#instagram scammers

[weirdhasanxiety]

So. Hey, I’m back, just not with a drawing as per usual, apologies.

A warning to artists doing comms:

TL;DR: When doing comms, check email addresses, don’t forward any money before you’ve received any(or just don’t forward any at all), and ask for details of your commission to the commissioner.

I got scammed out of 200 USD on Instagram the other day.

I usually don’t do comms(because online money exchange is risky and I’m just not familiar with it), but a guy called Fred James(likely a randomly generated name) messaged me asking if I would be willing to do a drawing of his kid’s dog for 300USD.

I had some time, the guy’s dog was cute, and even after me saying ‘no, you don’t need to pay, I’ll just doodle something up for you’ multiple times he insisted, and me being the pushover I am I said ‘okay, I’ll open a PayPal’.

I did that, and he said he’d sent the 300 over. Then an email popped up, saying that for ‘verification’ the guy needed to send an additional 200 over and I needed to refund it to get my 300, and I actually did it.

I was panicking about this over on discord, and another artist who did comms pointed out that this might be a scam, and I double checked the email addresses. One from PayPal saying that I’d added a card to my PayPal, and the other saying that I needed to give the guy 200.

They were different(though very similar). It was a fucking scam.

I was angry, and I felt guilty over it for days.

Another email from the same fake address came the day after asking me to send an additional 300 over. I forwarded it to PayPal’s phishing address, deleted it and the other two fake emails, and just went to crochet to try and feel better about this whole shitshow.

I really hate how this guy took advantage of my unfamiliarity with commissions and PayPal, and because of this I doubt I’ll be doing any comms in the future, and my relatives(and my parents) have told me to take all my art off the internet, stop using social media and just… stop. With online art.

As seen with this post, I’m not going to do that, because I like sharing my art with people, and I’m not doing it for profit, anyways. I got greedy this time. I’ll not make that mistake again.

In hindsight, all the hints were there. When I asked the guy about what style he wanted, he didn’t answer. When I asked what his son’s name was, he didn’t answer. When I refused payment, he insisted, and he told me to give my name despite it being not necessary for PayPal transactions.

The fake emails he sent me had my name, and I know I’d given him my email as well, which is why the emails had my name and looked so official.

The emails’s images were all missing, too, and the copyright thing at the bottom said 20xx-2022. That’s another thing I missed.

I’m putting this out there, because I’ve checked my message requests on Insta, and there were two more people there asking ‘Do you do commissions?’, the exact same thing the scam guy asked me.

There’s nothing wrong with doing commissions. You do art for someone, you get paid, and that’s great!

But please, be careful. Check the addresses of your emails. Ask for commission details. Don’t send money to anyone before checking if it is legit.

(Unrelated to my particular case, but according to some friends, a lot of comm artists receive a percentage after doing the sketch, and the rest after they finish the final piece, to avoid getting scammed)

That’s all, I guess. And I did an initial doodle of the dog, too.

And to think I was so excited. I’m going to be terrified of doing comms, now, fuck.

Fuck you, scammers. Fuck you for taking advantage of us.

And fuck myself for not being careful enough.

[maikaartwork]

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.

[demonic-shadowlucifer]

A PSA TO THREADS USERS

(PT: A PSA TO THREADS USERS. End PT) If you use Threads (An app owned by Meta, and basically Zuck's version of Twitter but also not), you might've been seeing your posts get quote-reposted with something like this

It's a scambot. Your post has not been reported for copyright. And your account is not going to be banned. Meta would've sent you an email had that been the case (And keep in mind these accounts arent actually verified neither).

Clicking the link will lead you to a fake login/appeal page (one that's labeled as *not secure* might i add), which asks for your password. If you accidentally click the link by any chance, do not enter your password. Stay safe yall. @kyra45 not sure if you cover off-tumblr scams but thought you might be interested/aware of this.

[badsciencejokes]

Copyright Strike on Instagram

I was unaware Instagram doesn't really vet their copyright reports...

So, I received a copyright strike on something that I didn't believe had any issues, but Instagram said the information of who to contact and to do so saying they owned a clip of video I had posted.

I sent them an email wanting to quickly resolve the matter. They requested a large payout. The price was a bit much I thought but hey, I'm under the assumption this clip I had used was under the ownership of some large company. I request to pay via a secure way and they insisted on a bank transfer. That's immediately when I knew something was up. Stupidly, I did pay the fee as I wanted the copyright strike gone from my account (you can lose your account for those!). I sent a screenshot of the pending payment and within an hour I had more reports to my content. Multiple. All of them, I was sure, were not owned by these people.

I ended up doing some major research on this 'company'. Found lots of evidence that they are not who they say they are. I let Instagram know about this. It took a little while but they reversed the copyright strike and brought my videos back. ....I am out that initial bank transfer, understandably.

But here's the thing.

They didn't vet this company at all.

This company said a bunch of bologna and Instagram immediately sided with them.

I have looked online and have not seen reports of this sort of scam happening. I want to let people know but also not because... well, obviously.

On the bright side, I was finally able to verify the @bad_science_jokes Instagram page.

Be on the lookout for scammers. Instagram isn't doing us any favors! I have checked a previous report I received a long time ago and it, too, was a scammer. Be very mindful!

[the-lavender-clown]

COMMISSIONS OPEN

Prices (charged per character)

Headshots: starting at 20 USD

Bust: starting at 30 USD

Hips-mid thigh and up: starting at 40 USD

Full body: starting at 50 USD

Basic Information

• limit of 6 characters per drawing

• I am only accepting digital commission

• PayPal is the method of payment I am accepting at the moment

Things I won’t do

• ship art

• gore

• smoking, vaping, or any use of drugs as well as misuse of alcohol

• inappropriate tattoos

• flags of any kind or political imagery

• NSFW

Examples of work

Full illustration

Simple shading

Doodles

Sketches

DM me here or on my Instagram or Twitter if interested!

[smilesrobotlover]

When some random stranger dms me about a commission and I just know that they’re gonna be a nightmare or a scammer

[alethianightsong]

Each GTA game is a satire of American culture so GTA 6...

might be a satire of the mid-2010s and influencer culture. Lucia might've been in jail for 5-8 years, long enough to come outta jail and asks, "Who are all these skanks with the phones?" and Jason goes "Oh yeah, you haven't seen many influencers in prison. These people get so popular that they're paid to peddle crap to their fans." "Sounds dumb as shit." "Well, they make millions. The sexy ones can scam 1000s of dollars from their fanboys & get away with it" which naturally leads into some side-missions consisting of Lucia faking being an influencer or maybe she and Jason help an influencer take out the competition.

[batwynn]

Just a heads up:

If an account messages you asking you for an art commission or photo shoot or anything creative that you have no examples of in your portfolio or on your account… it’s likely shady/some kind of a scam. Doubly so when they avoid telling you where they are, especially when it’s something you need to actually be there in person for. Triple for the private account and generic info that makes it impossible to check out the person. And, let’s be honest, fourthupley so if you’re openly queer and they have that kind of bio. 👍

Just… play it safe. Don’t give them your location info, or anything you don’t already have public facing. Absolutely do not let them pay you in weird ass mailed checks that they request back/ask for bank info etc. It’s ok to mildly test it out and see if they’re a real person who maybe lives in a shack somewhere and doesn’t know what kind of art/photography is what and can’t tell the difference between skills like graphic design and illustration buuuut. Be safe. Be aware.

[heartlandians]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amber Marshall (@amber_marshall_farm)

Hey guys… online scamming has become an increasing problem on the Internet. Please be aware, and if anyone contacts you to send money, they are not part of my team.

I do not charge for a membership card, or to be a part of my newsletter and community. If someone reaches out pretending to be myself or anyone on my team, do not engage.

The ONLY accounts I’m affiliated with are the following:

Instagram: @amber_marshall_farm @marshallscountrystore

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmberMarshallEntertainment www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552492318890

Twitter: Amber_Marshall

And my YouTube Page: AmberMarshallOfficial

Be safe of there!

[testure-1988]

Mann I had ANOTHER scammer (posing as someone from Instagram support) trying to steal money from me earlier! I told them to fuck off and rot in hell.

[dialovers-lover-xoxo]

(All information and screenshots shared in this post are with the full permission of the artist)

An artist on Instagram jade_knight_sparrow has been scammed 750 dollars by this despicable person!

Artists, if this Instagram account dms you and asks for a commission BLOCK HIM IMMEDIATELY HE IS A SCAMMER

Please please please please share this post so no one else suffers!

Also if you can please commission from this artist to support her during this hard time. She is an amazing artist and deserves so much support!

Share this please to help the artist and prevent others from getting hurt!

Because he can make another Instagram account here is his email just in case

Mkahalflear@hotmail.com

Please don't send him hate. What he did was terrible but I don't condone sending hate. That's not why I put the email here. I put it here so artists know who he is even if he makes a different Instagram.

[maikaartwork]

Gotta love instagram art scammers

[taffydragonblog]

If you sell commissions on Instagram, please read this. So far I've been targeted by two of these scammers.

[vavuska]

I recently started following a couple of YouTubers who create videos to sensibilize costumers about fake Ads of products you can find on Instagram and Tik Tok.

I will add the links of the two videos I watched. Part of me is disgusted by the waste of money and another one finds it entertaining. Maybe that's because I'm poor and unemployed. Ahah.

Back to the main topic: it seems that great part of those false brands (they have fake web sites, that usually disappear from a while, after scamming and frauding a meaningful number of people, I guess) copy this brand called House Of CB, stealing the modeling shooting of the clothes sold online by House Of CB. To make the scams more legit, those fake brand steals contents from the review section of similar (and least more honest) Amazon Dupes of popular clothing designs. In this section you can find a LOOOT of photo of people who happily post pictures of them wearing the products, the fake brands steals those pictures and use to make their sites look more legit. Another sources of images or videos to use as base for fake Ads of scam brands are the profiles of content creators, fashion vlogger, influencers or regular social media users who share their positive feelings about their new piece of clothing.

The thing I noticed immediately is HOW in this kind of scams the victims are more than one: in the first place we have the online buyers who has small budget and is scammed of their money; the second is the original brand or the designer, who is deprived of their entrances and of their intellectual property; the third is the content creator or regular social media user who sees their reputation and image trashed by the unconsesual association to a fraud.

It's important to notice that this kind of scam involves mainly Fast Fashion products, which are publicized under fake ads and sent to the clueless buyer, who thought to have found a big deal.

This is important, because fast fashion is widely renowned as an exploitative business model resulting in low wages, poor working conditions, a disregard for workers' rights and negative impact in environment such as water pollution and carbon emissions.

So, this kind of scams give a huge contribution to the exploitation of garment workers around the globe and also damage the planet in wich we are all living.

I want to say that those YouTubers were both from USA and I'm from Italy. I didn't see any fake ads during my Instagram and Tik Tok scrolling, I saw only small enterprises and single creators who craft and sew their own stuff and they seemed totally legit to me. Is this because in USA there is a less culture about costumers protection than in Europe?

I can't answer. Just be careful, buy ethically and support small businesses.

Edit: some reddit users report that they have been scammed by a copycat version website of House of CB, though a fake Instagram ad that reported some 'big sale' happening.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1by0c6u/the_site_i_just_purchased_from_has_2_different/

[redlenai]

So I went ahead and prepared a few banners and replies for scammers (Yes, I used Sims 4 icons because I like them a lot for the aesthetic). Please let me know if you use it, ESPECIALLY if scammers reply back to you! hahahaha

Oh-Oh! Seems your request has been denied. The reason is that this is an evident scam, too bad! Maybe give up and get an honest job?

Lucky you! Due to your unsuccessful scam attempt you have won a Shovel! If money is what you want, maybe this will help you achieve that!

Wowie! That scam attempt was bad, here is a Voucher so you can finish School! Maybe that way you'll land a better job and stop being a parasyte!

For your unsuccessful scam attempt we decided to give you this Consolation Prize! Don't feel bad, some just need an honest job to get money! Give it a try!