Be aware of Spam mails: close shopify store email

[Astrocat22]

Hi, this is an information and warning on not to tip on any link if you receive such an email!

I just found an email from two days earlier that my shopify store will be closed because of violation of the Shopify's acceptable use Policy - AUP. I checked the Policy, but can't find anything that would lead me to this list. I worked very hard for the last two months to create this store and I hoped that this store closing will not happen to me. 

I already contacted support directly and NOT with the link in the email! You can find them in google enter support and shopify. They say that it is a spam mail, as I assumed.

The email used: contactshopifyservice (at) .gmail.com , according to shopify support chat, they don't use @gmail endings. I would suggest, that you contact support to ask further, just to make sure and maybe point out to them what you have received.

This is the email:

[Shay · Accepted solution]

Hi @Astrocat22 

Thank you so much for sharing this with our community. These reminders are always good to have, as it's very easy to just assume the email is real when they look so legitimate. For anyone that is concerned that they have engaged with a phishing/fake email pretending to be Shopify I wanted to share the best next steps for you to take:

• You can forward any phishing messages that you receive to Shopify's safety inbox at safety@shopify.com. 
• Log in to the email account that you use to log in to Shopify and change the password.
• Log in to Shopify and change the password for your Shopify account. If you can't log in, then reset your password. If you don't receive a password reset email, then contact Shopify Support.
• Do either of the following:
  • Activate two-step authentication for extra security when you log in.
  • If two-step authentication is already activated and an attacker was able to defeat it, for example, they stole your device, then you need to remove the authentication method for that device, and then set up two-step authentication again for a different device.
• Check your banking details for Shopify Payments and update them if necessary.
• Check and update your banking details for PayPal and any other payment providers you have configured.
• Review your general account settings to make sure that all other information is correct.
• Follow government guides to protect your identity and sensitive information.

To access our authenticated support, please follow this link: Shopify Help Center. Our live chat is available 24/7 to help you with any questions you have. If you are not able to sign in, then let the AI chat bot know that you can't access your account and follow the prompts to continue getting support. 

[cmp2]

I have been receiving several emails a day like this for the past few months. I closed/deactivated the shop months ago (and don't use shopify anymore). These emails are going to an account that I monitor and to constantly see "shopify account closure" "shopify issues" "shopify termination" emails every day is getting very annoying. I block and report them all as spam to gmail but they keep coming.

This is ridiculous. What does shopify do to publicly disclose our emails that we use on our accounts? Do our emails get put on out on some super public location or somethng? Is shopify selling our email addresses (rhetorical as I know you won't say yes even if you do)? My email account is basically ruined now because of this and it's an important email that I use for other purposes.

Thanks shopify. Hopefully everyone that trials your service uses a throw-away email because it will be spammed to death even if you close your store.

[Tmcustomkreatio]

I got this message today and thought it was legit I clicked on the link but was still skeptical especially when they sent me to WhatsApp to communicate, but had telegram in the message.  I blocked the person and stopped communicating with them.

[Imogen]

Hi there, @Tmcustomkreatio. Thank you for taking the time to reach out to the Shopify Community Forums regarding this email you received. My name is Imogen. It's good to meet you.

Shopify does not provide support to merchants over Telegram or WhatsApp. In the future, if you receive emails asking you to connect with us on thee platforms, please ignore them. This sort of email you received is known as a Phishing Email - a tool used by ill-actors on the internet to steal information and attempt to access accounts.

You mention in your comment that you clicked on the link in the email. As such, I strongly advise completing a virus scan of the device that you opened the link with. Once you have completed this step, I recommend that you take the following steps to ensure that you account is secure as soon as possible:

- Log in to the email account that you use to log in to Shopify and change the password.

- Log in to Shopify and change the password for your Shopify account. If you can't log in, then reset your password. If you don't receive a password reset email, then contact Shopify Support.

- Enable two-step authentication for extra security when you log in. If two-step authentication is already configured and an attacker was able to defeat it  for example, they stole your device — then change your device and set up two-step authentication again.

- Check your banking details for Shopify Payments and update them if necessary.

- Check and update your banking details for PayPal and any other payment providers you have configured.

- Review your general account settings to make sure all other information is correct.

- Follow government guides to protect your identity and sensitive information.

Additionally, I strongly recommend reviewing our Account Security help documents so you can brush up on best practices to help keep your account securely.

Lastly, our Security Team will be wanting to collect some information from you regarding this email, so we can document this phishing attempt. Please reach out to our Support Team using this link so we can collect information from these emails to be passed along internally.

[teveslindashop]

Hello, I received a message like this saying it's Shopify team frank@wu-tau.com

 

I would like to know if that is spam since I have never received email from that person

[Elias]

Hey, @teveslindashop.

Thanks for joining the thread and bringing this to our attention.

That does appear to be a spam or phishing email as the Shopify emails should be with the format - email@shopify.com. Please forward any phishing emails that you receive to safety@shopify.com and consider changing your passwords if you've clicked into any links on the email. We'd also recommend activating two-step authentication for an added layer of security for your account. If you require additional support for your account, then you can get in touch with our authenticated support using live chats. Simply visit the Shopify Help Center and login to your account to create a support request. 

If you have any other questions on this topic, then don't hesitate to let us know.

[teveslindashop]

Thank you very much and enjoy your time

[leasahilton]

I wanted to share one I received recently also. I will report it Shopify safety.

[Astrocat22]

Hi Leasahilton

Thanks for sharing. Yes, you are right to share it with Shopify safety. I always check the sender email address and if I think an email doesn't look like being from the original company, I'd never click on a link. Actually, I am getting so many spam and pishing emails, that I never click on a link at all in the email, except I know, that I am just expecting one, like a confirmation of a login.

I also wanted to share with the community, that I got rid of the spam emails for my Shopify shop by using Cloudflare as a mail forwarder. This also works for Etsy, where it is the same game with spam emails and besides that, you have to be sure to answer emails in time for your shop reputation.

A great thing is to install an app for security, where you can block your shop infos such as how much you are selling, how many visitors as well as country blocking. I got a bit annoyed by those, offering their services.

[JasonH]

@leasahilton,  

We have been alerted to fraudulent emails falsely claiming to raise security or technical concerns about your Shopify store. Like you mentioned, the safest course of action is to report this email to our safety team. In the meantime, please disregard these emails and ensure you do not click on any links or provide any personal information.

To help us investigate, please follow these steps:

1. Obtain the Email's Headers:

   • Refer to MX Toolbox’s guide for Getting Email Headers.
   • Select your email service provider on the left-hand navigation.
   • Follow the steps to download a copy of the .eml file or copy the email's source code into a text file.

2. Forward the email and the header file to safety@shopify.com.

Thank you for helping keep our community safe. For any individual concerns or more details, please visit our help page on Protecting your account against phishing, vishing, and smishing.