Be Aware For Identity Theft

[methark]

Hello Everyone,

Fiverr is a wonderful platform and have being increasing both seller and buyer security constantly.

That being said, I have to share with you something that is happening to me right now and it's a red flag you all should know about.

One potential buyer contacted me to help with marketing and to make improvements on a website. The person was telling me a weird but not so hard to believe history about the business, but, I moved forward tailoring the list of improvements we could do.

After the person agreed with the pre-order task list I gave, I said that I would need the credentials to login into the website platform and social media channels. Here, came the dangerous part. 

THE DANGEROUS PART

The person asked for my personal information and my passport copy so I could have access to the website platform. It's a simple website from a simple business - not some big corporation or government platform.

As you all know, Fiverr give buyers all the security, and if this was an accountancy issue, the buyer would point Fiverr (the money recipient), not you.

Most importantly, you are not signing any agreement directly with the buyer for a long term job, you are doing it thru Fiverr. So, by giving all your personal information and a copy of your documents is extremely dangerous and completely unnecessary.

Never share sensitive information and documents with anyone. Fiverr is the shield for buyers and sellers.

This is a real life example of phishing and identity theft. Be aware!

Regards,

[methark]

Just now, navid_zafar said:

Thanks for brining it to the forums so that people are aware of it.

Thank you @navid_zafar - it's something we all need to be aware. It was my duty to share this knowledge with all our fellow sellers. 🙂

Best regards,

[catwriter]

On 5/14/2024 at 11:50 PM, methark said:

The person asked for my personal information and my passport copy so I could have access to the website platform. It's a simple website from a simple business - not some big corporation or government platform.

Not even a big corporation or a government platform would ask you for your passport copy.

Not to mention that asking for or sharing personal information is a violation of Fiverr's Terms of Service.

I hope you have reported that scammer. 

[methark]

2 hours ago, catwriter said:

Not even a big corporation or a government platform would ask you for your passport copy.

Not to mention that asking for or sharing personal information is a violation of Fiverr's Terms of Service.

I hope you have reported that scammer.

Reported, of course! This is completely against Fiverr TOS and security.

[uk1000]

3 hours ago, catwriter said:

Not to mention that asking for or sharing personal information is a violation of Fiverr's Terms of Service.

Some have asked for people to sign an NDA though. I assume Fiverr would allow that if the seller agrees to it - if it's just a signature (though it could be risky since it's probably usually about legal action they could take).

[methark]

15 minutes ago, uk1000 said:

Some have asked for people to sign an NDA though. I assume Fiverr would allow that if the seller agrees to it - if it's just a signature (though it could be risky since it's probably usually about legal action they could take).

True. I would just accept long-term buyer users though. 

[catwriter]

2 hours ago, uk1000 said:

Some have asked for people to sign an NDA though. I assume Fiverr would allow that if the seller agrees to it - if it's just a signature (though it could be risky since it's probably usually about legal action they could take).

I know of sellers who have just signed with their Fiverr username. No sharing of personal information there. 🙂

[methark]

4 hours ago, catwriter said:

I know of sellers who have just signed with their Fiverr username. No sharing of personal information there. 🙂

It's my ethos. I just say my name with long term buyers. 😁

[sirakiwiri]

Virus disguised as Zoom Call

This user sends me a really good but still realistic project and budget and when I say yes he ask if I can jump on a quick call. He sends me a zoom link but with a modified adress and I report it, he starts being pushy, I send him the zoom call from fiver and starts being rude saying how can I expect his whole team registers to fiverr just to be in the call

I check in my zoom if the link he sent me is valid but zoom says it's not, I reported his link as outside communication but it turns out it's probably a virus, so I google search for the link and yes, it's a trojan for identity theft. so I reported the user and all his messages but 3 hours have passed and he is still active. 

I checked his time vs the country he is supposed to be in and it's like 5 hours of difference. So how can I report this more effectively or what am I doing wrong why is not banned more quizkly he could be scamming a ton of people in that period of time 

[navid_zafar]

You can't expect a quick response from Fiverr Support, especially on an off day.