Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers
There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.
How they begin
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. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.
What to look out for:
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 “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know.
They’ll 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 don’t really care for this part.
They’ll 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). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.
Where the scam actually happens
If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible.
Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll 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. It’s 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 you’ll never see that money again.
They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.
The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s 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.
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 “back” - aka to their final destination account.
Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s 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 won’t supply you with any good answers.
Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance.
Don’t 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 you’ll regret later.
Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info.
Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn.
Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it.
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. Let’s 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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Wanna purchase some beadwork? Live in Canada but have conflicting feelings about it's history and want to support the Indigenous people that live here? Do you just feel fed up with Canada Day nonsense?
Here are some beadwork artists in MY neighborhood that you should check out!
C'eldzïn Beadwork! I've bought her work before (the bisexual earrings) and she was kind enough to change said earrings to clip-ons for me! Her work is gorgeous and I highly recommend it!
Small Town Earrings!! They have very cute beadwork pieces, including some Pokemon and LOZ themed ones!!! I highly recommend their work as well!
Strong Blood Creations!! They're a trio of Indigenous women that create and distribute beadwork; I bought a hair clip from them recently that was absolutely gorgeous!!
Carmen Redunante! She's a Nisga'a/Chilean artist who sells absolutely gorgeous beadwork as well as other jewelry, prints, and and tapestry!!
More artists may be added later!!
This post was brought to you by: an almost exact same thread I did on twitter that I posted right as the entire site imploded so I decided to share the artists here so that they'd actually get traction! Twitter sucks
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Happy Sun/Moon Reveal-versary! 🎉
The 21st of September has arrived meaning it's time to grab a slice of cake and celebrate as today is Sun and Moon's Reveal-versary/Birthday! In celebration of this, today is also the day the 2024 Reveal-versary magma collab opens!
The reveal-versary collab is a week-long event featuring two magma boards artists can draw in! (Time is dated from when this is originally posted.) Biblically accurate DCA, AUs and variations are all welcome to join in the celebrations! (If you have questions about what magma is or want to see some previous examples you can check out this post!)
Like last year the reveal-versary collab is split into two boards! Though starting from this year there will now be a surprise themed board each year!
The Party room: The main board where you can join Sun and Moon to celebrate their birthday! Grab a slice of cake, bring some snacks, add some gifts they may enjoy or add balloons if you wish!
Themed board: This years themed board is a Sleepover! Join a tiny pair of familiar faces over by a collection of pillows! Would you join in any mischief, join a sunny friend in some reading or simply get cosy during the sleepover? Feel free to add blankets, pillows, beanbags and maybe even some plushies!
Before jumping in here are the rules:
No NSFW
1 Character per board (For now! This may ease later into the event, this is to give people time/space to join when they can. Keep an eye on any updates for if this changes! Small props/additions can be added freely so long as they don't take too much space.)
Merge your layers when finished! (This is important to prevent slowdowns and allow others to draw if we go near the layer limit)
Sign your work (So I can credit you when the final result is posted!)
Keep your character a reasonable size (No characters that take up a large quarter of the canvas please!)
Please try to colour and finish your character/art if you can!
✨A additional thank you to the daycare friend pick-up server mods for their support with having this event run in their discord!
Without further ado, happy doodling and happy reveal-versary! 🎉
⭐Collab boards:
⭐Casual Boards:
For those who want to doodle outside of the collab!
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