Periodically, Zibbet experiences an outbreak of new spam/scam accounts. Because Zibbet allows account registration without moderation, it’s impossible for us to prevent this from happening from time to time. While this is annoying, learning how to recognize spam/scam message is easy. Please don’t respond to a message from a Zibbet account that…
…requests that you respond directly to their email address unless you need to communicate outside the Zibbet message system. For example, if you’re working with a graphic artist who’s designing a banner for your shop, you’ll need to be able to exchange file attachments which currently has to be done directly rather than through Zibbet’s message system. Or, if you purchase some other type of item that is delivered via email.
…requests that the item in question be picked up by a special courier.
…asks questions about an item that can be answered by reading the description and other information in the listing. For example, ‘Is this item available for purchase?’ Or ‘What is the price?’
…asks you to invoice them through PayPal for payment.
…sounds unusual or suspicious in any way.
…sounds too good to be true.
Any time you receive a message containing any of these characteristics and you’re not sure if it is legitimate or not, contact Support. Provide the Username of the sender of the message so that we can easily find the account and determine if the suspected message is spam/scam in nature.
Do not respond to the message through the Zibbet system or directly to the sender’s email address (if provided). Once you’ve responded directly to the sender’s actual email address you’ve revealed your actual email address, which is exactly what the sender wants–your email address. This is a common strategy for harvesting email addresses that can result in your address being sold to companies who will start sending unsolicited messages advertising whatever they’re selling, aka spam. Spam can also be a device for running a scam!
As they say, ‘It’s better to be safe than sorry!’ Contact Zibbet Support before you respond!
For more information about recognizing spam/scam messages, please take a look at Play It Safe! and How to Recognize and Avoid E-mail Scams.
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of five Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Papa Spivey’s Trunk, A Stitch and a Prayer and Think Like a Fish. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.
Tags: scam, Spam, Spam/Scam Reminders, Success on Zibbet
