Play it Safe!
In today’s digital world, the opportunities for sending and receiving unsolicited and inappropriate communications are virtually limitless. Recently, multiple Zibbet sellers and Community members were the recipients of several such communications, commonly referred to as spam. According to Merriam-Webster Online, spam is defined as unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses. Scams, which are fraudulent or deceptive activities, are often part of spamming. Not all spam and scams are trying to “sell” something. In the recent spam activity here on Zibbet and on the Community Hub, the spammers were attempting to collect personal information from members under the guise of wanting to purchase an item or in the offer of friendship.
The Zibbet spam/scam e-mail was initiated using the “Ask seller a question” option for an item and the message copied and pasted from one seller to the next. The messages were sent from a new buyer account opened on the same day that the messages were sent. The message read (e-mail address omitted):
Hello
How are you doing today and how was your business also with your family??Am very much interested in making an instant purchase of this item and i will be willing to make payment through Cashier Check or Money order so if you are ready to sell the item for me,let me know the condition of the item and best price of the item as at now…and also get back to me with your full name and physical address not PO BOX so that the payment will be mail out in your name and direct to your address as soon as possible also provide me your phone number…..I will be very glad if you can get back to me with the details requested for the payment to my private email account which is this name@place.com
So you don’t need to worry about the shipping arrangement,i have account with FedEx shipping courier which i am going to make use of and i will be sending FedEx down to your address for picking up the products from you after you have getting the check cash..
Thanks and best Regard.
Mary
The Community message was similar in that it requested that the recipient contact the sender outside the Community using personal contact information. We all send and receive legitimate unsolicited e-mail. However, when you receive e-mail from someone who suddenly appeared on the scene and they are asking for your phone number, mailing address, and/or personal e-mail address, you should immediately be suspicious!
So, what should you do and not do if you receive a suspicious e-mail through either your Zibbet account or your Community Hub account? Immediately report the suspicious e-mail to support@zibbet.com by forwarding the message from your personal e-mail. That way the guys can quickly see exactly what you are seeing and take appropriate action. Do not respond to the suspicious message, especially to or from a non-Zibbet e-mail address. Never give your personal e-mail address or any other contact information to anyone you don’t know, even another Zibbet buyer or seller or Community member. Apply the same common sense to your personal e-mail. Scammers are constantly seeking new ways to frame their fraudulent attempts to take advantage of innocent people. Play it safe!
For more information on how to recognize and avoid falling victim to spammers and scammers check out these informative websites:
With open registration, both on Zibbet and Zibbet’s Community Hub, it’s difficult to prevent future occurrences of spamming. However, Zibbet is working to implement safeguards that will help reduce the chances of this happening again. Working together, we can help to create a safe environment for buying and selling on Zibbet!
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
Vintage Key Necklace by Days Long Gone on Zibbet.
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of three Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Denim and Pearls and A Stitch and a Prayer. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.Tags: E-mail, Online Safety, scam, Spam, Success on Zibbet
I’m so glad Zibbet will be taking the appropriate action against them. More people should read this article because there might be so many artists out there who may be newly introduced to world of the internet and aren’t even aware that this could happen to them. This article could save them from falling into that trap.
I have recently received some advertisement through my zibbet shop for an online supply store. I couldn’t check if the sender is a zibbet member or not or it could just be spam.
As far as I know, the only way to receive messages through your Zibbet account is for that message to come from another Zibbet account. Just in the last couple of days there has been a spammer who opened multiple accounts here and was sending a message soliciting business for a jewelry supply website. Those accounts have all been closed, at least the ones the guys knew about.
One possible way to recognize a spammer other than what I presented in the article, is to look at the account name. For example, the most recent spammer choose account names that a legitimate seller probably wouldn’t choose–things like bbbaaa777666 or boob178000–because that name is the name of the shop!
To check on the account for someone who you suspect is a spammer, simply copy the account name from the FROM area of the message and then paste it into the the address/URL box to create a Zibbet account URL. For example, http://www.zibbet.com/bbbaaa777666 and press the Enter key. If the account is still open, you will be taken to a shop FP or buyer account page which will give you the date the account was opened, account name and location. What you see on that page can also give you some hints as to whether the account is legitimate or not.
goodkarmajewelries & LOCDesignStudio…
I was spammed by the same person twice this weekend. I recognized them for what they were right away (similar URLs as Vicki mentioned in her comment above). They used different URLs both times. I contacted Zibbet support and reported both addresses. Zibbet was already on top of it and told me that the spammer had opened several accounts and Zibbet cancelled all of them. Great customer service as usual.
As always, I love reading your blogs Vicki!
Wanitta
I received two of these spam messages this weekend also, one to each of my jewelry shops from two different Zibbet “spam” accounts. The messages were identical.
Glad you enjoy my articles Wanitta. I hope that they are helpful!
Vicki
Vicki, I love the Zibbet items you used in this article. Judy
I recieved the spam from the supply shop also.
I also received spam from the supply shop.
Thanks to zibbet for being so keen on this…Keep on keeping on!
as always, spot on, Vicki … great article! xo Karen
I have received spam messages from Zibbet accounts, also. I am glad to see that it has been mentioned here so that others can be made aware of it as well! Way to be on the ball, Zibbet!
Thanks,Vicki. Although from experience,I knew it was spam, I hope with your article newbies won’t be taken in.
Thank you for this important information Vicki!
Vicki thanks for giving me the heads up. I got one of these over the weekend as well, but deleted it right away. Next time I’ll be sure to pay more attention and let our Zibbet support know so my fellow Zibbeters are not targeted. As usual - LOVE ZIBBET and ZIBBETERS!