Beware scam “Account Suspended” messages on Etsy

Beware Etsy sellers – phishing scams targeting those who sell on the e-commerce platform are increasingly convincing, and the latest phishing scam is after your credit card details. We detail how this scam works.

Phishing scams work by sending an initial message -the bait – to a victim in order to try and lure them into responding. Most often, phishing scams are conducted by email since it’s an easy way to send that bait to a victim. However, more targeted messages can be sent via specific services. A popular example would be through Facebook, targeting Facebook Page owners. In this case, it’s through Etsy, targeting Etsy sellers.

Etsy, like most services, has its own messaging facility. Phishing messages are sent using this facility to try and scam Etsy sellers. An example of such a message can be seen below.

Hello, this is your Etsy Staff employee speaking with you

Due to an update to our payment system and global security update, order processing for your account is currently suspended!

You will need to identify your store. As soon as this is done, it will be back up and running normally. Please fill out this form to verify your store: LINK
Sincerely, Etsy Staff.

This phishing scam message follows a common template, and that is to claim that the recipient’s account has been suspended or terminated because of an update (or often an account violation) and the recipient needs to click a link in order to restore their account. We see similar phishing scams target a variety of different services.

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And as is always the case, the link in the message directs the recipient to an external website that asks the recipient for their personal details which – according to the scam website – are needed to restore the recipient’s account features. In this case it’s credit or debit card information. And with all phishing scams, that information is sent to the scammers in a classic case of identity theft.

As always, never click the link in these messages. Instead, report the messages to the platform in question – in this case Etsy.