Artists, letâs talk about Instagram commission scammers
Thereâs been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists donât know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.
Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. Theyâll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like âItâs for my sonâs birthdayâ. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they donât follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.
Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.
Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient â??â when you donât answer immediately. Theyâre in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know.Â
Theyâll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they donât really care for this part.
Theyâll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). Theyâll often put in a phrase like âI am willing to compensate you financiallyâ and âI want the best you can drawâ, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. Thatâs because it is.
Where the scam actually happens
If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. Theyâll try to get to this part as soon as possible.Â
Usually, theyâll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. Theyâll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). Theyâll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - thatâs what theyâre after. If you insist on any other method, theyâll just circle back to the transfer âfor easiest methodâ. If you do provide them with the info, most likely youâll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. Itâs like with any other scam emails you can ever get.
A few things can happen here:
They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and youâll never see that money again.Â
Theyâll overpay you âfor shipping costsâ and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, youâll never see that money again.
The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize thereâs been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions.Â
You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money âbackâ - aka to their final destination account.Â
Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how itâs supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.
You can find more info on that method HERE.
What to do when you encounter a scammer:
Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They wonât supply you with any good answers.
Donât let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. Thatâs how they operate, thatâs how they make you lose vigilance.Â
Donât engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that youâll regret later.
Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info.Â
Donât be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because itâs there now doesnât mean it canât be withdrawn.Â
Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized itâs a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very âby the bookâ with it.Â
Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Letâs help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!
Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.
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