How do you deal with links in buyer communications?

[charlsmcfarlane]

I occasionally receive messages with little to no information. Within the message they direct me to a link to see the brief.

I know this is probably a scam or a link to a malicious website – especially when they use link shorteners to hide the URL.

I'm also conscious that these kinds of communications need to stay on platform for everyone's protection.

When people send these kinds of messages, I've been responding with something like the following:

Quote

Hi. I'd be happy to help. Could you please let me know your needs within the Fiverr chat?

It is a requirement of Fiverr's terms of service that all communications are recorded within the Fiverr system, so they can be referenced later, if needed.

Furthermore – while I'm sure this isn't your intent – links are sometimes used to direct people to malicious content or software, so I have a personal policy to avoid clicking links to a brief.

I hope that all makes sense. Are you able to copy and paste or attach the information within the Fiverr conversation?

Kind regards,

Charles

I don't want genuine buyers to feel like I'm accusing them of something nefarious, but obviously I can't go around clicking every link that's sent to me. I had one of these today and a few hours later that person's account is blocked, so I'm glad I didn't click the link 😅

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Is there anything missing or can anyone suggest a better way to respond?

Thanks

Edited July 20, 2023 by charlsmcfarlane

[imagination7413]

I rather like your response. Professional, polite, clear, decently concise, and addresses the key 'why'. I use something similar, though I cite "general internet safety" practices. 

https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360010978898-Keeping-your-account-safe-from-malware-and-phishing 

[catwriter]

Sometimes, out of curiosity, I check those links with VirusTotal. Shortened links never turn out to be safe.

Like you, I politely ask them to please send me all the information through Fiverr.

Typically, I never hear from them after that.

[charlsmcfarlane]

4 hours ago, imagination7413 said:

I rather like your response. Professional, polite, clear, decently concise, and addresses the key 'why'. I use something similar, though I cite "general internet safety" practices. 

https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360010978898-Keeping-your-account-safe-from-malware-and-phishing 

Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll add some of this to my response too!

[charlsmcfarlane]

1 hour ago, catwriter said:

Sometimes, out of curiosity, I check those links with VirusTotal. Shortened links never turn out to be safe.

Like you, I politely ask them to please send me all the information through Fiverr.

Typically, I never hear from them after that.

Interesting. I’ve not heard of virustotal. I might give that a try.

I’ve always found they go quiet too, and invariably it soon shows the fiverr message that they can “no longer be contacted”

[kevindwren]

I received those type of messages a couple of time. I am always suspicious when buyer sends briefing in a format I am not familiar with. Most of the time I just say that I am unable to open the link or the link is broken, and then request for different formats that allows me to directly acces the briefing, such as docx, pdf, pptx. None of those people ever replies. 

[charlsmcfarlane]

On 7/25/2023 at 11:35 AM, kevindwren said:

I received those type of messages a couple of time. I am always suspicious when buyer sends briefing in a format I am not familiar with. Most of the time I just say that I am unable to open the link or the link is broken, and then request for different formats that allows me to directly acces the briefing, such as docx, pdf, pptx. None of those people ever replies. 

That’s a good approach. Thanks. I always find the same thing. I think as soon as they see you’re not a good mark, they move onto the next one.

[devanzum]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:59 AM, charlsmcfarlane said:

I occasionally receive messages with little to no information. Within the message they direct me to a link to see the brief.

I know this is probably a scam or a link to a malicious website – especially when they use link shorteners to hide the URL.

I'm also conscious that these kinds of communications need to stay on platform for everyone's protection.

When people send these kinds of messages, I've been responding with something like the following:

I don't want genuine buyers to feel like I'm accusing them of something nefarious, but obviously I can't go around clicking every link that's sent to me. I had one of these today and a few hours later that person's account is blocked, so I'm glad I didn't click the link 😅

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Is there anything missing or can anyone suggest a better way to respond?

Thanks

Thanks for providing this. This is a quite standard way to reply to that kind of dubious emails .

[sahhart]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:42 AM, imagination7413 said:

I rather like your response. Professional, polite, clear, decently concise, and addresses the key 'why'. I use something similar, though I cite "general internet safety" practices. 

https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360010978898-Keeping-your-account-safe-from-malware-and-phishing 

OHH GOD ! Thank you @imagination7413for this reminding >3