Notes on scams, buyer vetting, and running a safer freelance practice. Written for working artists.
The Hook It usually starts with flattery. A stranger reaches out, tells you your work is incredible, and says you’re clearly undercharging for it. Then comes the number. Instead of your usual rate for a piece, they offer something way beyond it. Maybe you charge $50 for a headshot and…
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Ugh, I hate crypto. It’s a scammer’s dream, because it’s irreversible and untraceable (somewhat). And anyone with any kind of crypto holdings is under heavy targeting by scammers and phishing attacks. The number of scammers using this tactic has dropped over the years, since most artists have been…
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If you sell physical art or commissions online, you’ve probably had a client ask for something slightly unusual about shipping. Most of the time it’s harmless. Sometimes it’s the opening move of a scam that’s been doing the rounds in art communities for years, and it still…
Read moreIf you’ve been making art long enough to build any kind of public presence, you’ve probably gotten a message that felt a little too good to be true. Maybe they’re offering you free supplies or equipment worth thousands of dollars. Whatever the pitch, there’s a pattern behind…
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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…
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Hook It starts with flattery and a number. A “client” says they’ve been following your art and want to hire you for ongoing work, sometimes as much as two finished pieces a day. That’s a full-time gig, out of nowhere, from a stranger. The rate sounds generous, and it’s…
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The Hook You get a message or email claiming you’ve violated copyright terms, or that your account is about to be suspended. It’s built to feel urgent and official, using logos and formatting copied from the real platform. The Build-Up The message includes a link and a countdown,…
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The Hook A message comes in offering to pay you, often a few hundred dollars, to place a single ad on your page or profile. It might be a paid placement of their product or service, with you demonstrating or holding the product. The number they are offering is usually higher than a real ad…
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The Hook Someone messages you claiming to be a professor or a grad student. They say they came across your art and want to feature it in a class presentation or their thesis. No money is offered here. The flattery is the whole pitch, and for a lot of artists that’s more than enough to get a…
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A lot of the scams targeting artists are about tricking you into accepting payment in a way that gives the scammer an easy way to take the money back later, or that never actually gets you paid at all. Most of this comes down to knowing which payment methods actually protect you and which ones just…
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