Staying Safe from Online Scams

At 99designs by Vista, we work continuously to detect, prevent, and remove spammers from our platform. Protecting our community is a top priority, and we use a combination of monitoring tools, reporting systems, and enforcement actions to reduce fraud and scams.

That said, 99designs is a marketplace built to connect people directly. Designers and clients collaborate, communicate, and build relationships together. Because of this open connection, it’s important to take a few extra precautions when sharing information or handling payments.

If something ever feels suspicious, you’re not on your own. Our team is always here to help review concerns, verify communications, and guide you on next steps. A moment of caution can prevent a much larger problem—and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

#1 Rule of Staying Safe Online: Verify before you click!

If any website or service asks for your log in credentials, personal info, or demands an urgent payment, pause and verify the sender and link destination before taking any action. You can always reach out to our support team to verify that an email or message you received is legit!

What is phishing?

Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into sharing sensitive information so they can steal or sell it.

They might ask for things like:

• your password
• your payment or bank details
• your ID documents
• a verification code

Before you click, remember these rules on 99designs:

1) Payments and ID verification happen on 99designs only

If someone sends you to another website or a form to “verify your identity,” “make a payment,”or “reactivate your account,” do not do it! Real payments and ID verification happen on the 99designs website ONLY.

More info on our ID verification process can be found here.

2) Don’t trust links from messages if you’re unsure who sent it

Scammers often send links that look official but aren’t. If you’re ever unsure:

• don’t click the link!
• open a new browser tab
• type 99designs.com yourself and sign in from there

You are always welcome to contact our support team and they will let you know if the message is legitimate.
 

3) Slow down when a message tries to scare or rush you

A common scam tactic is to create panic and urgency so you click or reply without thinking. If a message feels threatening, time-sensitive, or “last chance,” treat it as suspicious and verify the sender before doing anything.

99designs will not ask you to give personal information to keep your account active. Any necessary information is collected in your 99designs profile. Be sure to type 99designs.com into your browser and login securely to change any of your account information.

4) Official 99d employee accounts have a “Staff” badge on their profile

If someone messages you claiming to be from 99designs, make sure you see the orange Staff badge on their 99d profile.

99designs does NOT use any automated “bots” to collect your information! There’s no such thing as a “verification bot” or “verification team.” Even if the account is using the 99designs or Vista logo as their avatar or has 99d in the name of their profile, make sure you see that “staff” badge before responding. And you are always welcome to contact our support team and they will let you know if the message is legitimate.

5) 99designs will NEVER ask for payment in order to keep your account open

If you receive a message claiming that you must make a payment to keep your 99designs account active, avoid suspension, or continue receiving work, it is a scam.

99designs does not charge designers any fees to:

• Keep their account open
• Reactivate a suspended account
• Remove warnings or penalties
• Access contests or 1-to-1 projects
• Receive payments or withdraw earnings

Any message asking you to send money for these reasons—whether by bank transfer, crypto, gift cards, PayPal, or external invoice—should be treated as fraudulent.

All payments are always processed within the 99designs platform. You will never be asked to send funds manually to maintain your account status.

General tips and advice for staying safe from phishing

• Does the communication ask you to do something or else something bad will happen with no recourse?
• Is there a timeframe provided, typically within a short timeframe like 48 hours and such, to provide data or else there is a consequence?
• Who is contacting you? Make sure you understand the legitimacy of the sender. 
• Check for odd language like misspelled words or extra use of emojis
• If you feel yourself worked up, step away and come back to discern if this is a phishing attempt or not once you are in a calmer state. 

The Do Not’s:

• Do not click on links 
• Do not input any data anywhere!
• Do not respond to the phishing communication

The Do’s:

• Do flag phishing attempts to relevant service providers you received the communication through ie. email domains or our platform designersupport@99designs.com
• Do listen to yourself if you feel like something is off

Impersonation Scams

Impersonation scams happen when the bad guys use publicly available information, like portfolios, social profiles, or “designed by” credits on websites, to figure out which designers and clients have worked together. They then pretend to be the designer and contact the client to request additional payments, share fake invoices, or start a “new project” off-platform.

When you report an impersonation or phishing attempt, we take it seriously and act quickly to reduce harm and help prevent repeat attempts. 

To help us take action, please share as much of the following as you can:

• A screenshot of the message (or the full text copied and pasted)
• Sender details: email address, username, phone number, profile link, etc.
• Timestamp and subject line
• Email headers (especially important for email-based scams)

Why headers matter: Email headers contain technical details that help providers identify where the email originated and take enforcement action.

Keeping your clients safe from impersonation scams

When working with a new client, be sure to let them know you will only communicate important project updates and accept payments through 99designs.com. Here’s an example message you can use:

Staying safe online is a shared effort. By taking a few simple precautions and reporting anything suspicious, you help protect not just yourself, but the entire 99designs community. If you’re ever unsure about a message or request, reach out to our Support team—we’re always here to help.