olivineartstudio - Tumblr blog

olivineartstudio · 8 years ago

Text

Art Scam and Check Fraud: How I Nearly Lost My Prized Drawing and More

I consider myself a hobby artist, so when I became the target of an art scam and check fraud, I was taken by surprise to say the least. Thinking back, however, maybe hobby artists are the perfect victims for that very reason. I hope that my experience can be a word of caution to my fellow artists.

This story begins on a day when I was bored of drawing the same old, same old. So I reached into my art supplies and pulled out my long-forgotten Faber-Castell soft pastel pencils. In a flurry of inspiration, I spent two days covered in chalk dust and smudges, completely engrossed in my drawing. When I emerged, I had created something beautiful and delicate, a colorful drawing of a young geisha girl against a purple background. It felt as if I had created her by chance rather than skill. As if she were a little miracle.

She inspired me to continue to experiment with chalk pastels. I even had a collection in mind. So I decided to get more serious about my artistry and created an account on mnartists.org. I didn’t expect anything from the account. I just figured a little exposure would do me good. To my surprise, however, I received an email regarding my work just a few weeks later. It read,

Grace Vine <[email protected]>

[email protected]

Sep 12 at 7:33 AM

Hello,

I came across your page on MN Artist, and i like your inspiration as an artist. Will you kindly email me your recent work on sale for me to look through and see if any interest me.

Cheers,

Grace

Of course I was flattered! She said she liked my inspiration as an artist! She was interested in potentially buying my art! So I replied to her message, giving her specific prices and options. I expected her to buy a print, but instead she messaged me the following:

Grace Vine <[email protected]>

[email protected]

Sep 14 at 5:07 AM

Hi Viktoriya,

It's nice to hear back from you. I will like to proceed with the purchase of the piece (Geisha Original). I think it is a lovely work and I hope to give it a good home. I am presently away on vacation but I should be back in few days.

Meanwhile, can you please confirm your mailing address and phone number so I can inform my husband on where to forward the payment. I can have him send the payment asap. About shipping, you can handle it from your side to my mailing address above or I can forward your contact info to the local cartage company handling my shipment. They can arrange FedEx or UPS pick up of the artwork from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so I can know how best to proceed.

Cheers,

Grace

I was flabbergasted! I had priced my original work for $850! Had the sale been successful, it would have been my largest earnings from a drawing yet. So I eagerly replied with the details and asked her to use PayPal for the transaction. I knew from experience that PayPal was a quick and reliable method.

Grace Vine did not reply. I was puzzled. I thought maybe she had changed her mind. Two days later, however, I received an envelope via Priority Mail addressed from South Carolina. When I opened the letter, my heart gave a lurch. It was a check for $2,900! About a dozen emotions ran through me at once. Thrill at the idea of having so much money. Confusion at the difference in sum. Guilt of even thinking of keeping it without letting Grace on.

I thought about my reply carefully. The next day I sent her the following email:

<[email protected]>

Grace Vine

Sep 17 at 3:27 PM

Hello Grace, I just received the check in the mail. I think there may have been a misunderstanding. The check I received is for $2,900 instead of the asking price of $850. While the extra money is very generous and would help a great deal, we only agreed to a certain amount, and I want to double check that this is what you intended. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.

Regards,

-Viktoriya

As I waited for her reply, I imagined that Grace was an elegant and refined gentlewoman. She had a taste for the classics and fine wine. She wore her gray hair in a neat chignon at the nape of her neck and wore loose, fashionable cardigans and ethnic jewelry. I imagined she was a charitable art connoisseur. Never mind her misspellings or grammatical errors, surely that was just a sign of someone not used to modern technology. I imagined her struggling with the emails, painstakingly using one finger to type each word. So I waited and hoped. Hoped and waited. Maybe, just maybe, the extra money was exactly what she had intended out of the goodness of her heart.

Two days later, I received another email.

Grace Vine <[email protected]>

[email protected]

Sep 19 at 5:05 AM

Hi Viktoriya,

I am so excited and can't wait to have the piece in our home. I hope to give it a very good home and enjoy the piece for many years.

Regarding the check, Just find out my husband made a terrible mistake and overpaid you because he didn't have full details of the transaction, been busy when he sent it. I am very sorry for the confusion but I will like you to go ahead and deposit the check, deduct the cost of the piece inclusive the shipping . I spoke with my husband and he will like you to send the difference back to his chief accountant. A Money order or cashier check should be made out to "Takeisha Carruth" and send to the address below.

Takeisha Carruth

458 Old Buena Vista Rd #5

Columbus, GA 31906

You can send it via FedEx or UPS First overnight delivery. Overnight shipping FedEx charges can be deducted from the money. I'll appreciate if you take care of this as soon as possible and get back with the tracking number. Please acknowledge this email. Thank you.

Cheers,

Grace

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. But, I reminded myself, this was still the largest income I had made from my art yet. It was a great accomplishment, and I should be proud. With that in mind, I set off to mail the drawing.

Since Grace had told me to deduct the cost of shipping from the difference, I had to stop at the UPS store and ship the drawing prior to depositing the check. After I shipped the drawing, I made the 20-minute drive to my bank. With the check in hand, I approached the teller and explained the situation. To my embarrassment, she seemed skeptical. She called out to another teller, who then got the attention of another, and eventually I was passed along to the manager of the bank.

I sat in front of her desk, a feeling of dread coiling in the pit of my stomach. The manager had a restrained look of pity in her eyes. She explained to me that they’ve had situations like this before. Someone scammed someone else by writing out a check for too large of a sum and then asked for a check for the difference. She called the bank that was associated with the check and confirmed that it was a fake account with a fake name.

As I watched the manager make the call, I knew the truth before she had even said a word. I knew that despite my realistic outlook on life, I – someone who prides myself as having a good judge of character and common sense – got conned. The truth is I ignored the red flags because I wanted to believe that someone was willing to pay for my original work. I wanted to believe that someone had fallen in love with my little geisha as much as I had.

I thanked the manager and walked back to my car. After the shock lifted, I began to tremble with anger. No. I was not conned yet. The UPS store was not closing for another 30 minutes, and there was still time to try and stop the shipment. Grace Vine – or whatever their name was – wasn’t going to get my money or my drawing.

So I rushed to the UPS store, and to my utter relief, the drawing had not yet been shipped. Once safe in the car, I clutched the drawing tightly and considered how I should retaliate. Should I send this so-called Grace Vine a nasty email? Should I cuss them out? Should I march back into that UPS store and ship a graphic photo of the male genitalia variety? The last one made me smile, and I spent a few minutes imagining Grace Vine opening up the package expectantly only to find a big D –

No. I didn’t do any of those things, fortunately or unfortunately. Instead, I filed a report with the FBI online. I saved every email, envelope, and check in a safe place in case they ever decided to investigate. I haven’t heard from either the FBI or Grace Vine since. For all I know, he or she is scamming another artist this very moment, maybe even under the same pseudonym.

I was lucky. In the end, the only thing I lost was my time and maybe a little of my faith in humanity. I hope that my story can be a word of caution to another artist or craftsman out there. And to all the Grace Vines in the world, I hope that my story can be a word of warning, I hear karma can be a real B --.

The End

#art #theft #check fraud #personal story #interesting #grace vine

0 notes