How to Identify and Avoid Phishing Scams

Do Not Leave Discogs

Discogs partners with PayPal to process payments and ensure all transactions are completed safely and securely. Do not pay for any orders or services outside of our platform, and be cautious with sellers who encourage you to do so. If you transact anywhere else than Discogs, then we can not investigate potential fraud. In addition, cryptocurrency is not an approved form of payment.

Review the Sender

One of the most obvious indicators of spam is the sender’s email address or username. Be wary of addresses or account names that include odd combinations of words and characters that do not match the entity they are trying to impersonate. You can select a sender’s address in your email provider to view it in more detail. On Discogs, you can select the sender’s username and check their profile; scammers often create new accounts that have minimal activity or no information.

Analyze the Message

Phishing attempts are often worded incorrectly or include mistakes. Review and re-read messages before you take action, especially when it concerns your personal information.

Beware of Urgency

Take your time before you react or respond. Scammers will often claim that something is wrong with your account or order, and you must take immediate action.

Do Not Select Unfamiliar Links and Attachments

Encouraging users off-site is a common form of phishing, so inspect links thoroughly before you select them. Like usernames and email addresses, be wary of any link with odd word or character combos. Scammers will often use slight misspellings of brand names in links. For example, “discogs.com” is legitimate, but “d1scogs.com” is not. If you cannot view the entire URL because it is included in a button or something similar, hover over the suspicious link to view it in more detail or use a URL checker such as the one provided by Google Transparency Report.

Avoid Suspicious Third Parties

We will communicate on-site through notifications, direct messages, and similar experiences, or send important information through email. If we are partnered with a vendor such as PayPal, we will identify them clearly. However, Discogs does not offer phone support, and we will never ask for payment information through text, chat, or third-party services like WhatsApp. We also do not offer live chat services; we only have a chatbot designed to guide you to useful help documentation.

Email Communications

Email is often the safest way to share Information. If we need to discuss something critical related to your account, we will most likely send you an email. For example, we will never ask sellers to verify their account via an order message. Review your Notification Settings at any time to opt in or out of email communications.

Job Openings

Discogs does not promote job openings through text messaging. If you receive a text message claiming to offer a position at our company, please disregard it as fraudulent. For a list of our actively open positions and to apply, please visit our careers page.

Staff Accounts

Discogs accounts have a staff badge. You can identify a Discogs team member in your inbox, the Forums, submission history, or other places on site by the staff badge next to their username.

Seller Identification

We require sellers to provide extra details so we can confirm their identities. However, we won’t ask for personal or payment information related to a specific order by directing sellers offsite.

What to Do If You Select a Phishing Link

If you are targeted by a phishing attempt and you select a suspicious link or download a malicious attachment, don’t panic. Here are some next steps:

• Immediately change your password so someone else can’t access your account.
• Consider enabling two-factor authentication to increase your account security.
• Monitor your account for any unusual activity and inform us of anything suspicious.
• Contact your payment provider as soon as possible. Only your credit card company, bank, or other provider can block or reimburse fraudulent charges. If you paid through PayPal, contact PayPal support.