Be scam aware

Recently, scammers have been impersonating legitimate Squarespace web designers and sending convincing messages to their clients, often about security updates or offering audits for compliance.

  • Check the sender's email address

    The scammers are creating fake Gmail addresses using the web designer’s name. For example, they might use something like sqspqueen@gmail.com to impersonate me.

    Emails from me will always have hello@sqspqueen.com as the sender.

  • Don't give them access to your website

    Some of the scammers are requesting Administrator access to websites. This gives them the power to delete your website and/or access contact information for your users.

    I will already have access to your site and won’t need you to add me.

  • Ignore requests for upfront payments

    The payment requests from the scammers seem to be for around $200 - $300 and may be via a Stripe link. Don’t send any payments, especially if there’s a sense of urgency.

    For smaller jobs like these, I will only invoice when the work is complete

I’m taking steps to reduce the risk of scammers posing as me

Squarespace have confirmed that this is not a data breach at their end but they are working closely with their community of web designers. They have sent out an advisory email to alert clients and are looking into other ways to reduce and prevent these scams.

It’s not yet clear exactly how the scammers are choosing their targets, so I’m erring on the side of caution and removing any references to clients from my website, so my portfolio is temporarily unavailable and my testimonials have been anonymised.

Please get in touch if you would like to see any examples of my work.

An example scam email

You may receive an email similar to this, although the scammers will probably be varying the content as more people become aware of this.

If you do get a suspicious email, you can always forward it to me at hello@sqspqueen.com to check if it’s legitimate. 

Subject: Important information regarding your Squarespace website
Hi [first name],
It's [impersonated designer's name]. We worked together on your Squarespace site, and I'm reaching out to keep you ahead of a new platform change.
Squarespace is starting a compliance review of every site. They will check security settings and license verification. Sites that don't meet the latest standards can be restricted or even taken offline without notice.
During our last project some settings may have changed, or Squarespace may now require updates that were not in place before.
I can run a quick compliance audit to confirm your site is secure, verified, and ready for this review. This protects you from any downtime and keeps your site running without interruption.
Reply YES and I will start the audit right away.
Best,
[impersonated designer's name]
[fake title]