Author Topic: Not Phishing Scam email from "shutterstock". Just another SS/BS error (Read 1015 times)

Uncle Pete · « **on:** October 27, 2024, 11:02 »

The address is: [email protected] not the real SS email.

Hi Shutterstock Artist,

You have earnings in your account! If this amount is not claimed ASAP, your unclaimed earnings are at risk of being transferred to the appropriate US tax authorities in the state of the home address we have on file.

Take a moment to log in and collect the money you have earned! Here are some possible reasons why you have not received them:

Missing tax form:To receive payments, all contributors must have an approved tax form on file. If you have not submitted one, or your old one has expired, simply go to the Tax Center and follow the simple instructions to submit a new form. It’s easy to submit a W-9 electronic tax form, and these forms are reviewed and approved almost instantly!

Payout settings: Ensure you have a valid electronic payment account linked in your settings . We issue payments via PayPal, Skrill, and Payoneer.

Minimum payment threshold: Ensure that your minimum payout limit is not higher than your unpaid earnings amount.

Hi Shutterstock Artist, not a name?

But this is how people lose their accounts and money when the details of payment information is entered at the fake site. How's this for a fake? https://click.esvc.shutterstock.com/?qs=6fda450ec6360709c882accab3d1af0b7ebec8e05d9f6367f270c366013554e523d7dc6ee96f91cb683b27b677c0d0315318a45cab39a53b

Here's the real SS account settings page: https://submit.shutterstock.com/account/settings

cloudvisual · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2024, 05:37 »

"How this for a fake" It's a trackable link. Marketing emails are sent out with this to see who clicks them. The link resolves to submit.shutterstock.com.

It's funny because click.esvc.shutterstock.com is a subdomain, just like submit.shutterstock.com is, which you've linked as the right URL to use.

It's a genuine email, but could have been written better using the {{FirstName}} attribute.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2024, 10:57 »

Quote from: cloudvisual on October 28, 2024, 05:37

"How this for a fake" It's a trackable link. Marketing emails are sent out with this to see who clicks them. The link resolves to submit.shutterstock.com.

It's funny because click.esvc.shutterstock.com is a subdomain, just like submit.shutterstock.com is, which you've linked as the right URL to use.

It's a genuine email, but could have been written better using the {{FirstName}} attribute.

Thanks for the better information. I'm not willing to click some bogus looking like to see that it's real.

I did a whois and that says, "You have entered an invalid domain name". I don't understand how to check click.esvc.shutterstock.com for being legitimate, without clicking it, and I'm a bit cautious of that.

Thanks for better information. I believe you... It still looks scammy and like phishing, when I know they don't owe me money, and it says I should go check because "You have earnings in your account! If this amount is not claimed ASAP, your unclaimed earnings are at risk of being transferred to the appropriate US tax authorities in the state of the home address we have on file. " which I don't, and all my tax information is up to date. It's under $10 so not over the threshold.

The support link is also foul looking: https://click.esvc.shutterstock.com/?qs=6fda450ec6360709d711ba89eafdab6b46b5cbb0de65d761d3d8939ef15b639369b440c10f53b84aa8362e64e48832ceaf4828269a987003

What the heck? It takes me to: https://submit.shutterstock.com/en/contact?utm_source=sstkemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONTRIB_D_OTHER_CollectUnpaidEarnings_ENUS_V1_202410&utm_id=89042&sfmc_id=72171826&subscriber_key=SSTK-101802064

cascoly · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2024, 13:29 »

i use several security sites when checking for spam comments on my blog. here's one

https://www.ssltrust.com/ssl-tools/website-security-check?domain=click.esvc.shutterstock.com

cloudvisual · « **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2024, 15:28 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 28, 2024, 10:57

What the heck? It takes me to: https://submit.shutterstock.com/en/contact?utm_source=sstkemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONTRIB_D_OTHER_CollectUnpaidEarnings_ENUS_V1_202410&utm_id=89042&sfmc_id=72171826&subscriber_key=SSTK-101802064

It's quite easy to break this URL down and see what it means.

submit - is the subdomain of shutterstock.com
en - English
Contact - contact page
? - attributes following this to apply to your click
UTM - Urchin Tracking Module - used as a means of tracking what you clicked
utm_source=sstkemail - your click originated from an email from shutterstock
utm_campaign=CONTRIB_D_OTHER - The campaign SS used to send this was classed as CONTRIBUTOR OTHER - likely because it's not a normal marketing message to contributors.
CollectUnpaidEarnings_ENUS_V1_202410 - internal name of the marketing message and looks like they managed to write it and approve it in version 1.
utm_id=89042&sfmc_id=72171826&subscriber_key=SSTK-101802064 - this identifies you to them when you click it to take you to your form, when logged in. If I click it, it fails becuase my keys don't match.

Hope that helps

zeljkok · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2024, 16:11 »

Great breakdown cloudvisual - Thank You!

But Uncle Pete is right in principle; you just can't be too careful nowdays with all kinds of electronic thieves sitting in Internet Cafes all over the world trying to scam people.

Mantis · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2024, 17:08 »

This isn't fake. I had several exchanges with SS. Here is their last email to me. Basically telling me they aren't a bank, so pull your money out ASAP before we snatch it away ind give it to the GOVERNMENT as unclaimed money.

Thanks for reaching back.

US business law requires us to issue payments to contributors as long as it is feasible for them to receive them, Shutterstock cannot hold on to accrued earnings indefinitely as we are not a bank, we are an entity that produces earnings for contributors and we are obligated to pay those earnings out. So our goal was simply to remind contributors who have accrued earnings that we need them to take additional steps if necessary to ensure they receive them in the next payout cycle.

If you fall under any of the following scenarios you can disregard the message, otherwise, please consider finding a way to get paid:
If your account is disabled: this message was sent due to an error in our mailing system inaccurately determining it was still active.
If you recently received a payout: this message was sent due to a mistake in the system which did not recognize the recent payment or used outdated information.
If you are from the Russian Federation: you should not have received that communication. We are aware that as an artist who resides in Russia or Belarus, your options for receiving payments are extremely limited at this time. Your earnings can continue to accrue with Shutterstock until viable options for receiving payment from Shutterstock become available in your country
We apologize for any confusion our original communication may have caused and appreciate your understanding.

Regards
Royber,
Shutterstock Contributor Care Team

cloudvisual · « **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2024, 17:53 »

Quote from: Mantis on October 29, 2024, 17:08

This isn't fake. I had several exchanges with SS. Here is their last email to me. Basically telling me they aren't a bank, so pull your money out ASAP before we snatch it away ind give it to the GOVERNMENT as unclaimed money.

Thanks for reaching back.

US business law requires us to issue payments to contributors as long as it is feasible for them to receive them, Shutterstock cannot hold on to accrued earnings indefinitely as we are not a bank, we are an entity that produces earnings for contributors and we are obligated to pay those earnings out. So our goal was simply to remind contributors who have accrued earnings that we need them to take additional steps if necessary to ensure they receive them in the next payout cycle.

If you fall under any of the following scenarios you can disregard the message, otherwise, please consider finding a way to get paid:
If your account is disabled: this message was sent due to an error in our mailing system inaccurately determining it was still active.
If you recently received a payout: this message was sent due to a mistake in the system which did not recognize the recent payment or used outdated information.
If you are from the Russian Federation: you should not have received that communication. We are aware that as an artist who resides in Russia or Belarus, your options for receiving payments are extremely limited at this time. Your earnings can continue to accrue with Shutterstock until viable options for receiving payment from Shutterstock become available in your country
We apologize for any confusion our original communication may have caused and appreciate your understanding.

Regards
Royber,
Shutterstock Contributor Care Team

Wow - it would help if they actually spelled that out in their email, there's no reading between the lines for any of us to come to that conclusion.

Admittedly I do leave money in the accounts because it's harder to spend it when it's locked away somewhere. I get that some people may leave their payout on the max $2k and not make that many sales, but they need to make it clear how long they're willing to let people hold it there, OR just pay out what's in the account to the contributor (ignoring the threshold) instead of stealing it.

cloudvisual · « **Reply #8 on:** October 29, 2024, 18:01 »

Quote from: zeljkok on October 29, 2024, 16:11

Great breakdown cloudvisual - Thank You!

But Uncle Pete is right in principle; you just can't be too careful nowdays with all kinds of electronic thieves sitting in Internet Cafes all over the world trying to scam people.

Even if I'm certain that the email is genuine, I'm still going to go to SS via their website and follow whatever they need me to do.