by threatening to arrest you, sue you, revoke your driver’s license, or telling you that your computer is about to be corrupted if you do not follow their instructions.
2.4 Strange Payment Method
As a shopper, you have to be careful about your bank account. There will be some Etsy scammers or sellers who will force you to pay in an unusual way outside of Etsy. Paying them without hesitation causes you to lose money very quickly.
Some standard payment methods that the scam wants to be paid: retailer gift cards, bitcoin, Credit/debit cards, and checks, etc.
2.5 Suspicious messages and links
Just like phishing emails, suspicious messages and links from Etsy Message can get you scammed unexpectedly. Those Etsy scammers can be considered Catfish-the scam who creates a fake online to approach naive sellers and shoppers and ask for money. Furthermore, they can send you links to a spoofed website, then steal your user name and password, and continue their illegal activities with other accounts on Etsy.
2.6 Buyer fraud
A buyer can be a scammer when they try to complain about false or fabricated information to ask for a refund from your shop. An illustration for this is when they text you that you shipped them an empty box (although you carefully checked your shipping and fulfillment and nothing like this had happened before); your product is out-of-date and broken; and so on. Those Etsy scammers even change their address of orders, and your product is sent to nowhere.
2.7 Overpayment
This scam happens when a buyer sends you a cashier’s check that the money is unintentionally larger than the selling price, and they will ask you to send them back the extras. However, that cashier’s check is counterfeit. This accidental overpayment can create trouble for you, so be careful with those Etsy scammers.
3. Best tips to avoid Etsy scammers 2022
3.1 Check the link before clicking
How to avoid phishing emails and suspicious messages from Etsy scammers?
First thing first, do not try to click on the provided link or the download button, and carefully check writing styles as well as typos from that email with the real emails Etsy sent for you long ago. After that, you should confirm the email senders with Etsy. If it’s not @etsy.com or @mail.etsy.com, you’d better report and block those emails if you don’t want to lose your information.
3.2 Don’t provide any personal information
Etsy scammers can approach you and ask for your personal information so that they can easily connect with you. Will there be any further relationships between shoppers and sellers apart from shipping and receiving products? No, you’re definitely being scammed! Therefore, in order to avoid this scam, you should not tell them everything about you; instead, show them your Etsy information that you registered from the beginning.
3.3 Resist the pressure to act immediately
Don’t click. Don’t deposit. Don’t follow any instant instructions that some random people on Etsy tell you. If there is an important announcement from Etsy, they will give you time to make a decision. Therefore, when someone pressures you by a sudden emergency, check whether that account belongs to Etsy service or not.
3.4 Check their payment method
Never pay for those who insist on a gift card or a money transfer service as a method of payment. Also, remember not to deposit a check or transfer money back for those who “overpay” for a specific product. Underpayment, overpayment, or partial payment plans are all trying to get you scammed!
If you pay for the Etsy scammers via credit card or debit card, contact your company or bank that issued your cards and explain your case to them. If that scam makes you pay by an unauthorized transfer, report to your bank about that unauthorized debit or withdrawal.
3.5 Check the quality of the shop
Not only you who get scammed, but also other victims, and indeed one of them will report to the Etsy community or directly give feedback on the websites considered scams. You can check the seller ratings and read feedback from previous customers. If there are so many negative comments about that shop, you should get rid of them and find other reputable stores. One more thing to consider is the product price and shipping cost – scammers usually lower their price in an unreasonable way to trick you into choosing their merchandise.
3.6 Ignore unreasonable and valuable prizes
If you saw a big deal by someone offering on Etsy, using some powerful words to attract you like
- “Chance to win iPhone 12 Pro on Etsy with only a click!”
Or
- “Congratulations! You have won a big prize from Etsy!”
But it doesn’t appear on other social media sites of Etsy. You had better pay no attention to those prizes.
4. If you are scammed, how to report scammers on etsy
The Internet is the place where your information and your property are insecure, so our best advice is to stay highly alert and “think before you act” when someone is about to deceive you.
In case you are scammed, the first thing to do is to report with Etsy or read the information on Etsy Help so that they can assist you as soon as possible. If you want to spread the scammer’s information so that everyone else can be aware, you can share your story on the Etsy community or your social media. Best of luck with your business!
Read more
