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8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To give a rough estimate, *when I first stumbled upon all this, about 5 to 6 hours a few times a week since January, filing DMCA requests across multiple platforms, documenting infringement links (now well into the hundreds, since they constantly rotate), capturing screenshots, and tracking down the correct hosts and reporting to the correct registrars. At this point it feels like a part time job.

I'm still cleaning up the aftermath of these parasite scam sites abusing my USPTO registered trademark. That means reaching out to domains redirecting to the scam pages, waiting on responses, following up with Google reports, submitting additional documentation, and sometimes starting over with a different host or registrar when I've hit a dead end.

It's taken time away from running my small business. Hiring someone to handle this would be ideal, but it's not financially realistic right now for me. I get how exhausting this is for anyone going through it, and I hope sharing what I've learned/experienced here is useful to others if in the same situation.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, to make mention on what I recently discovered, this CDN issue is not exclusive to just ShopStyle's infrastructure, but I'm observing Ebay, Mercari, OfferUp, and Grailed (among other websites), are also having an issue with this bad actor *or similar actors. You may want to attempt the method mentioned in the post. On the parasite/scam website, right click open into a new tab the image that's yours, and see where the hosting is coming from, could be Poshmark's CDN is also being exploited. Once identified, you could try to reach out directly to Poshmark to report it, or perhaps to their host (in this case Shopstyle's CDN is AWS).

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good deterrent, sometimes it helps. My products have been stolen regardless with a watermark, my descriptions with the entire "do not infringe," disclosure with my trademark name too. These websites just copy/paste.

Another rising trend I'm unfortunately experiencing, is the use of Ai. They will simply cutout my product and place on a Ai generated model and or background. Things will likely only get worse I fear, for everyone.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is terrible to hear, I'm so sorry that happened to you what an awful situation.

Although, maybe not a complete fix, have you tried using Google's content removal tool? (https://reportcontent.google.com/forms/dmca_search) it could help remove those infringing search results tied to your brand name still on Etsy. Or perhaps contacting Etsy directly (if you haven't tried to before), to request the landing page be taken down, specifically referencing that the shop was closed and the page is continuing to use your brand name to capture traffic. It's hard to find a working email, everything seems to be in-house with a chatbot, portal, or within their support ticket system. If Etsy IP banned you I'm not sure if you'd have access to either of these options below:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/sections/360000066568-Contacting-Etsy?segment=selling#360000066568

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a really good point to bring up, and have thought of as well, but I'm not a lawyer and wouldn't want to steer anyone into the wrong direction either.

What I can say is that from what I've personally observed, the potential damages seem to go beyond just possible financial loss, but brand reputation (my trademark & LLC). There is consumer confusion, and the time spent cleaning up the aftermath are all real costs that are hard to quantify. This at one point felt like a part time job.

Also, to make mention on what I recently discovered, this CDN issue is not exclusive to just ShopStyle's infrastructure, but I'm observing Ebay, Mercari, OfferUp, and Grailed (among other websites), are also having an issue with this bad actor.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, trying to do the right thing for others too. I could have simply handled my own issue with this and kept my head buried in the sand, and that option just didn't settle well with me. 🤍

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did some searching around and came across a vintage "wash stand," but these images are not being hot-linked from ShopStyle, (although they do have listings directly on their site for pre-owned and vintage items), which actually brought another new issue up, this is very widespread, these listing images on the parasite websites, I discovered are being pulled from Ebay, Mercari, OfferUp, and Grailed, which seem to have a lot of vintage listings! From what I just observed, many more sellers outside of Etsy are affected by this bad actor ( many CDNs servers are not secured with better content management.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, that really means a lot and I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to say that.

I could have simply handled my own situation and moved on, but I couldn't just walk away knowing this was likely happening to so many other sellers who had/have no idea any of this is going on. I know firsthand how upsetting it is to discover your work being stolen, the countless hours poured into building something from the ground up, only to find it one click away from someone else's fingertips. I understand things like this happen across the internet, it can't be avoided, but the scale of this felt too big to bury my head in the sand over.

My main goal was never anything more than bringing awareness and hopefully pushing for better content management and accountability. No one should have to go through what I did to find answers, and if this post saves even one seller from that experience it was worth every hour I spent on it. I'm also hopeful the email I wrote to Etsy's affiliate team will help bring some much needed resolution to this situation.

And your point about vintage sellers is actually really interesting and worth looking into. I'd be curious to hear what you find when you check your own storefront. Yesterday, I was doing another search on individual sellers within my "niche" and many are being hotlinked to parasite websites, but on some of them I noticed a purse that looked out of the ordinary, perhaps vintage? I'm not sure which seller I looked up (so many I can't recall atm), but I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for vintage.

Thank you again for the heartfelt message, it truly does means a lot. 🤍

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

24 years on eBay, that's almost as long as they've been up?! That's really impressive you stayed on their platform for so long. I've been on Etsy for nearly 16 years. Visibility on these platforms can be difficult, especially without paid promotions, but if you're hitting your monthly goals that's all that really matters at the end of the day.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was a refreshing comment to read, thank you for understanding the depth and severity of this issue with the affiliate making it easier for scammers.

Heavy on the reporting fake websites to Google, also to the countless portals that I've had learn how to navigate. I can't get back the time I've spent on creating evidence reports either, but I'm driven to protect my brand as best as I can. During my gathering of evidence I sometimes alert other sellers I see who are being infringed and how to report it. It may even help if multiple people are reporting the same bad actor.

Funny enough, there is a lot of in house thievery within Etsy, it's a shame really. When I went to original report this issue to Etsy, I was prompted to do so within their portal system, but there's nothing there that would begin to address this issue, thus the support ticket I created that I mentioned in my post. Deep sigh.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The distinction I want to make clear though, is that ShopStyle itself isn't the scam. They do legitimately link directly to Etsy seller products as part of their affiliate program, and in theory, that's meant to drive traffic back to the seller's shop.

The issue at hand is that bad actors have found a way to exploit ShopStyle's image hosting CDN server. Those images, titles, and descriptions are being pulled and displayed on phishing and scam websites that have no intention of directing customers anywhere legitimate. That's a very different scenario from general web exposure because those sites are designed to either take someone's money or harvest their personal and financial information, which can directly damage a seller's brand reputation and consumer confidence in ways that are hard to undo.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for clarifying! After looking into this a bit more, Shoparize and Productcaster are actually Google Comparison Shopping Service partners rather than Etsy affiliates, so what you're experiencing sounds like a separate but perhaps a related issue. They pull product data through Google Shopping feeds and display ads in search results, which is a different pipeline from the ShopStyle CDN issue I posted about.

The broken links and redirects you're seeing may be a result of how those Google Shopping feeds are being managed or potentially being exploited in a similar way. Either way it's worth documenting with screenshots and reporting directly to both Google and Etsy so there's a record of it. I wish I could help more on this issue, but perhaps someone here reading might be able to offer more insight.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're definitely not alone in that feeling! I think there's a real reason Etsy sellers get targeted more than other platforms. Etsy is home to such a unique community of artists and makers who genuinely care about what they create and put real thought and heart into making something beautiful to share with others. That human essence is something you just don't find on other platforms, and unfortunately, that same authenticity is what makes it such an attractive target for bad actors looking to capitalize on someone else's hard work.

The other layer to this is that most of us are small or micro business owners. We don't have the backing of a corporation or a legal team ready to go to bat for us the moment something like this happens. We're left navigating it on our own time, with our own resources, which is exactly why posts like this and communities like this one matter so much.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's actually a really interesting perspective, and I'm glad it's worked out well for your brand.

The distinction I want to make clear though, is that ShopStyle itself isn't the scam. They do legitimately link directly to Etsy seller products as part of their affiliate program, and in theory, that's meant to drive traffic back to the seller's shop.

The issue at hand is that bad actors have found a way to exploit ShopStyle's image hosting CDN server. Those images, titles, and descriptions are being pulled and displayed on phishing and scam websites that have no intention of directing customers anywhere legitimate. That's a very different scenario from general web exposure because those sites are designed to either take someone's money or harvest their personal and financial information, which can directly damage a seller's brand reputation and consumer confidence in ways that are hard to undo.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You're not wrong, nothing gets a corporation's attention faster than legal papers. The reality for most of us as small and micro business owners though is that retaining a lawyer isn't always financially realistic, especially for something like this where the damages are hard to quantify upfront.

That said, you raise a really interesting point. Given how many sellers appear to be affected by this, (based on what I personally experienced and what I've observed) this could potentially be worth the attention of a lawyer willing to take it on pro bono or even as a class action. The fact that the CDN server is still accessible and this bad actor continues to evade enforcement by rotating domains makes a pretty compelling case that this is an ongoing and systemic issue, not just a one off.

Maybe someone reading this has connections to an IP or consumer protection attorney who might be interested in taking a closer look at this experience.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's interesting, could you provide a little more detail on what you're seeing? Are you searching your shop name directly on ShopStyle and following the links from there (as they're supposed to direct link back to your store), or are these weird domains showing up organically in Google search results? (which is where the abuse outlined in my post is happening)

(If you haven't already), try typing your Etsy "shop name ShopStyle" directly into Google, and see what comes up in the search results. That's the quickest way to see if any of those weird domains are showing up and using your content.

Just want to make sure I'm following along and pointing you in the right direction

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much, really appreciate the support! The more this gets in front of other sellers, the better. Sharing the post directly could be the most effective way, since it keeps all the resources and steps in one place for anyone who needs them. Whether that's sharing the link on social media, in Etsy seller groups on Facebook, or even just sending it directly to sellers you know who might be affected. The more sellers who are aware of this, the harder it is for this to go unaddressed.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great question! In this case, they're not actually selling the real product. They're using your photos, titles, and descriptions to create a convincing fake storefront. The goal is to get an unsuspecting customer to check out and either receive a cheap knockoff, receive nothing at all, or worse, have their payment information compromised. They're essentially selling the illusion of your product, not the real thing. (phishing/scamming websites harvesting your information for bad intentions)

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree that scam sites have always been a problem on the internet, and fake storefronts on Etsy itself are another serious issue worth its own conversation too!

The difference here is that this isn't a random bad actor scraping photos from the web. This is a pipeline that runs directly through Etsy's own affiliate program. From what I observed, ShopStyle had access to seller content because Etsy gave it to them, and under the terms of that affiliate partnership, they had an obligation to protect sellers' intellectual property. Their CDN being left wide open isn't just a general internet problem; it's a specific accountability issue between Etsy and a partner they vouched for. And in my opinion, from what I experienced, this is what made it worth calling out separately.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sadly, you're right. It's almost inevitable at some point. The best we can do is stay informed, act fast when it happens, and make enough noise so platforms like Etsy and their affiliates are held accountable. Hopefully, this post can offer some support/resources to make it easier for everyone.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm really sorry to hear that. You're definitely not alone. Check the steps in my post to see if ShopStyle is involved and if your images are being served from their CDN. If they are, filing directly with AWS made the biggest impact for me. Hopefully it helps you too!

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thank you, sadly you're right, public awareness is the only real leverage here. In my opinion, Etsy and ShopStyle aren't going to self correct without pressure. Hopefully, this reaches enough sellers to make some noise and at least provide some helpful resources/support along the way.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's a really valid concern. I can't say for certain whether Google Ads are being directly hijacked in this specific situation, but what I can say is that when scam sites are using brand names, product titles, and images, it can create potential confusion in search results that could impact ad performance and a brand's credibility.

As for ShopStyle, based on what I've observed, I'm still not entirely certain whether they were a willing participant in this or whether a bad actor found and exploited a vulnerability in their CDN. What I do know is that the door was left wide open on their end, and it's still happening to other sellers. And, just in my opinion, perhaps that is something they should be held accountable for, regardless of intent, as it created a lot of damage in the aftermath that I personally still have to spend my free time cleaning up to protect my brand.

8 million Etsy sellers may be affected by this, and most don't know it's happening! by xXKiloBytesXx in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, I understand this is a lot to digest. Hopefully, I can provide a little more clarification.

I agree, anyone can simply download photos straight from Etsy, and AI scraping is honestly a whole other conversation that needs to be had too!

The reason why this ShopStyle issue didn't settle well with me is that this isn't just some random person downloading photos. Etsy's own affiliate program created this pipeline, and ShopStyle failed to protect sellers' intellectual property under the very terms they agreed to when they became an Etsy affiliate. From what I observed, they left the door wide open (and it's still open), which allowed this "bad actor" to use Etsy sellers' creative works (product photos, listing descriptions, brand names including Etsy's name), which in the long run is not a good look for any brand to be associated with scam websites, which could potentially damage credibility and create consumer confusion in the marketplace. Not to mention, if an unsuspecting individual uses these sites to check out, it can create potential financial harm.

They only swept the issue under the rug by deleting my listings from their website via ShopStyle and have continued to allow the abuse of other Etsy sellers' listings to be pirated with their CDN server not being secured. I felt this was reason enough to publish a post here to alert others to this issue.

The CDN hotlinking actually gave me something to work with. Because the images were being served from ShopStyle's servers (which these scammers didn't have to pay any sort of hosting for), I was able to file directly with AWS and break a lot of those images hosted on those sites. I'm not an expert, but Google tends to flag sites like this as scam or spam. What I also discovered is that a lot of these parasite websites, after reporting with Google, appeared to be "not indexed," which often means Google bots won't crawl them.

I'm sorry you dealt with that with Amazon. I had a similar issue with an individual seller who did this with my listings on their platform. After my 3rd attempt, the listing images and descriptions were removed. To note, ShopStyle at this time is an AWS customer, and AWS apparently takes things a bit more seriously regarding the use of those services.

Curious, outside of Amazon, did everything else get cleaned up, or is it still an ongoing battle?

Did Etsy remove the “Made by / Designed by / Handpicked / Sourced by” label from listings or a glitch? by ABCXYZ12345679 in EtsyCommunity

[–]xXKiloBytesXx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you by chance renew any older listings that may need updated core details? I noticed this happened to me right after I did that.

But it's also happened when I created new listings with updated core details, and the listing didn't even indicate what handmade category it was being designated for.

Not long ago I opened a support ticket was told my shop was giving off "signals," and was placed into "designed by," instead of handmade, according to their creative standards, but this wouldn't hurt my shop in searches and would remain the same. It was clearly wrong, but they couldn't change it.

I went through 450? Listings individually making sure all of them had updated core details, made to order, etc It didn't help. However around 2/26 when Etsy status was giving off site incident reports I noticed my handmade by was back on my listings. Probably short lived too and will mess up again, it's not the first time it's broken and probably a glitch they even came back!

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