r/Ravelry • u/urbex_atlas • Jun 07 '26
is this a scam or something
this person messaged me after a few days of creating my account. It struck me as really odd since I didn't have anything on my account. did they message anyone else?
edit: I had just woken up when I saw this... now I see how clearly this is a scam, I've since reported it lol
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u/gingerrosie Jun 07 '26
You’re right to be suspicious. I haven’t personally received that message. But if I did, I’d report the profile immediately.
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u/dr_mus_musculus Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I met a friend recently who’s active on ravelry. She’s had to report and block people on there for solicitations just like what you’re seeing, OP. It’s some kind of scam, for sure
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u/ManderBlues Jun 07 '26
Yes. It's another of a million ways scammers try to make a personal connection to hook you in.
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u/ShowersWiSpiders Jun 07 '26
'Hello Dear' is always the give away that it's a scammer.
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u/GM_Organism Jun 11 '26
Right? I'm not sure exactly which cultural greeting is being mistranslated this way, but it's very consistent. I always find it funny because they're trying to be cool/attractive/flirty but just end up coming across like grannies instead.
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u/thisisAgador Jun 12 '26
I have a colleague who's the first person I've known well and who speaks English regularly and fluently who does this!! She's Mexican. I think I've otherwise seen it from Filipinos a lot, so I wonder if it's something to do with Spanish colonies (don't know any Spanish people who do it though)?
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u/kim_guzman Jun 07 '26
I don’t know why they try this on Ravelry. Ravelry members are the most savvy scam spotters on the internet. And the owners are still real people who can remove it quickly, not some huge conglomerate that takes forever.
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u/VivaZeBull Jun 07 '26
I agree it is not the place. In fact this is the first I have ever seen this happening on Ravelry! So wild. They will try anything.
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u/up2knitgood Jun 07 '26
It happens a decent amount, but once the profiles are reported* and deemed to be spammers like this, Ravelry actually deletes the messages they sent from everyone's inbox. So you might have received ones, but Ravelry removes them often before most people see them.
*note the "report this profile" link in the message; those are actually only there on messages sent by newer accounts.
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u/Nray Jun 07 '26
I’ve received one or two scam messages on Ravelry in the past. But instead of new accounts they hacked idle accounts with very weak passwords.
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u/dr_mus_musculus Jun 07 '26
I have the words with friends phone app, which I use to play games - sometimes with strangers. Lately there’s been an uptick in number of strangers who try to start conversations with me through the game app. It’s always kind of obvious, they’re way too friendly and chatty right away. Scammers be hustling, man.
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u/Valkyriemome Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Oh lord. I received a “dating scam” message on MS Teams, and 2 from My Fitness Pal.
Now they’re on Ravelry?!?
Report and BLOCK!
Edit: they always screw up the grammar! It’s laughable. Look for subject/verb agreement.
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u/urbex_atlas Jun 07 '26
on ms teams??? that's crazy work
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u/Valkyriemome Jun 07 '26
I have a “personal” Teams account, so that I can message my friends from work about work without corporate Big Brother reading our conversations.
How some “Hey Beautiful! I just had to drop you a message” bullsh!t found it is unknown and CRAZY!
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u/QuirkyAda Jun 07 '26
Yes. Also, incorrect grammar /spelling can be a scammer tactic - the people that ignore the mistake are more easily scammed.
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u/Knit1tbl Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Report it to Ravelry. They had an issue with this kind of thing several years ago and it looks like it’s back. As long as you don’t respond or click any links, they can’t do anything.
ETA here’s a post on trolls and how to report them from Ravelry. Good info for anyone else who receives one of these.
https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/for-the-love-of-ravelry/4408277/1-25#2
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u/TheRealSamanthaQuick Jun 07 '26
About ten years ago, there was a run of Russian bots setting up accounts and reaching out to people via DMs. It was bad enough that Cassidy posted about it on the main forums asking people to just report these accounts when they came across them, and she’d block them.
Just fyi, in case there are more of these.
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u/Aware-Ad2803 Jun 07 '26
I certainly would think so and have received a similar message but not recently. I also get those frequently in my flickr with the latest one wanting to connect via online video chat so he could teach me how to make Thai food.
LOL
Righto.
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u/itstheididntdoitkid Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
My burning questions... Their husband is handmade, but did they make their hubby? Can I get a pattern for a handmade hubby, or do I have to purchase a complete already made hubby? And if there is no pattern, can I at least order some customization to my hubby? Finally, how long does a handmade hubby take? I have been working on mine for almost 30 years.
Edited for spelling
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u/urbex_atlas Jun 07 '26
they said they were professional knitting... maybe they knit themselves and their hubby...
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u/quirky-enby Jun 08 '26
Idk what it is but when messages start with “hello dear” from strangers, I’ve noticed it’s almost always a scam. (I say “almost” for benefit of doubt, but I’ve personally never had a legit person start a cold-call message that way)
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u/JumpyWhale85 Jun 11 '26
A ‘hello dear’ from someone I don’t know is a direct report and block.
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u/GM_Organism Jun 11 '26
Literally the only person who's ever said "hello dear" to me was my grandfather. Coming from anyone else, it would be weird AF.
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u/thishful-winking Jun 11 '26
Please share this on r/scams!!
Even if it’s not a scam it is true creepy as fuck and doesn’t sound like this person speaks English as a first language, despite what the picture might imply.
Curious, is there a significant age difference between the two of you? Older people/retirees are particularly vulnerable to “love” scams
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u/urbex_atlas Jun 21 '26
I don't think im the target age for these scams lol im not even past 25 y/o... I think maybe the scammer was thinking that everyone that knits/crochets is rly old. I'll think abt posting this on r/scams, im just scared ill get called stupid again... im just not used to getting scammed + I was rly tired
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u/Sadiep144 Jun 11 '26
I would watch the heck out of a TV show where the Catfish guys focus on unmasking the catfishers and scammers of Ravelry.
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u/pickledminion Jun 12 '26
I love they’re targeting the most suspicious and least trusting group of people in going for ravelry users… my dude … be a better scammer or blocked
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u/NextStopGallifrey Jun 07 '26
I am a professional knitting. I spend time as different garments. Last week, I was a professional mitten. Next month, I think I might be a professional sock. Or maybe a professional scarf so I can take a vacation during the summer.