A Common Scam Pattern in Art Commissions

Photo by Sedanur Kunuk on Pexels

If you take commissions online, there’s a scam pattern you’ll probably run into sooner or later. It’s common enough that I think it’s worth breaking down step by step, kind of like debugging a recurring bug. Once you see the pattern, it’s a lot easier to catch it early.

The Hook

It usually starts with a DM, often on Instagram or ArtStation, from an account you don’t recognize. They say they like your work and want to commission something from you. A common example is a portrait request, something like “a picture of my grandmother,” along with a reference photo. If you run that photo through a reverse image search, you’ll frequently find it’s just been pulled from somewhere else online.

The offer itself tends to be higher than what you’d normally charge, sometimes noticeably so. Or they’ll just tell you to name your price and agree without any negotiation. This combination, flattery plus an easy payday, is basically designed to lower your guard. It’s a pretty predictable input, if you think about it in terms of what triggers a positive response in most people.

One thing worth noting early is whether the request even matches what you normally do. If your portfolio is mostly landscapes and someone suddenly wants a specific portrait, have they even looked at your work?

The Build-Up

Once you’ve responded, the request starts to get more detail attached to it. Maybe it’s explained as a gift, or something for a memorial, which adds an emotional weight that can make it feel rude to ask more questions. They might also ask for a free sketch or sample first, saying they just want to check your process before committing.

This is the stage where I think most of the actual damage happens, because each individual ask sounds reasonable on its own. Wanting to see a sketch before paying isn’t an unusual request by itself. The problem is when there’s resistance to paying anything upfront, or when there’s a pattern of “just one more revision” before any money is involved. That’s basically the scam accumulating free labor before the payoff.

In some cases the build-up happens across multiple transactions. The person actually pays for a few smaller commissions first, which builds a track record of trust, before disappearing on a bigger piece later. That earlier payment history is what makes it work, since it looks identical to a normal, repeat client, right up until it doesn’t.

The Steal

The actual loss usually comes down to one thing: they stop responding. Sometimes this happens right after you send a sketch. Other times it happens after the full piece is done and delivered. There isn’t one fixed point in the process where it happens, which is part of what makes it hard to defend against consistently.

The account may go silent, get deleted, or just stop replying entirely, and the payment that was promised doesn’t show up. Even a client who has paid for previous commissions without any issue can still do this on a later one, so a good track record doesn’t fully rule out risk.

A Few Practical Safeguards

None of this can be avoided with total certainty, but there are a few habits that reduce exposure:

• Don’t do free samples. If your existing portfolio is enough to convince someone to hire you, it should be enough without an extra unpaid sample.
• Always take a deposit before starting. It’s customary to ask for half up front.
• Wait for payment to actually clear your bank account before sending sketches or final files, not just for a payment confirmation screen. Sending a low-res (pixellated) or highly watermarked image is a good way to show progress without giving away your art. Give them something that they can’t directly use without paying you.
• Be more cautious with unsolicited requests, especially ones asking for something outside your usual style or subject matter.

If someone tries this pattern on you, the goal is that they end up with nothing to show for it either.