Suspicious email

[aelroy]

I received an email claiming to be a Gig Request, which seems very suspicious to me. I wanted to see if others have encountered anything like this and hear suggestions on how to respond or whether to respond. I am asking you guys cause from previous experience with support I know I will not be able to get a timely response by the time it would matter.

The email does not appear on my Fiverr account as a message. It was just emailed directly to me, so somehow the buyer must have gotten hold of my email address. Also, it refers specifically to my skills so it is not a completely generic fishing attempt. It was obviously directed. It requires me to download an app that is unfamiliar to me as the only means of responding and is requesting my phone number, which if I understand correctly is against the terms of use. I am concerned that ignoring it could affect my response score, but I am very dubious of this email. What to do?

[catwriter]

@aelroy

I am concerned that ignoring it could affect my response score, but I am very dubious of this email

If it’s not in your Fiverr inbox, Fiverr already removed it as suspicious, and your response rate won’t be affected.

@aelroy

What to do?

I wouldn’t do anything, since Fiverr itself removed that message from your inbox.

If, for some reason, your response rate does get affected, contact Customer Support, explain that you have responded to all the messages you’ve received in your inbox, and ask them to fix it for you.

@aelroy

I wanted to see if others have encountered anything like this

Not exactly like this, because I’ve disabled that “request a custom offer” option, but I did get emails about messages I’ve received on Fiverr, it’s clear from the email that the prospect is asking me to break the rules, and by the time I check my Fiverr inbox, the message isn’t there.

@aelroy

It was just emailed directly to me, so somehow the buyer must have gotten hold of my email address.

No, they didn’t. It was first in your Fiverr inbox, Fiverr emailed you about it automatically, and then Fiverr removed it from your inbox because it’s against the rules.

[mattboa]

@aelroy

What to do?

I could give a very long and detailed explanation on how to handle this, but I’ll be brief:

Nothing. Just like Catwriter said.
Forget about this order and delete the message from your inbox (do not remove it from spam or it will affect your response rate). You can also report it before because the order request doesn’t seem to conform to Fiverr’s ToS.

[looseink]

It could very well be someone who wants to hire your services outside of the Fiverr platform.

If that is the case, it is entirely up to you if you wish to proceed.

Is there a possibility that this person learned of your skills through a different channel and not through Fiverr?