Caution: Fake orders to look out for

Hi all. We wanted to let you know that there have been a few cases of fake orders recently. Please read this article for more details, what to look out for and what to do if you suspect an order could be fraudulent - https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/1957648

In these instances, the orders have been placed through Stripe, and although the shipping address is a legitimate UK address, the customer’s username and email address are nonsensical and don’t match up to the shipping details (the email addresses are usually the same as the username but with a few numbers on the end), and they have all been paid for by US cards.

So please be extra cautious and double-check all aspects of the order before sending the items.

We have informed Stripe and we’re waiting for an update from them, but if you suspect an order may be fraudulent please contact our support team at support@folksy.co.uk and/or contact Stripe with the order details.

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Thank you for the info will keep a look out.

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Thanks for the info.

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Thanks for the info

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Hmm, I’ve just had a payment through stripe for an order to the USA on the 18th Oct - the username and e-mail look legit but the e-mail does have a couple of numbers after the same name as the user name and it was paid for by American Express!
It all looks as legit as any other order I’ve had to the USA, what exactly are we supposed to be checking for that looks fraudulent? The user name and e-mail address look just like any ordinary username and e-mail address.

I’ve already shipped it now!

Think I had better contact support!

Oh, just realised that mine has gone to USA but the fake ones are UK based. I may be OK then fingers crossed

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So glad I never signed up for Stripe…

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If they are ordered and paid for, what makes them ‘fake’ orders, please. Are they somehow withholding the money? Using stolen card?I don’t really understand :thinking:.

Yes, they’re using stolen cards and testing them out by ordering lower-value things first (eg products on Folksy) to see if the orders go through.

Thanks Camilla, I get it now.

yup I’ve been stung with this! The payment had been cleared and I didn’t see anywhere mention of it being processed by a US card - I just set up Stripe last Wednesday! So I posted it as the UK address also checked out on Royal Mail. Wasn’t until I got the email from Folksy to say it could be fraud that I’ve ended up in these long conversations with Stripe and Folksy about what I’m supposed to do.

Stripe is ‘advising’ you to refund the sale price [even if you’ve already shipped the item which I have] otherwise, if a dispute is raised they’ll take the money anyway AND charge you a £15 dispute fee - which you ‘might’ get back if you go through the process and you ‘win’ which seems an extremely unfair way to do business! Especially when it’s something that we haven’t instigated.

I really hope that you get some good response from Stripe on this issue and that nobody else gets affected. It’s pretty much taken over my day.

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I’ve recently received an email from Stripe which says they’ve blocked ‘high risk payments’ on my account. I’ve checked my account and there are six payments on 17 October - four are marked ‘Failed’ and two are marked ‘Blocked’ - all are for less than £5.00. Five credit cards are for US banks and one for a UK bank - all are for the value of less than £5.00 . The ‘customers’ all have addresses in the UK - some of the names have made two attempts using different cards. Well done to Stripe for Failing or Blocking these payments - I’ll certainly check any purchases using Stripe before sending anything in the post.

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Phew! glad they all got blocked! Were any for a Scott George? I’m interested to know if the same name was used for multiple orders through Folksy and were any of the UK addresses in Carlisle? [I feel like I want join a Fraud Squad!]

Yes, so far all the orders seem to have been to UK addresses (although US cards were used) so hopefully yours is fine. The usernames and e-mail addresses were similar and didn’t seem like a standard name or words as most usernames would be. The email addresses had a short string of numbers at the end (not like a usual year or single lucky number some people might do) and were all gmail addresses. The usernames had no similarity to the names on the orders.

@Morwhenna We know of a few different usernames that seem to have made these purchases over the weekend. It looks as though they would use one card under one username, test out a small purchase and if this worked, make a bigger one. The purchases under the same username used the same address. The different usernames used different addresses all over the country.

So pleased I am now Stripless.

I was fortunate that Stripe Failed or Blocked these orders - having said that, I would have thought it very suspicious if I’d had six orders in one day!

oh that is interesting! so yes mostly US credit cards then but sending to UK addresses. Thank you for taking the time to share these. Good to flag up too if anyone else gets the same ones. So glad theses were all blocked for you! Phew.

I thought to setup a Gmail you needed a mobile number? so guess they have pay as you go cards or something? And who is that person that the item is being sent to? They can’t be part of the fraud can they? to give an address. I’m not expecting you to know the answers! I’m just curious as to how they even do it and if they’ll get caught as if they buy bigger items on the internet they have to be delivered somewhere!

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Thank you @folksycontent, that’s a helpful heads up! :pray:

I had an email from Stripe a couple of days ago about a blocked payment on a US card, no order came through so presume was blocked in time. Thanks for the warning as I wouldn’t normally think to cross check everything.

@Morwhenna sorry you’ve had this experience. the fact that something is bought and sent to a uk address is irrelevant. the ‘recipient’ address and ‘recipient’ is likely to be one that is also being scammed. the aim of the scammers is just to test a small amount going through before using the card to purchase something bigger or transfer larger amounts.

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