Is Etsy legit? What is Etsy? Is Etsy safe? Keep reading for the answers and check for the top tips to stay protected when using Etsy:

What is Etsy?

A giant online marketplace for vintage, handmade, and unique goods, Etsy is one of the most popular arts and crafts commerce websites in the world. It’s the go-to platform for crafters, artisans and vintage sellers, where they can showcase their goods and where buyers look for that special, individual item.

Is Etsy Legit?

Etsy has been in operation since 2005 and has grown massively in popularity since then. As of January 2022, Etsy has over 90 million active customers and 4.4 million active sellers. To be clear, Etsy IS a legitimate site — however, just like with any marketplace, there are scammers waiting to commence schemes and steal money or personal data.

7 Common Etsy Scams

There will always be something that will try to take advantage of instances and that’s where the scammers will take its entry. For Etsy users and buyers, there will be sellers that will try to outwit and outsmart unsuspecting people.

Below are some of the Scams that Etsy users might encounter.

1. Counterfeited and Fake product Scam: Sellers will list counterfeit items as genuine and deceives buyers purchasing class A products or fake goods.
   
   
2. Non–Delivery Scams: Items are delivered to a different address and users will not be able to receive the purchased goods and will have difficulty filing for refund as there will be false tracking information.
   
   
3. Misrepresentation Scam: Sellers will not disclose the real condition of the items being sold leading to users’ dissatisfaction upon receiving the item.
   
   
4. Unauthorized Reselling Scam: Some sellers will remove other sellers branding tags and replace them with their own. This will infringe on copyright and trademark laws.
   
   
5. Payment Fraud Scams: Scammers will try to tempt buyers to transact outside of Etsy, often with promises of discounts. Etsy’s purchase protection program offers significant safeguards against scammers. However, in off-platform payment scams, perpetrators typically entice buyers with discounts or other incentives to complete transactions through payment apps like Venmo or PayPal. Alternatively, they may request payment via cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or gift cards.
   
   Following payment, they withhold shipment of the item, leaving buyers unable to seek refunds because the transaction wasn’t technically through Etsy.
   
   
6. Inconsistent Price Scam: Seller will list item on different shops with different price ranges. They will indicate that the item is out of stock leading users to navigate to a shop with higher price.
   
   
7. Phishing Scams: Users will receive fake, fraudulent emails from scammers claiming to be part of Etsy support. Generally it will take the form of a suspicious log-in attempt or other activity, or a payment issue. For example:

“Dear customer, we detected some strange actions on your Etsy account. To secure your account, reply to this email urgently with your phone number and our Customer Service representatives will contact you. Or click the link below.”

Whether the scammer then calls you, or you visit the FAKE webpage, the intention will be to harvest your personal information — such as credit card details.

7 Tips to Stay Away from Scams

To avoid becoming the victim of a scam, buyers and sellers should take the following precautionary steps:

1. Reverse Image search in google to identify stolen image online.
2. Research the sellers and read the product reviews before purchasing the goods.
3. Stick to the official website. Communicate with the sellers via the Etsy messaging system rather than 3^rd party channels.
4. Don’t click on links or attachments from unknown sources.
5. Use secure payments such as Paypal or Etsy Payment for protection. If a seller suggests an off-platform transaction, report them to Etsy.  
6. Be alert with deals that are too good to be true and suspicious requests for personal or financial information.
7. Report any suspicious activity or listing to Etsy via Etsy Help Center. 

Protect Your Identity

Aside from the steps indicated above, why not use Trend Micro ID Protection to protect your personal information and identity. With ID Protection, you can:

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• Create the strongest tough-to-hack password suggestions from our advanced AI (they’ll be safely stored in your Vault).
• Enjoy a safer browsing experience, as Trend Micro checks websites and prevents trackers.
• Receive comprehensive remediation and insurance services, with 24/7 support.

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