{"id":23427,"date":"2026-03-10T04:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T04:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westernbid.com\/%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b7-%d0%ba%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b5%d0%b3%d0%be%d1%80%d1%96%d1%97\/new-scam-on-etsy-in-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T13:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:14:38","slug":"new-scam-on-etsy-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westernbid.com\/en\/blog\/new-scam-on-etsy-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"New scam scheme on Etsy. AI against sellers. Fake photos. How to avoid losing money and goods"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In 2026, a new scam is gaining momentum on Etsy \u2014 buyers are using neural networks (AI) to generate realistic photos of damages (cracks, chips) on received products in order to get free refunds. To avoid falling victim to scammers, never issue a refund without a requirement to send the item back. To verify suspicious photos, use AI detectors and analyze image metadata, and in case of manipulations \u2014 offer returns through the Western Bid warehouse in Miami.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Friends, today I have very important information for all Ukrainian sellers<\/a> on Etsy.<\/p>\n

\u200dI learned about a new scam scheme that is already actively working on Western marketplaces. This is not my personal story \u2014 I heard it from an American blogger and well-known Etsy expert, Starly Moore. She was the first to draw attention to this fraud, and I believe it is very important to warn our Ukrainian community so we are not caught off guard.<\/p>\n

\u200dAlthough the idea itself sounds very strange, it is so plausible that even experienced sellers begin to believe in it.<\/p>\n

Hello everyone, you are on the Western Bid website, and my name is Victoria Zhidok. I represent Western Bid in the city of Chernihiv and develop my small business on Etsy. Our company opens the world of international sales for you, accepts payments from your own websites, delivers your products anywhere in the world, and offers pre-center and fulfillment center services in the USA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u200dUnfortunately, online fraud is thriving and improving. New schemes are emerging all the time, and I want to tell you about one of them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How the fraud scheme with fake damage photos works<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How the scheme works<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Imagine: you sent the product you ordered on Etsy, the item was delivered on time, you are calm and awaiting a review because you are confident in the quality of the product, as you put a piece of yourself into making it.<\/p>

\u200dAnd then suddenly you receive a message from your buyer: \u201cThe item arrived damaged, see the photo. I need a refund\u201d.<\/p>

A familiar situation, right?<\/p>

Especially during the holiday season, when delivery services are overloaded and damage during transportation is theoretically possible. For example, I almost always make my products out of plywood, and it also happens that the client receives a damaged product in damaged packaging. This is very rare for me \u2014 about five such orders in total. But I can imagine that this percentage is higher for those selling glassware, ceramics, framed paintings, large items, and products made from other fragile materials.<\/p>

Now, scammers have taken advantage of this and come up with a new scam scheme that complicates life for all of us sellers. And artificial intelligence helps them do this.<\/p>

The scheme works like this<\/strong>: the buyer receives the product in good condition, takes a regular photo of your item, uploads this photo into a free AI tool, which, according to a prompt given by the scammer, virtually damages it \u2014 adds cracks, scratches, chips. Then this client sends you the photo as proof of damage and demands a refund or a new product.<\/p>

If we want to avoid complaints or negative reviews, of course, we issue a refund or send a new product at our expense. And this is standard practice on Etsy.<\/p>

Stella Mure showed examples of such fake photos, some of which are so realistic that even she initially believed them.<\/p>

By the way, I also tried this myself: I downloaded a photo of a random product from Etsy, added it together with a prompt into Chat GPT, and got a result. The product looks incredibly realistic. Of course, there are questions about visualizing the damages themselves, and there are visible mismatches, but if I continued playing with it, I would have achieved the desired result. And, listen, I spent only three minutes on this.<\/p>

Honestly, it\u2019s both impressive and frightening at the same time. You can even create a convincing image for free \u2014 there are dozens of AI applications. And believe me, many tired sellers during the season might not notice the substitution, which is exactly what scammers count on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How can you recognize a fake photograph?<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How to recognize a fake photo<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you receive such a message from a buyer, focus and carefully examine the photo. It’s like a game of \u201cFind 10 Differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200dAI often distorts characters in the text or logo, can depict unrealistic lines of cracks or chips, for example, when the fragments do not match the chips. Also, the damages themselves do not correspond to the material.<\/p>\n

\u200dPay attention to unrealistic shadows and lighting. Shadows may not match the main photo \u2014 these discrepancies are clearly visible in the examples.<\/p>\n

\u200dAdditionally, to check if an image was created by artificial intelligence, you can use methods other than visual inspection:<\/p>\n