There are so many scams that target artists these days. Why artists? Because we’re easy marks! Emotionally swayed by someone liking our work and wanting to hire us for what we love doing. Scammers know this and we have to be extra wary of enquiries in our DMs and inbox.

Some red flags to watch out for:

1 - Strange wording

Does the language seem fishy? The scammer may be using google translate. This could still be a real client whose first language isn’t English. If it’s only a little off it may be worth asking them some questions. If the answers come back strange or they’re avoiding answering your question properly it may be a scam.

2 - Weird project

I had been approached by someone who wanted to create an illustrated slide deck for his students about the basics of COVID, when we were way past the pandemic. He also mentioned that he was hearing impaired and not to judge him for his language. 

Another person approached me for a pet portrait for his son with the pet dressed up like PJ Masks. He didn’t provide any photos and wanted to pay right away.

In both of these situations something just seemed off. They didn’t feel like normal work requests. The COVID one got so far that I actually told him I thought he was trying to scam me, and he sent me a photo of his driver’s license and said he was a “man of God” and would never scam anyone. A quick google search of his name and request showed other artists had been approached with a similar ask and it turned out to be a scam.

3 - Too much money

If someone is offering you a lot of money up front right away, it’s probably too good to be true. There are a lot of requests from an artist wanting to license your work for use as a mural or painting. My husband got one of these requests for his street art. He was so excited! She was offering him $1200 for the rights to make a fine art painting of one of his pieces. Again a google search ended that exciting proposal when it came up as a scam.

There are also a lot of scammers approaching artists wanting to turn their work into NFTs. Since NFTs had been in the news a few years back, making some early adopters like Beeple into instant millionaires. A lot of artists aren’t completely familiar with the tech behind this and are intrigued by how it all might work. Scammers are looking to take advantage of their dreams of an easy payday.

4 - Financial obligations up front

I was super excited when I got a full time job request from an animation company. It was going to be remote work and the starting salary was $90 000! All they needed from me was to do a text interview, sign some forms and purchase computer equipment - for which they would reimburse me. This was on a Friday. 

I did the interview and they said I was good to go. They sent me the link and list for the computer equipment. My mind was clouded by the desperation of wanting a fun, high paying, full time job at the time. Luckily I mentioned this opportunity to my family and my 10 year old said “that sounds like a scam.”

I stepped back for a moment and then googled it. Indeed it was! 

5 - Unwilling to answer questions / wrong answers

When you ask them something they’ll either ignore what you said completely or give you an answer that is full of grammatical errors and extra praise for your work. Or they’re unwilling to send reference photos for what they are supposedly trying to hire you for.

6 - Unwilling to sign a contract

Any real client would be happy to negotiate and sign a contract, or send you one of their own. If the scammer is pushing a fast payment, panicking about a short timeline or putting pressure on you to just move forward it’s a huge red flag. Never start any work without a signed contract - and if you don’t have one I’ve made a great template based on my own here.

7 - Insisting on paying by cheque or money order

Stick to your normal way of operating a business. If they’re insisting on snail mailing you a cheque or having you overpay a money order, which they’ll “refund you the difference” on shipping it’s definitely a scam. Always stick to your business operation basics, like asking for a paid deposit upfront before starting any work. Another term with which to protect yourself on my contract template.

8 - Weird social media profile / generic gmail address

Another dead giveaway for scammers if they have an instagram profile with no followers, only a few photos below, and an odd profile caption. Dig deeper and notice if they’ve been active on their profile. If it’s an email does it come from a generic address that anyone could have made? Especially strange if they’re contacting you pretending to represent a company.

Also be wary if the account does look real. Sometimes hackers will take over people’s accounts and then try to scam under their name.

9 - Creates a sense of panic

“My wife is in the hospital so I can’t e-transfer you right now but I need you to wire me the money tomorrow and I’ll refund you the extra on the shipping” A real client would never put you in a situation with so much rush, panic and personal information.

Overall trust your gut. If something feels off or too good to be true, it probably is.

Some ways to double check scams

• Google and check Reddit for chatter about similar scams. 
• Reverse image search on any images sent your way and see what comes up
• Ask your community - reach out to other artists to confirm
• If they’ve mentioned a company name, reach out to that company and double check if it actually came from them

If you do run into a scam, post it somewhere online so other artists can protect themselves from it. Scammers are constantly evolving and getting trickier. Help support your community!

Stay optimistically wary, do your homework double checking requests, trust your gut and stay safe out there!

You’ve got this!

-Alana