Had one of those fraudulent emails this morning via Folksy.
Perpetrator is sjane0010.
I’m about to report them, but just a heads up for everyone else…
As usual, they’ve picked the most expensive item in my store.
Message from item page: http://folksy.com/items/4442490-Fairisle-hand-knitted-lambswool-shoulder-bag-cream-green-and-blue
hi,I’m Jane by name,i saw your item posted on here and am interested
in purchasing it,before i proceed with payment i will like to ask some
question about the item: are you the real owner of the item?is the item
still available for sell?what is the present condition of the item?do
accept PayPal as your mode of payment and what is the final asking price
of the item?so pls kindly get back to me on my email for fast respond: smithjane0010@gmail.com
hope to read from you soon.
Thanks.
1 Like
oh dear all the usual questions and as always your most expensive item. It must be that time again so beware people
Do not answer those emails just report like Lois is doing.
Thanks for flagging this up Lois.
As you suggest, if you get a message like this please do report it to Folksy.
Here is our advice on how to spot a scam, and what to do if you receive a suspicious message:
https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/91791-suspicious-emails-from-potential-buyer
You’d think by now they’d have learned to change the emails. Who starts off anything by saying ‘I’m such and such by name’ and then asking questions that are all answered in the description anyway?! The emails are all exactly the same.
This is clearly a lesson in education- fraud comes much easier to cleverer people! Haha
Morning,
I’m going to sound a bit simple now. I’m new to Folksy so I’ve never heard of these dodgy emails - although I’m not new to the internet and can spot a scam at 100 paces. What I don’t understand is what happens with this fraud - what are they hoping to achieve by asking these questions???
does anybody know how this works - do they just keep asking questions about item and the finally ask for your bank details - is this similar to that infamous oceanographer ?!
There’s a bit in the Folksy help pages that explains how they try to part you from your money. It’s something like an overpayment type fraud - they want to pay you £300 for a £120 item, then when you send the £120 item, their £300 payment mysteriously disappears somehow.
I’ve no clear idea how it works and am guessing the rest. I suspect they try to do the purchase off of Folksy as well - they’ll probably disguise it as “saving you fees” or something like that, but that means you lose all your seller protection, proof of order, purchase trail etc. They must catch the odd person out to keep doing it. Vermin, truly.
2 Likes
Found the article. A bit more useful than my speculation and guesswork.
http://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/91791
1 Like
I just had one like this - I did reply but only to get his information to give him a delivery estimate - but having seen this thread I am sure it was a scam so will post his whole message here, in case anyone else has been targeted recently too.
Am wishing now that I hadn’t replied - why doesn’t Folksy have a proper messaging system so we don’t have to give out email addresses?
Hello Seller,
Am Michael Thao,I came accross your item on here,I will like to buy the item,is it ready for the immediate purchase, before i proceed with the payment i will Like to ask about the item…
-
Is the item still available for sale?
-
What is the present condition of the item?
-
Do you accept PAYPAL as your mode of payment?
-
what is the final asking price?
kindly get back to me with your reply to my private email:
( michaelthaonguyen@yahoo.com )
hope to read from you soon,
Best Regards.
1 Like
yep that’s the classic scam. It’s was originally on ebay ie notice they ask about final price.
All the other questions are already answered either in your listing or on the folksy site.
He’ll email next saying he’s an oceanographer and unable to use his paypal account.
1 Like
He’s just done it! An oceanographer buying a present for his sister. He says he’s honest too!
I think I’ll forward his email to PayPal’s spoof team.
1 Like
I’ve received an email today that looks suspiciously like one of these scams. The wording is different but it’s decidedly fishy. I’ve forwarded to support and suggested they include a more prominent warning in the initial contact.
Had the email been better written I’d likely have fallen for it,
Essentially they were asking if a linked item was still for sale, when it’s clearly in the shop!
I may be mistaken or paranoid, but this was the wording…
"Do you still have this Art listed on (folksy.com) for sale and
how much are you willing to sell it out and i would also need
some more if you have in stock. send me some more pictures to:…"
Anyone else?
yep it’s the same scam they’ve changed the wording slightly but still it’s the same thing.
Don’t even bother to answer it and for goodness sake don’t send them any more photo’s.
As an artist there’s a horrid scam you need to be aware of and it’s comes from China. They target artist. They are after good photo’s of your work so they can copy it and sell it as their artwork.
There are groups of people in china that do it in groups one paints the background the next the trees the next the fine detail etc etc. They sell it on Aliexpress, Alibee and even Amazon.
Artist are forever having to send out Cease and Desist letters for infringement of copyright to get it taken down but they are so organised and it just doesn’t stop.
