Strange message from Zazzle support, is this a SCAM?

[GabrielaG]

Hi Zazzle, I just received a very strange message on Zazzle's message system. The message appears to be from Zazzle, (it does have Zazzle's official badge). Please see the image below.

I replied with my email address, in case it is indeed from Zazzle, so I'm guessing I'll be receiving an email with instructions, but since I'm doubtful that this is a real, and could be a scam, I won't be opening any link on any email, until I receive an answer from Zazzle here. I also sent an email to Zazzle support letting them know of the situation and I'm waiting for their advice.

Thanks in advance for any help clarifying this for me.

[GabrielaG]

One hour later, the message disappeared from my chat messages!

[orientcourt]

GabrielaG , Definately a scam , they haven't addressed you via your shop name, and also would have reached out to you personally via your email , not on Zazzle chat ! 

[GabrielaG]

Hi orientcourt, thanks for your reply. I think you are probably right. I would just like a confirmation from a Zazzle moderator to be completely sure, as today I have been back and forward with Zazzle's content review team regarding a strange removal from one of my designs, so I thought the message could have been a valid one, and related to that.  Also, since the chat did have Zazzle's badge and was on Zazzle.com's usual chat domain, I'm not 100 % sure.

I thought perhaps a moderator could answer here faster, than waiting for Zazzle to respond to my email which takes several days 🙂

But, like you said, this was probably a scam.

[Windy]

The official badge is a yellow ribbon with a Z in it. Do you see that in your message? I don't see it in your screenshot. A Zazzle chat message typically will not come from "Zazzle" , but will come from a named employee.  I think that was a scammer writing to you. 

[Cat]

@Windy I was wondering what the official badge looks like. I went to the help files and this was all I could find, but there aren't any pictures: How to Deal with Chat Spam on Zazzle: A Comprehensive Guide for Creators – Zazzle Help Center

Anyhow, do you know if the badge is their user picture, or does it show up inside the message somehow? Sorta wondering how they can prevent scammers from just copying the image and using it themselves... maybe that's why they don't show it to us? Hmm... 

[GabrielaG]

I did look at the help files and as Cat mentioned above, there is no picture for the official badge, so I thought the "Zazzle" name image could have been Zazzle's badge. I hope Zazzle fixes their help files and adds their badge so we can all be better informed. Although I agree with Cat, that scammers can easily copy the badge image and use it themselves.

What is very interesting is that the message disappeared after one hour!... I have tried to delete a chat message as a customer, as well as a designer/creator, and I don't see the option to edit or delete a message anywhere. So how did they delete it? Does this mean that it was someone from inside Zazzle itself who sent this message?

Let's hope a Zazzle moderator gets back to us with more information.

[Cat]

I've seen numerous posts on the forum about disappearing chat messages and the response from the mods has been that Zazzle deleted them because they were spam. Solved: Re: Message on Zazzle not appearing - Zazzle

Based on that and the content of the message, I'm 99.99% sure it's spam.

[Connie]

They aren't going to publicize their official badge, because then the scammers will just copy that! It's one of those "know it when you see it" kinds of things.

[Windy]

No, the badge is separate from user picture and comes paired with the  name of the Zazzle employee who is writing in chat. I suppose because most people do not have any way to know what the chat badge looks like, a scammer could use anything which looks like a badge and possibly trick one or two people.  However,   I do think that  the official yellow panel which we all see in chat, and which alerts us with every chat message, is probably just exactly what is needed to make most people think twice before falling into a scammer trap. I am glad @GabrielaG knew not to be opening any links or anything!  

The disappearance of that message occurred because Zazzle caught the scam and removed it. 

[GabrielaG]

I was just surprised that the message disappeared without me reporting the message as a scam or blocking the user. I was busy writing the email to Zazzle support and this thread, and by the time I decided I should mark the message as a scam, the message was already gone! 

Anyway, I'm glad Zazzle deleted it! 🙂

[GabrielaG]

Oh wow, I just got another scam message notification on my cellphone! 

The good news is that Zazzle probably caught this one right away, as when I accessed my Zazzle chat messages, this message was no longer there.

Thank you, Zazzle for tracking this scam message out and deleting it right away 🙂

[pencilcat]

I got the exact same message. At first I thought it might be real, but it felt 'off', so I just reported it as spam.

[GabrielaG · Accepted solution]

I got a response from Zazzle, and as suspected, both messages were spam. They suggested blocking them or ignoring them.

I hope this thread helps others with similar messages to stay calm and know what to do 🙂

Many thanks again to everyone on the thread who took the time to explain and help out. You were all great!.

[RemiC]

Same here, I was targeted by a few scammers in the last 48hrs. The message from Zuzzle and the one with what appears to be the AI generated avatar are obvious. 

an 

[UlyssePixel]

I just received the same kind of message with the URL <removed by moderator>. I guess this a SCAM as zazzle is only a subdomain of <removed by moderator>. So, I will not click on the link !!

I hope nobody will get caught by these SCAM. 

[FernL]

I AM Also getting strange messages from Zazzle support.  why are these getting thru the zazzle system?????

𝐙𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦:

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝:

https://zazzle.verif-9484.com/262868274

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦

[AirTwin]

"We need to verify your store. ".... you don't even have to do that when you start a store. 

I am sick of the message system, I want an opt out like did at the start of this junk. It's 99% spam all the time.

If Zazzle has something important to tell me, they can email me.

[Sea-Change]

I received a Spam/Scam message as well, with the Sender pretending to be Zazzle support and a link that's suspect. I did not click on the link, and I reported the message and blocked the user.

I received the message notification via email, which doesn't show enough of the thread to see that it's a scam, and I could view the message from the notification. In my message thread on Zazzle, it was already deleted. I don't understand why Zazzle hasn't proactively suspended this account yet, and I hope no one gets caught by this Scam.

[Windy]

I am thinking these messages are coming from many accounts, which would make it hard for the mods to block them at the source.

[Susang6]

That is a scam...wish we could filter all messages coming in.  I am getting strange messages daily 

[TanChoonHong]

I received one in April. Kept in quarantine folder as I suspect it is fishy.