This week’s pattern: fake “return and exchange” requests exploiting the natural post-Christmas surge in genuine returns, designed to blend into a period when sellers are already processing more return requests than usual.
The setup
Several sellers reported buyers this week claiming a gift item needs to be returned or exchanged, but requesting the refund be sent to a different payment method or account than the original purchase, citing the item being a gift as the reason for the discrepancy. This doesn’t match how legitimate Etsy returns work, refunds process back through the original payment method regardless of whether the item was purchased as a gift.
Why this timing works for scammers
Post-Christmas is a genuinely high-volume period for real return and exchange requests, gift recipients requesting a different size or color, buyers reconsidering a purchase. A fraudulent request blends into this normal seasonal pattern more easily than it would during a quieter month, and sellers processing a higher-than-usual volume of returns may scrutinize each one less carefully.
Red flags specific to this variant
- Any request to refund to a payment method, account, or person different from the original purchaser
- Unusual urgency or pressure specifically around how the refund should be processed, rather than simply requesting a standard return
- A buyer unable or unwilling to provide basic order details you’d expect a genuine purchaser to have readily available
How legitimate returns actually work
Refunds through Etsy’s system return to the original payment method used for the purchase, full stop, regardless of the circumstances of the request. Any deviation from this standard process, especially one initiated by an unusual request from the buyer rather than a standard Etsy-facilitated return, is worth treating with real skepticism before proceeding.
What to do if you receive a request like this
Process any legitimate return or exchange through Etsy’s standard system rather than any manual, off-platform arrangement suggested by the buyer, even if their stated reason sounds plausible. If something about a return request doesn’t match standard practice, it’s reasonable to ask clarifying questions or decline an unusual arrangement before proceeding.
The pattern worth remembering this week
Just like the other seasonal scams we’ve tracked this year, this one exploits a genuine, elevated volume of a normal activity, this time actual post-holiday returns, to make a fraudulent version harder to distinguish from the real thing. Slow down, stick to Etsy’s standard return process, and treat any request to deviate from it as a real warning sign.
