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Viruses on fiverr protect yourself


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I recently bought a script for marketing from a fiverr person here, it is a new seller so I figured I would start him off. I paid him, he started work. The order was due tonight. He sends me the file in messages as a xml file… (Strange right?) so I click to DL from Fiverr, I scan it with Avast and get 4 warnings immediately.

I notify the seller, he replies “What are you talking about, here try this one” and attaches a pdf file instead.
I’m not an idiot, so I didn’t even touch it.

I sent him this message and Fiverr auto-responded with their message

“Listen, I am scared to death to even touch this thing. I run a web server here, I cannot afford to even have a hint of a virus on my servers because it would spread to my customers. What you need to do is to stop selling on Fiverr to protect buyers until you 100% scan every item on your computer. PDF and Word Documents are the easiest way to transmit viruses. I think we should call this quits and you should just refund this as I cannot see anything that you have done because you have a virus infection and when you have 100% made sure that you have scanned your computer multiple times with multiple virus scanners, then I can come back and re-order this, but right now, I am not going to touch this with a 50ft pole.”

Your message was flagged for review by our Trust and Safety team,
due to possible Terms of Service violation. This process may take up to 24 hours.
In the meantime, your message is not visible to ******. Your patience is appreciated."

PROTECT YOURSELF PEOPLE, USE VIRUS SCANNERS!

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It wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t an accident. The XML is already an indicator.
It could be that scammers now try to camouflage themselves as low budget software developers and spread their malicious software this way in order to harm their victims this way.

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Scary! This is probably just ignorance, but how in the world do you send a virus through a PDF?

Learn my friend:

https://www.google.com/search?q=virus+in+pdf&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS785US785&oq=virus+in+pdf&aqs=chrome..69i57.2228j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

From one website in that search:

"Do you know that a simple task such as opening PDF files can infect your computer with malware? This is a very common method used by hackers to install malicious software on your system and gain access to it.

Adobe Reader comes with support for javscript embedded in PDF file. Hackers can simply add malicious javascript code to the PDF file to exploit this vulnerability. When you open the PDF file, the malicious javascript get executed and install malware on your computer, all without you knowing it."

So you can download an .exe file without even knowing it. ALWAYS virus scan EVERYTHING you EVER download from ANY site.

And now this seller has ghosted which tells me he knows what he is doing. He has over 600 reviews on his profile but strangely, he only has one gig and it only shows 4 reviews…

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Learn my friend:

https://www.google.com/search?q=virus+in+pdf&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS785US785&oq=virus+in+pdf&aqs=chrome..69i57.2228j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

From one website in that search:

"Do you know that a simple task such as opening PDF files can infect your computer with malware? This is a very common method used by hackers to install malicious software on your system and gain access to it.

Adobe Reader comes with support for javscript embedded in PDF file. Hackers can simply add malicious javascript code to the PDF file to exploit this vulnerability. When you open the PDF file, the malicious javascript get executed and install malware on your computer, all without you knowing it."

So you can download an .exe file without even knowing it. ALWAYS virus scan EVERYTHING you EVER download from ANY site.

And now this seller has ghosted which tells me he knows what he is doing. He has over 600 reviews on his profile but strangely, he only has one gig and it only shows 4 reviews…

He has over 600 reviews on his profile but strangely, he only has one gig and it only shows 4 reviews…

He paused his gig, may be he realize that he has been caught.

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He has over 600 reviews on his profile but strangely, he only has one gig and it only shows 4 reviews…

He paused his gig, may be he realize that he has been caught.

He just declined to cancel “I not cancel, you download file now and click it open !”

Exact words.

How do I prompt Fiverr for a refund, this is obviously a scam.

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He just declined to cancel “I not cancel, you download file now and click it open !”

Exact words.

How do I prompt Fiverr for a refund, this is obviously a scam.

All you can really do is ask Customer Support. While the document that was sent to you does sound suspicious, it could have been triggered by something innocuous. I don’t know what Support will day, but they are the only people who can cancel the order except for the seller.

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All you can really do is ask Customer Support. While the document that was sent to you does sound suspicious, it could have been triggered by something innocuous. I don’t know what Support will day, but they are the only people who can cancel the order except for the seller.

Just for the fun of it…

Avast automaticly disables virus files.

Oops.thumb.jpg.742e8b71bf7ce75f5926e5b27c4defc1.jpg

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If I block him in messages, will I still be able to get a refund?

No, that only means you’ve blocked him. A refund can only occur if you initiate a request for cancellation in the order page (the seller however has the power to accept or decline request). I think it’s best you contact Customer Support for this as they can easily assist you and look over the order regarding your concerns and can check on the seller should they be engaging in suspicious activity.

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No, that only means you’ve blocked him. A refund can only occur if you initiate a request for cancellation in the order page (the seller however has the power to accept or decline request). I think it’s best you contact Customer Support for this as they can easily assist you and look over the order regarding your concerns and can check on the seller should they be engaging in suspicious activity.

Yes, I did not accept the order, I did not click to accept the order and instead I requested a cancellation, the seller denied it, I put a support ticket in with multiple screenshots.

If needed, I would do a chargeback just for principle, I might lose Fiverr, but I will not let this guy get away with this.

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Yes, I did not accept the order, I did not click to accept the order and instead I requested a cancellation, the seller denied it, I put a support ticket in with multiple screenshots.

If needed, I would do a chargeback just for principle, I might lose Fiverr, but I will not let this guy get away with this.

I understand why you would go the lengths of initiating a chargeback, I wouldn’t want people to get away with such things too. Hopefully, you need not go that far and Customer Support will see through this. I’m sorry this experience happened to you! Crazy how people do such things.

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(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

You should chargeback.

No, the solution is not an immediate chargeback – that will immediately end up in the user kicked out Fiverr. He only considered a chargeback because he didn’t want the seller to get away (on his own principles) and he is aware should he make that choice he will lose Fiverr.

Your suggestion might give the idea to other readers that simply because something went wrong with an order the buyer can initiate a chargeback (some buyers might not be aware of the implications of making such choice and end up losing their Fiverr accounts). Customer Support is there for a reason, contact them before any such decision.

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Everyone is blaming the seller without knowing his side of the story.

There were instances, though happened years before, when I send or receive files from a buyer it completely change to a different file format even through it shows the correct file extension on Fiverr. To avoid this I had zip the file before sending. Because this was happening randomly I thought Fiverr was trying to get in my XML files to see if there are any red flags in them. Think I am crazy? Try typing an email id on your message. I have received messages from sellers in word files with their contact info and asking to work outside Fiverr. So it is possible Fiverr was trying to monitor the content, hopefully failed.

And NO I am not blaming the BUYER, I am saying there are things we, the people in the forum don’t know. We are getting info only from the buyer. Is it fair to conclude without knowing sellers story and other factors?

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Everyone is blaming the seller without knowing his side of the story.

There were instances, though happened years before, when I send or receive files from a buyer it completely change to a different file format even through it shows the correct file extension on Fiverr. To avoid this I had zip the file before sending. Because this was happening randomly I thought Fiverr was trying to get in my XML files to see if there are any red flags in them. Think I am crazy? Try typing an email id on your message. I have received messages from sellers in word files with their contact info and asking to work outside Fiverr. So it is possible Fiverr was trying to monitor the content, hopefully failed.

And NO I am not blaming the BUYER, I am saying there are things we, the people in the forum don’t know. We are getting info only from the buyer. Is it fair to conclude without knowing sellers story and other factors?

No. Just. No.

I downloaded the file to see if I could open it to read his marketing script. As soon as I downloaded it, I ran it through Avast AntiVirus scanned and got IMMEDIATE warnings.

I loaded it into Word anyway and it was instantly denied by Word as a “dangerous file”.

I have New Office with always updated software that routinely looks at the code in what Word opens.

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Everyone is blaming the seller without knowing his side of the story.

There were instances, though happened years before, when I send or receive files from a buyer it completely change to a different file format even through it shows the correct file extension on Fiverr. To avoid this I had zip the file before sending. Because this was happening randomly I thought Fiverr was trying to get in my XML files to see if there are any red flags in them. Think I am crazy? Try typing an email id on your message. I have received messages from sellers in word files with their contact info and asking to work outside Fiverr. So it is possible Fiverr was trying to monitor the content, hopefully failed.

And NO I am not blaming the BUYER, I am saying there are things we, the people in the forum don’t know. We are getting info only from the buyer. Is it fair to conclude without knowing sellers story and other factors?

Everyone is blaming the seller without knowing his side of the story.

No, everyone is not blaming the seller. I made it clear in my own posts that while the seller’s attachments appeared suspicious from what the buyer is saying, that Customer Support would have to decide based on a review of the entire situation. There are innocuous reasons that attachments might come up with errors or other issues. I also do not believe the buyer should do a chargeback, but should let Support check out the attachments first. Still, this is a place for discussion so some people are going to take the buyer at face value. To each their own as long as the rules are followed.

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No. Just. No.

I downloaded the file to see if I could open it to read his marketing script. As soon as I downloaded it, I ran it through Avast AntiVirus scanned and got IMMEDIATE warnings.

I loaded it into Word anyway and it was instantly denied by Word as a “dangerous file”.

I have New Office with always updated software that routinely looks at the code in what Word opens.

I loaded it into Word anyway and it was instantly denied by Word as a “dangerous file”.

From my experience that doesn’t mean virus or something. It can be really corrupted. Had many files that are corrupted before. Sometimes when you save word document, something happens (bug) and next time you try to open it, it is corrupted.

For xml file you get. That can be fiverr bug too. As I got few times like that, usually saying 0 bytes in inbox or order page. It is simply bug in attachments on fiverr. And when I ask buyer again to attach it, everything is fine there.

I am not on sellers side here, I am just sharing my experience with files on Fiverr.

It is best to approach support nicely and let them know so they can check files.

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No. Just. No.

I downloaded the file to see if I could open it to read his marketing script. As soon as I downloaded it, I ran it through Avast AntiVirus scanned and got IMMEDIATE warnings.

I loaded it into Word anyway and it was instantly denied by Word as a “dangerous file”.

I have New Office with always updated software that routinely looks at the code in what Word opens.

I downloaded the file to see if I could open it to read his marketing script. As soon as I downloaded it, I ran it through Avast AntiVirus scanned and got IMMEDIATE warnings.

I loaded it into Word anyway and it was instantly denied by Word as a “dangerous file”.

I have New Office with always updated software that routinely looks at the code in what Word opens.

At risk of playing devil’s advocate, I occasionally run into problems with suspicious files, most of which are false positives. I predominantly use Linux and some compatibility issues between my WPS office software and MS Office, occasionally necessitate me sending PDF copies of documents in deliveries.

Also, when I am using a regular Windows machine, I seem to get inundated with security notifications regarding attachments from buyers which I don’t get in Linux. (Even when independently scanning files with trusted antivirusues in sandboxed windows environments).

I have a theory/conspiracy theory that Microsoft is steadily starting to flag anything from outwith of its own software ecosystem as malware/dangerous.

In any case, you might not want to jump the gun. It really would be strange for a seller with 600+ reviews to risk everything by sending out viruses and malware to buyers. (At least on purpose). That said, sending an XML file is a bit odd.

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