How To Protect Yourself From Art Fraud And Scamming
You’ve just received an email from a potential client who’s showing so much interest in purchasing your artwork or showcasing it. That’s every artist’s dream, right? But something seems off. You’re getting a fishy feeling that all isn’t right. Ever heard of trust your gut? You should and you should also trust these tips on how to spot an art scammer and how to protect yourself from art fraud and scamming so that you feel empowered and safer through knowledge. Let’s get into it!
“Untitled” //Painting// by 2nd Edition Finalist, Tugba Ozdemir
“WHY are ARTISTS TARGETed?”
Some fraudulent companies victimize artists through the use of appealing and tailored promotional services, vanity galleries, art book publishers, and scam purchasing with the alluring idea that they can become discovered and gain notoriety. Continually, art is more frequently being viewed as a great investment commodity which piques the interest of con artists due to the increasing amount of cash flow within the industry.
“It’s Just A Little Allergy” //Shredded Paper on Canvas// by 3rd Edition Finalist, Alessio Mazzarulli
“HOW DO I SPOT A SCAMMER?”
More times than not, con-artists exhibit certain tell-tale signs that should trigger the warning alarm in your head to alert you that something is up.
They use impersonal greetings
If you receive an email from an unknown sender that begins with a vague and general “Hello”, “Good morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night” and your name is omitted, this can actually be one of the first indicators that a scammer is attempting to get into contact with you. Yes, they may have explained their passion for your work and how ecstatic they are to purchase it or collaborate with you but the devil is in the details. At first glance, this might seem like a simple exclusion of your name but keeping the email greeting generic and general can suggest that this email has been in constant circulation and that they have spammed lots of other artists with it because no one is specifically addressed. Remember that your name is as much part of your brand identity as your art itself and supporters and art enthusiasts will be aware of this too because it’s one marker that makes you and your work unique and distinguishable.
2. They’re rushing the transactions
Another easy-to-miss red flag is the sender’s urge and insistence on expediting the transactions. Initially, it may come across as enthusiasm; however, there are notable differences between enthusiasm and an unquivering sense of urgency. When a person is enthused, yes, they may show it through their style of writing and tone; however, they will not be irrationally pestering you about speeding up the process as a scammer would. This is because a genuine prospective buyer would be understanding towards your process and value your time but to a scammer, every strike of the clock can mean that you are closer to finding out that things like their credit card details and cheques are invalid and can discontinue shipment just in time.
3. They request your personal information
Sharing your personal information with strangers has always been risky and hard and fast no because you’d be giving them access to details that they shouldn’t know or that they can use against you for identity theft and put you and your reputation at risk. In this technological age, it’s easier than before to carry out safe and accountable online transactions without having to provide personal information, so there’s no need to share your address, social security number, or bank account details.
4. They ask for information about your work (like prices, sizes, and titles) that is easily accessible on your website
What are websites for after all! They’re literally designed to help your audience learn about your story, work, and sales. So, if a potential collaborator or buyer doesn’t even take the time to research and learn about the piece(s) they want to purchase or showcase in their gallery exhibition, that’s a sign to pay attention to. Equally, it should be shocking and worrying if they commit to buying your work before knowing these crucial details such as the price, if it has already been sold and the size because they don’t even know what they are “buying” and that can be construed as being slightly disrespectful towards the time and effort you put into the piece(s).
5. Their email is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors
We want to emphasize that mechanical language errors alone are not a credible enough indicator to assume someone is a scammer because we have most likely all made these errors in our native tongues. However, when this sign is coupled with other more persuasive signs, then it can be a cause for concern.
6. They opt for non-traditional payment methods
If they indicate that they’ll make payment by means of a cashier’s cheque, in most cases it will be fraudulent, especially if they offer much more than the asking price. What tends to happen is that they will provide you with an invalid cheque under the name of another company. Now, when you go to cash it and resend the excess (as they would typically ask you to do so), the company whose name is on the cheque will contact you because they would have realized that money has been taken from them. Then you would be the one obliged to pay because, on record, you were the one who cashed the cheque. You can use sites such as Paypal as it is much safer and credible to send and receive transactions and often when you indicate that you prefer to use a tool like Paypal, the scammer may become disenchanted and leave you alone.
Once you recognize these signs in time, you have a better chance of protecting yourself from fraud.
“Yellowing” by 1st Edition Finalist, Cassandra Carrasco
“HOW DO I PROTECT MYSELF FROM ART FRAUD AND SCAMMING?”
Always research the email
The emails that a scammer uses have often been used numerous times already meaning that there is a chance others have picked up on this fraud and reported it or shared the information within the community. You can use this to your advantage by copying and pasting the email address, and (part of the) email into your search engine. If results come up that show other artists labelling this email as bogus or bad news, you know to steer clear. Many have already formed forums about art scams such as Stop Art Scams where scam emails are posted to inform the wider public, so you can browse through and avoid the same fraud. Equally, artist Kathleen McMahon has created a list of numerous scammers in which she provides a detailed account of usernames, email addresses, and IPs in the Email Header to help other artists avoid mishaps. This is a great tool to verify the legitimacy of the sender.
2. Copyright your art
Copyright laws will protect you if someone steals your work because it is a crime to infringe on these laws and unlawfully use someone’s work. There are different ways that you can prove that the art is your work such as by signing your name on it, registering your artwork through a copyright office in your country, and having a detailed inventory of your work.
3. Keep personal information private
I believe that under any circumstance you shouldn’t provide a stranger with your personal information because you’d be putting yourself at grave risk. There really isn’t a need for a potential collaborator or buyer to have access to this sort of information because they can access what they need to know through your website or social media pages. Especially if it is a scammer, they may misuse your information and try to incriminate you or share your information because not everyone has respect for privacy. So, be very hesitant and see it as a red flag if a stranger is asking for personal details such as passwords, bank account details, social security numbers, and addresses.
4. Never ship before receiving payment
It’s a lot safer to receive payment before you ship because you can avoid the number one trick of scammers which is receiving invalid payment (usually via cheque) and not being able to make use of it or contact them afterward. You have all right to state that you prefer to receive payment prior to shipment and even if it is a genuine buyer and they feel uncomfortable with that, you can agree upon a downpayment which you would verify, and then proceed to ship your work.
5. Confirm the company’s legitimacy
In the case of a “company” reaching out to you because they are interested in working with you, it’s also a good practice to verify the company’s legitimacy. You can do this through a Google search of their name and also by searching for social media accounts linked to the company name. By doing this, you are also researching if their name is reputable or if it has been associated with art scams before. We advise that you also check for the official registration of the business through relevant authorities. Governments undertake backgrounds checks on registered companies which can reassure you in pursuing the offer once they are legitimate. The domain information will also give you insight into the company’s legitimacy because domains such as LLC, Corp, .org, and Inc. are usually reputable and indicate that they are officially registered.
“Lou” //Oil on Linen// by 1st Place Winner in 1st Edition, Tanya Atanasova
NOW LET’S DISSECT AN EMAIL FROM AN ART SCAMMER
In true NCIS form, now’s the time we put the theory (from above) into practice as we become skilled crime investigators for a second. Below is an email sent to renowned artist, instructor, and author Nancy Reyner taken from her article with the Artrepeneur coach Renee Phillips showcasing one out of many scams that she states she is subject to on a weekly basis.
From: Anthonio j
<sender’s email>
Subject: ARTWORK NEEDED
To: [Nancy’s email]
Greetings,
My name is Anthonio Jack from Oregon. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and I guess she likes your piece of work, I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you… Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales.
Thanks and best regards.
Let’s start with the subject line. If the message itself didn’t suggest urgency enough, the capitalization sure did! This technique is used to catch the viewer’s attention because remember, the scammers want you to engage with them and they need to present their first interaction with you (the subject line) in an eye-catching and attention-drawing manner.
Continually, did you notice the impersonal greeting? “Greetings” without including the artist’s name. This means that this email can be sent to numerous people at a time and it’s often a sign of respect to include the sender’s name once you know who you are writing to. I think it would be very odd to not address the artist personally especially if you are “impressed and amazed” by the artwork because it seems ingenuine and is basically the equivalent to “To whom it may concern” which is used when you don’t know the name of the person you are addressing. Remember that it’s always the little things that count!
Again we will notice the offputting and sense of urgency signaled by the word “immediate” when the con-artist inquires about the availability of pieces for sale. What’s the rush, right? “Immediate” also carries an embedded demanding tone, in this context, which is easy to trick you into thinking that they are so excited but this, coupled with the scammer’s inability to even name the piece that he is interested in, is a big red flag. The two sentences “I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you” and “kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales“ really juxtapose one another because it’s not sensical to have sporadically made the decision that you want to make a purchase without even having the basic details such as the title, size, and cost of it.
Lastly, there are a few grammatical errors that shouldn’t be used as the sole indicator that you are being scammed. For example, in the sentence “I guess she likes your piece of work, I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job.”, a full stop should have been used after ‘work’ and before ‘I’m’ as well as in-between ‘too’ and ‘you’. Equally, he is missing the relative pronoun ‘that’ after “I observed” which heads the ‘that’ clause for reporting verbs. These errors only become viable alongside the other aforementioned signs of fraud and ingenuity because we all make grammatical and spelling errors from time to time.
“Dye Party” //Oil on Canvas// by 2nd Edition Finalist, Ariana Vaeth
“I THINK I’VE BEEN SCAMMED! WHAT SHOULD I DO?”
If you think that you’ve been a victim of art fraud and scams, you can contact your local authorities and inform them of the fraudulent, unethical activity that you have been subject to. Continually, if you have shared personal information such as your bank details, contact your financial institution as soon as possible to inform them about what’s happening. It’s also extremely useful to save any evidence you may have that signals art fraud such as emails and cheques because you may be able to get compensation. Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself because sometimes what seems obvious after the fact is far from it during the incident. The best takeaway from it would be to use it as a learning lesson and help others avoid the frustrating experience.
The moral of the story is that if it seems too good to be true, more often than not it might be. If your gut is insisting that there are red flags all over this case, trust yourself because you know best. The key is not to be too hasty and do your own research before engaging. Keep yourself, your art, and your reputation safe and always opt for safer options when collaborating with prospects. We hope that these tips will help make it a lot easier to prevent you from being a victim of art fraud and feel free to share this article so that more artists can be empowered through knowledge and act in time!