#scammers

[blazerraiden]

I love roasting scammers

Edit: HAHA they deleted their own comment, good riddance

[kay-jay-comic-art]

This is actually a scam I nearly fell for, but thankfully the payment wouldn't go through, saving me £200. This scam is also the start of my descent into hating commissions and my desire to stop making them as a whole.

Scammers are ruining art for people, and making it harder to trust those who genuinely want a piece from an artist. The more people are made aware of these scammers, the safer artistic spaces will be.

Please reblog to spread awareness. Thank you kindly.

Hey guys let me tell you about advance fee scams

I hope y'all are familiar with these in this day and age, especially my artists out there, because they're incredibly common.

About half an hour ago I posted a drawing and tagged it #artists on tumblr, and very quickly received this comment.

My scam radar went off immediately, due to the generic blog name and lack of any emotion in the comment, but I decided it might be an entertaining venture so I dmed them. They asked for a drawing "of these", and sent me a random selfie. I got the details and told them it would be $15, and they promptly offered me $300. At this point I know it's a scam, but I play along for funsies and give them my paypal. Shortly, they send me this image for "confirmation" (I blocked out my email)

And they began to insist that I checked my email. I looked in my spam folder and found the following email.

This is fake. This is not a thing. And the "you're to refund the $200.00 back" is the scam. They send vaguely official-looking emails at you to "prove" that they sent you the money, then have you send them $200 (or however much the scam is for). Then, surprise surprise, you're out $200.

I continued to play along for a bit, and in the second email "Paypal" told me that I had to refund the $200 before they could "credit the $300 to my account", along with these lovely threats.

And yeah, it's silly. But it's not silly if you don't know and get scammed. So. Spread, please! And thank you very much to @mlaurel for the opportunity to get these screenshots.

[vamptarotscam]

Another person came forward with terrible screenshots. AND SO HAVE OTHER PEOPLE. MORE EVIDENCE OF THE POS THAT @vamptarot IS.

@vamptarot is back at it again. I decided to share this story because it is truly disgusting. Same pattern, new lies.

In the screenshots I will provide in a minute, she also admits to posting PACs only for money.

(Yall are a bunch of fools for defending her in the first place but now you will finally see how dumb you were from the beginning).

@vamptarot is a fucking bully, a liar and a scammer all at the same time. I am done with her ass.

This time she scammed a client who ordered and paid for a reading back in February (12th of February). The client was led on, gaslighted and lied to consistently since that date. STILL NO DELIVERY.

KEEP READING. SCREENSHOTS PROVIDED AFTER A SHORT INTRODUCTION.

The client ordered and paid for a reading on the 12th of February 2025. @vamptarot is still yet to DELIVER IT. IT'S LATE APRIL. It's also funny how the scammer claimed that she only had a "few" recently bought readings to deliver. Yet another lie.

This person got scammed for another 70 pounds, fyi.

This is emotional abuse. This is financial abuse. This is a scam.

She is STILL out here saying she’s only late on a few “recent” readings. That is a lie. This reading was ordered on February 12th. It has been over two months.

The client? Stayed polite, kind, even apologetic. And was met with bullying, lies, guilt trips, fake tragedies and radio silence.

Also, a new lie has dropped about a "freak" on the bus that stabbed her. It's giving:

Now, onto the receipts.

CLIENT ORDERS THE READING ON THE 12TH OF FEBRUARY. GETS PROMISED A 4-6 DAYS DELIVERY. @vamptarot also tried another scam tactic: an additional charge for a quicker delivery (that never would have happened anyway).

2. FEBRUARY 19TH. NEW LIE UPDATE: FREAK ON THE BUS WHO COINCIDENTALLY STABS HER.

The reading should have been already delivered. No update, client politely checks in and gets the "unforeseen circumstances" card. Another lie about being the reading getting done "tomorrow or the day after". Then suddenly @vamptarot mentions a story about a man on the bus with a knife that apparently injured her. IJBOL.

More radio silence.

Yall. It is ridiculous enough as it is. Let's move over to February 22.

3. FEBRUARY 22: BREADCRUMBS AND LIES. THE CLIENT GETS BULLIED BY THE TWAT. Still no reading. @vamptarot vaguely says the future spouse's energy is "cooperative" which feels like a fake breadcrumb to keep the client quiet. No fecking shame at all. Client gets ghosted again and then cussed out. Usual "no electricity" excuse. Promises to deliver the reading in 2-3 hours. No reading.

Client is an angel. I would have already squared up with her after this.

Reminder: Her own rules state the reading would be delivered in 4–6 days. It’s been 16. She BULLIES this client into silence. Says: “We’ll both be over this soon.” They STILL don’t have their reading. Client basically gives up after being harassed by this vile creature.

4. March 5th. @vamptarot is yet to deliver. NOW there's a car accident and a hospital visit. How convenient. It's funny how it's always a car accident, an injury or electricity issues. IJBOL.

No comment.

5. Client gets ghosted again until the 22nd of March where the twat blames her doctor for "not letting her work". Yall. 😐😐😐😐

6. Guilt trips the client, promising to deliver yet again. NO DELIVERY ONCE AGAIN.

Says she's not a scammer yet refuses to offer a refund OR DELIVER THE READING THAT THE CLIENT PAID 70!!! POUNDS!!! FOR!!!!

FUCKING EGREGIOUS.

@vamptarot You better be working on that reading. And you better deliver it. I am serious.

If her dogs still want to defend their queen for her scraps, they're welcome to fuck off. There are no excuses for this behaviour. Taking advantage of a client and bullying them too? Nasty work.

Once again, shame on you @vamptarot. Hope you packed light, hell doesn't allow carry ons. Enjoy the heat.

Oh yeah, here is where she admits to posting PACs for money:

[chickenhoops]

Sorry for double posting but APPARENTLY those commission scammers have showed up on Tumblr at least for the first time for me.

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, there were/are commission scams going on in Instagram and even places like Artstation where people would pretend to be interested in your work and try to commission a pet or portrait for the sake of trying to get your bank details. Here’s how to (somewhat) sniff them out:

1- They don’t seem to be an average customer/ person that would be involved in your fandom, or has a blank template for an account or don’t even follow you.

2- They ask you to draw a portrait or a pet picture either for themselves or their children/family.

3- They promise to overpay you (in the hundreds) and do not listen to you even if you firmly state the price is cheaper.

4- They are constantly asking for your email name, or private details regarding things like banking details or passwords or other private information others should not know.

5- They try and over reassure you they mean no harm, try to guilt you into giving them the info, or become aggressive over you not giving them what they want.

What should you do if you come across one of these guys? My best advice is to block and report. Sadly these people jump account to account so there isn’t really much to do other than spread this info to prevent artists from being scammed.

[meanya]

I saw a post before about how hackers are now feeding Google false phone numbers for major companies so that the AI Overview will suggest scam phone numbers, but in case you haven't heard,

PLEASE don't call ANY phone number recommended by AI Overview

unless you can follow a link back to the OFFICIAL website and verify that that number comes from the OFFICIAL domain.

My friend just got scammed by calling a phone number that was SUPPOSED to be a number for Microsoft tech support according to the AI Overview

It was not, in fact, Microsoft. It was a scammer. Don't fall victim to these scams. Don't trust AI generated phone numbers ever.

[magentasky234]

Reblogging for the articles

I miss when I would get Tumblr asks that actually said things and weren't just digital panhandling scams.

[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.

[atavist]

His mother got duped by a man who claimed to love her—so he headed to Nigeria to find the con artist who broke her heart.   The Romance Scammer on My Sofa. The latest incredible true story from The Atavist.

[slenbee]

Current Scammers - 12/11/24

Disclaimer: This list is only meant to serve as documentation and reference material so that others know: what to look out for in regards to a scam, and who to block preemptively if you so choose. I do not, in any way, endorse harassment or mass reporting these users. Do NOT do this. I'm serious. DO NOT mass report. Only report these asks if you GET them or ones like them. Thank you.

Part 2

THIS POST IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED

Please refer to Part 3 for current scammers.

----------

This is the current list of scammers pretending to be Palestinians from Gaza asking for money (USD) through PayPal rather than via an official fundraising site like GoFundMe. Many of these accounts have non Palestinian names attached to the PayPal accounts while using real Palestinian names on tumblr stolen from real people. The accounts that claim to be vetted are in fact, NOT vetted by any well known group or organization, and they will beat around the bush or straight up block you if you ask for proof. All of these scammers follow a similar but slightly 'altered' script, and multiple scam accounts are usually run by one person. They will usually reblog a handful of posts after they join, then not reblog anything else, or give updates on their aid situation (like a normal user would). Also, if you look at their pinned posts, most have comments/replies turned off, and or have comments deleted/removed. I wonder why? :) Here is a comprehensive guide on how to spot these scams.

Thank you to @kyra45 for providing the list. I just wanted to provide the explanation(s) so people are aware of what exactly these people are trying to do and/or how they are 'scamming' others.

Note: Most evidence linked will be call out posts that can usually be found by searching an accounts username on tumblr. If you are suspicious of an ask you receive, I suggest you search their username to see if they've been reported by other users! If you have the time. please take a moment to report the PayPal connected to these scam accounts. Thank you!

----------

index:

A > usually mean a name change.

A + usually means multiple accounts running the same scam.

(banned) blogs will remain as reference/evidence until the newer accounts pop up.

I'm probably flipflopping < and + in places, but you get the idea. lol

----------

Insulin Scams: A guide on how to spot it and where it came from.

@furryreviewearthquake (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

@gladysconnoisseurpost (banned)-Insulin Scam - NOT vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

weepingwerewolfdestiny (banned) + @maximumdinosaurbouquet (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

@foggyruinspost (banned) + @foggyruinsblog (banned) - Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@daregosh (banned)- Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Story stolen. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@cleversuitsoul (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@veemiraclettastemaker (banned) + @shaaaliminneedofinsulin (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@profoundcollectionangel (banned) + @supportgazalady (banned) + @perfectlythoughtfulbanana (banned) - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. -Evidence it's a scam: here

@fuzzychildlight > @qualitycherryblossombluebird (banned) - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@sitatimohamed (banned)- Insulin Scam - PayPal name (Mohamed Sitati) was previously used by the account yusufzalk (banned). - Evidence it's a scam: here

----------

@janeursular-bakir > @gaza-family1 (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. Evidence it's a scam: here

@magicalbluebirdkitty (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@a-mother-of-gaza (banned)- Evacuation Scam -Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@family-of-gaza (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@reallyuniquedaze (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@maximumtriumphmagazine - Evacuation Scam - Stole images from a real artist. Artist confirmed via e-mail not related. Uses fake gofundme for asking donations. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@perfectlovercat (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@makozh (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@boldlynumberonejellyfish (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@al-rasher (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Fake GoGetFunding campaign. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@fredannuarsblog > @abdullahwahhab - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

----------

@tinytreewombat (banned) - Cancer Scam - Not vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@cherrylydia (banned)- Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@dimoral (banned)- Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@hltabdallah (banned)- Medical Scam - Uses stolen images. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@superbballoonsalad - Medical Scam - Stolen images. Was previously cherylbieryl. Asks for PayPal. (has deleted their post) - Evidence it's a scam: here

---------- Scammers that have been banished to the shadow realm: gaza-diabetes-childrenhelp -- toopeanutsweets --bitchygardenarcade/holywerewolfgiver -- colorfulgladiatordelusion -- perfectpiratewonderland -- happyladyparadise -- burrningmydreamshelppme -- yusufzalk

Celebrate with me by giving a click to help feed rescue and shelter animals. You can also visit their other click-able options that help breast cancer, hunger, Alzheimer's, and Veterans. :)

[zazaofpugs]

Let us not forget our YouTube patron saint of catching scammers (largely internet based) Coffeezilla

I humbly suggest that true crime freaks should get into learning about scammers instead of serial killers. I LOVE reading about fraud and grifts and pyramid schemes. true crime ppl have all this paranoid energy about murder, which is rare in the grand scheme of things.....maybe instead that could be channeled into some productive rage toward capitalism.

[scam-alerts]

🐝Scams to Bee Aware of on Tumblr: 🐝

(posted: 2/6/25 - Updated 2/12/25)

The art commission scam.

Are you an artist? Were you DM'd, sent an ask by a blog with no posts or little to no content, or had a comment on a post asking about a commission and to DM them? Did they ask you to draw their son, daughter, or pet? Did hey offer you $200-$500? If so, you should learn about this scam and how to avoid it.

The sugar baby/daddy scam. / Free money scam.

Did you make a post asking for donations? Did someone DM you wanting you to be their sugar baby or promising you money in exchange for something? Did they tell you that you need to send them money to verify you want to 'do this' or pay for 'shipping' or 'transaction' fees? You're about to get scammed!

The muse scam.

If you post photographs frequently, you may find your posts receiving comments from 'artists' saying how 'inspired' they are and how eager they are to make art or a mural for your work. This is a fake cheque scam and you should avoid it at all costs!

The (read more) / Click here! scam.

If you see a post ending in a link that says (read more...) or Click here! This is an attempt to get you to click a link that will lead to a malicious website in an attempt to steal your information, or possibly even install malicious files onto your phone or computer.

is Now Hiring! Scams. ✨New(ish)✨

See a post like this on your dash or in a tag you frequent? Was the user once a normal user and now they're spamming ads like this in unrelated tags? This likely means that user got their account hijacked by clicking the link via a different post. Avoid clicking links like these at all costs!

HRT Medicine / Therapy services ✨New(ish)✨

This scam is targeting transgender people, and is likely stealing peoples personal information and likely their credit card information. If you see or find a blog like the above commenting on your posts, in #transgender or other such related tags, block and report them immediately. (Selling stuff like this is illegal btw.)

Recruitment for the Illuminati.

This scam tries to recruit people into the Illuminati by offering people mass amounts of wealth, homes, and even cars. This is all an attempt to steal your money, or worse, your identity...

Recovery Scammers.

If you make a post talking about how you've lost money, be it bitcoin, crypto, or were scammed in any sort of way, you may find yourself receiving an ask from a recovery scammer. These are people claiming they can offer 'recovery services' while claiming to be 'ethical hackers' that have 'back end knowledge' to online services. Claiming they can retrieve your money, account, photos, and other such lost items. All you have to do is give them your account information and some money! :) (Do not do this, obviously.)

These scammers also target people who post in #scam and/or other related tags like #scams or #scam alert, posting things like this in the comments on peoples posts:

Dropshipping Websites. (Curtsy of @ai-art-thieves)

See a post of an object or a piece of clothing by a popular tumblr user that has 10k+ notes, does it say 'I got this here!' or '>>GET YOURS HERE<<' at the bottom with a link to a store? That user is a part of a dropshipping advertising scheme and are being paid to advertise these scummy websites. These websites are usually malicious in the manner that they sell cheaply products. In the worst case you'll get a bootleg or flawed product, or even a different product completely, or in even worse cases, you'll never get it at all.

(Or they will steal your information in the case of those shopify websites that popup online with deals you 'just can't refuse!!!' So buyer beware.)

Campaign boost/mutual aid support scams. (By @kyra45)

If you or anyone you know has posted looking for donations, and you receive an ask, DM, or even a comment about someone offering to 'assist you in boosting your account/campaign,' all you have to do is pay them <amount>, then this is a fake check scam you should definitely read up on and learn about to avoid.

Pet donation Scams. (by @kyra45)

See a post about someone needing help with a vet bill? Do they stress the pet is in peril and will die soon? Is their PayPal from the Philippines yet the vet bill is from the United states? Those are just two things to look out for with this scam.

Donation / Mutual Aid scams. (by @kyra45)

One of the most common and well known scams on tumblr to this day. These scams mainly revolve around brand new accounts made within a day or week reblogging very few posts and then suddenly asking for money via donations through PayPal. These blogs will send out the same copy/paste ask en masse to dozens if not hundreds of people, change their name frequently over the course of days if not weeks, and will even lie about being Palestinian, stealing stories from legitimate gofundmes, and even having conditions such as diabetes while not even knowing how it works.

Here is a current list of documented PayPal scammers: Part 3

-----

Some helpful blogs to follow:

@kyra45 @ai-art-thieves @u-reblogged-a-scam

Tags to follow/check if you need to check on scams:

#scam #scams #scam alert #scammer #scammers

I also have a very extensive list of scammer call out posts on my main blog, @slenbee under my #scam tag which can be found here if anyone's interested in scrolling through it. Just note that I kindly ask that minors do not follow that blog as it is my personal blog and is not a blog dedicated to scam busting/documenting.

You're 100% ok with looking through the scam tag and reblogging things from it, as well as checking out the links on my pinned post. :)

------

I think that's it for Tumblr scams, If I think I need to add more later I'll update the post and make an update note about it.

Take care everyone and don't get scammed!

-----

Check out the Index of important posts I've made!

Here's a post on some tips and tricks on spotting scam blogs.

How to guide: Reverse Image Search. (now with web extensions!)

Scammers pretending to be Palestinian v6 by @kyra45

[vamptarotscam]

You want to know what's disgustingly inhumane, @vamptarot?

The fact that you tried to play the racism card, "you don't know me" card, the "I believe in Jesus" card, the charities card... and yet not one single shred of proof.

Explain the screenshots I have on my post, go on. And everything else I have mentioned instead of acting like the victim that you're not. Laughable.

The sexual assault card is so out of the vase here, you know you got caught and it made you crash out, we get it. It was just another way to guilt trip your vulnerable followers into falling to their knees for you (and you know they will, otherwise you wouldn't be begging for donations the second time in the span of a year).

Also, if you're at the hospital, how come you're always online and always have time to reply to DONORS only? And make PACS too. I am sure reading tarot is your main priority at the hospital, is it not sweetie? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Seems like it wasn't as urgent as you mentioned considering how you're planning to fly out a whole country and get URGENT LIFE SAVING treatment (as you claim it to be) somewhere else on a whim. I know healthcare, chicken. If this was a real medical emergency you wouldn't even have the TIME to guilt trip us with your fake ass story on Tumblr, let alone fly out of the country, let alone crashing out in your post.

YOU YOURSELF MENTIONED it was a 10 hour money emergency, you see how you're contradicting yourself? It cannot be urgent given those claims. Also, if you're in a hospital already, shouldn't you focus on getting better instead of thinking where to fly next? Mhm....

Also YOU DON'T OWE me proof. You owe it to the people you have scammed and those who donated to your sob ass story. Show them the proof, lying sleazy scammer.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You mentioning jealousy is pathetic. There's nothing to be jealous of, maybe only of your great mind which was clearly made for scamming YOUNG AND VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS.

[theabesimp]

I get these a lot lol

[azul-demetileno]

BEWARE OF THIS SCAMMER!!!!!

this person asked me is i was available for a comission and i said yes (i admit i was oblivious since i have little to no experience with commissions) and i made a sketch of what they wanted and asked for a payment (i gave them my paypal email and received some suspisious emails...i learned from my mistake)they tried to get me to make a refund of a money that i dont have, they were insistent. Aparently they have a modus operandi since i contacted another artist and they told me that they almost got scammed by this person. I feel stupid, used and i lost my time and dignity, but i won´t fall for that anymore, please share this so more artist can protect themselfs from this scammer (all they want is free art, so they don´t value our effort and skills)

[leidensygdom]

Commission scams: A guide on how to avoid them and find legit artists

Hello! I am writing this guide in order to hopefully help people spot scammers and art thieves, to teach people how to deal with them and to give people ways to actually get real artists for commission work.

For those who do not know, there is a recurring, extremely widespread type of scam where someone will advertise their commissions using stolen artwork, or (sometimes) traced or AI-generated pictures. This started (as far as I know) on Twitter, but it is currently in all sorts of social media (I have found them in Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Tumblr) and also on Discord servers, often large Discord servers requiring no invites or that are easy to find through Discord advertisement places.

These do obviously hurt both, the people seeking to buy a commission (who will either get their money stolen, or given a product that is not of the quality that was advertised), and the artists whose work is being stolen, who are not getting the work themselves. It is important for people to learn how to identify these people, and to quickly take action when possible. This post is kind of lengthy, so please press the Keep reading button below for the full guide! (And please do share this post around if possible- This is a very common scam and I have met far too many people who have fallen to it or have got their art stolen due to it, including friends and myself.)

So, how do they work? (in Social media)

In my experience, a lot of these scammers either run multiple accounts or are part of a larger scheme, operating in organized groups that follow similar tactics. They will very often use automated means to advertise en masse. Those in social media will make accounts that post some example artwork, often with a myriad of tags, in styles that do not match (see first example, featuring my stolen art :'')). They very rarely post anything that isn't stolen artwork, or have any actual real following they interact with properly. They will then very often spam heavily through replies (such as it happens in Twitter), posting hundreds of really similar messages in a short period of time. In the second example, you can see an account from one of these scammers that is using automated posts to garner attention, which are shared by similar accounts (notice the same exact wording between the first and third post). The third example (in the Replies tab) shows how one of this accounts replies "Hi" to every single message they get.

They will often seek posts from people who are searching for commissions, answering them (often with a "I do commissions, DM me") or other variants of that. (They often only share their "art" on DMs to not be caught stealing by the original authors.) You can see an example of that on the first screenshot below. On Twitter, Instagram and pretty much any place where you can DM people, they may also come to your DMs, often starting with a "Hello" or something so you answer to them, and then they will suddenly share their commission information (as seen in the second picture).

In any case, they rarely have publicly available commission sheets, and will only disclose their prices on DMs. They may share more stolen artwork in there. From there on, they will often speak in fairly broken English, and try to lead you to commission them. They will haggle the prices if they can- But they tend to be fairly steep, with them going up to $300 a fullbody, which tends to be unusual in people without a fairly established following or popularity.

They will often give you a payment method that does not allow for refunds- Such as sending the money to "Friends and Family" in Paypal. This is actually illegal for commercial work, so if you get an artist telling you to pay them through such a method, please do be incredibly wary: Professionals will use methods that do have an option for refunds.

2. How do they work? (on Discord)

On Discord, they will often enter in servers where there may be a place for them to advertise, or servers available through Disboard and other Discord-community searchable sites. Then, they will often not interact at all with the community itself, but they will jump to advertising channels and post about "seeking for work". I have found out that scammers operating on Discord do only very rarely also have socials, so look out for that. Do reverse searches if you can. Legit artists don't tend to join Discords solely to advertise, so look up "from: [name]" on Discord and check how they have interacted in the server, if they have done that in any way. See the first and second example for an example on how they behave. First example has art from @ydteus (in the second message, the dragonborn's source is unknown.) Second example is from one of these accounts who entered on a Streamers' Discord. Streamers and VTubers are very popular targets for these scammers. Third example (with art from absent_lambeth on instagram, and unknown for the second picture) shows another important point, which I'll explain below.

Many of these scammers do not have solid commission sheets showing examples and prices for them. The third one even mentions "it is under construction", fully knowing a commission sheet is expected. Not every professional artist has them, but most do. It is often expected that people who do commissions will have some sort of Terms of Service at the very least, even if they do not have a commission sheet.

3. What do they do?

They scam you. You may never get any art from them. You may get traced art, or art that is not of the quality they advertised, because the art they used for promotion wasn't theirs on the first place. Or you may get an AI-generated picture, too. In either way: You will find yourself with +$200 less in your pocket and no way to seek a refund. So, it's very important you know how to spot them BEFORE they scam you. I have known people who have lost their money

4. How do I actually spot them?

Simply put, they do not act like normal artists would. Let's make a handy list of suspicious behaviours to look for, though.

Most people who draw commissions won't directly DM you unprompted to ask you to pay them for work. If you get such a DM- Report as spam and block.

Most of them don't act like bots, either. If you're on Twitter or similar pages, seek for extremely repetitive posts, hundreds of Replies in their Replies tab that are copypasted or very similar. If you see that, report as spam and block.

Reverse search is sadly very unreliable nowadays, but it does not hurt to try. A lot of them will modify the picture so it doesn't show in reverse search, but try it- And seek if it links to a different account with a different name.

As an ESL, I hate to say this, but the grand majority of them have really broken English, so look out for that. Not every person with broken English is a scammer, but it is something common amidst them. You will notice they fail to communicate general information. Try to ask them for Terms of Service, for example: They will probably be unable to provide you anything (if they do even understand you.)

You will rarely find them on your own unless you frequent specific tags, such as "commission" or "openforcommission". Or even using completely unrelated tags in their posts. I found one of them using a tag about someone's death to cop violence on their anime art. These people mostly only interact with their fellow scammers, but not with artists you'd find through other means.

As mentioned above, they won't provide you a payment method that allows for refunds the grand majority of the time. If someone tells you to send them money "as friends and family" in Paypal, or through something life Ko-fi's donations (although this one is rare), do not pay them. This is a general advice: Do not use payment methods that do not allow refunds for people you don't know.

Ask them for a commission sheet, a webpage, their Terms of Service and other things. Professionals should be able to provide at least one of these, usually.

5. What do I do if I find out they have stolen art/if my art has been stolen?

If you have found stolen art, let the original artist known ASAP if you can find them. Ask for help from friends if you cannot find them.

If you're the artist, DMCA claim. Every page has it, it is required for them to have it. If you search "dmca form (and the website's name)", it should show up. Bsky only has it in mail form right now, but it's there. A DMCA claim is a Copyright claim, and as long as you can show that you posted your picture somewhere before they did, you can do it. The form may seem scary, but it is not all that much. They will ask for your legal full name, address, a mail + a telephone, the url of the post stealing your art, an url to where you posted it first, and to sign/agree to some terms. DMCA claims tend to be processed swiftly (in about a day) because websites can get in trouble if they allow for copyrighted content to be stolen. And you actually do have rights to any picture you have created without needing to trademark it or anything.

You may also want to ask your friends to help you report the account and/or posts. Often, reporting it for spam will give you the best results. DMCA claims will take down the offending posts, but sadly, reports in most major places are rarely taken seriously, but they may limit an accounts' reach or auto-flag it as spam in DMs, so it is still a fairly effortless option to follow. DO still DMCA claim them though.

6. Where do I actually find real people to commission?

Your best bet is through other real people. Let me explain some good methods for this.

Do you have friends who are artists? Ask them if they have commissions open, or if they know other people who take them. Artists almost always know other artists, and they can quickly find you someone you can trust.

Did a friend of yours get a commission? Ask them who was it from if you like the style, and they may be able to get you a link to their social media!

Do you follow artists for any sort of content you're interested in? (General art, fanart/fandom stuff, people you look up to, etc). You can check their work first and see if they have commissions, or if they share art from other people, and then check those.

Scammers really don't partake in fandoms or have art-related posts go viral (some get some follower-begging bait going viral, but that's it). Chances are that, if you found a cool art in your dashboard or timeline, it is from a real artist.

I think places such as VGen need verification for artists and have ratings. I am not personally experienced with it, but you may want to check that out.

You can always ask people to double check with you if you found someone but are doubtful about them being legit. If you are part of any community, do ask there! If you have artist friends, tell them! A lot of artists are acquittanced with the scam issue.

I have seen people do lists of artists available for commissions in places such as bsky, too. These can be an option, but always do verify that the people doing the list in the first place do seem like an actual person.

Ending notes

This is a very long post, but I really wanted it to be very thorough. I would greatly appreciate if you could share it around, as it is a very widespread issue that not many know how to identify. If you do find out scammers in Discords, please DM the servers' admins and link them to this post so they can get banned, in order to prevent scamming and art theft.

If you have any question or you need someone to help you verify an artist being legit or a scammer, my DMs are open for that too. I have talked about this a bunch in other places and I am fairly experienced with these cases, and I would be very happy to be able to lend a hand and find you an artist, if you do need the help. Thank you for reading!