Notes on scams, buyer vetting, and running a safer freelance practice. Written for working artists.
If you offer commissions online, you’ve probably had someone message you out of nowhere about a piece they “bought” from you. Sometimes it’s real, but sometimes it’s a scam built entirely around getting you to open a file you shouldn’t. Here’s how it…
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If you sell your art online, you’ve probably gotten a message that felt a little too good to be true. Lately, a specific version of that message has been showing up more often, and it’s worth breaking down because it’s designed to look legitimate. The setup usually involves…
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So if you sell your art online, at some point you’re going to get a message that seems too good to pass up. Someone says they want to buy basically your whole stock. Not one painting, all of them. And honestly, when you’ve spent months trying to sell individual pieces one at a time,…
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If you’re an artist with any kind of online presence, you’ve probably gotten a message like this. Someone reaches out, tells you they love your work, and asks if you’d like to be featured in an upcoming art book. It feels great. It feels like the moment you’ve been waiting…
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If you post art online long enough, you’ll eventually get a message from an account with a big following, telling you your work is amazing and offering to feature you to their audience. All you have to do is pay a small fee. It sounds like a good deal. It’s not. It’s a pretty…
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If you sell art commissions online, you’ve probably heard some version of this story, or lived it yourself. It’s called the overpayment scam, and it’s a variation on the old fake check scam that’s been around for decades. The internet just gave it a new coat of paint. It…
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If you’re an artist with any kind of online presence, you’ve probably gotten an email or DM that made you feel like you’d finally made it to the big time. Someone from a gallery says they love your work and want to feature it in an upcoming show. It feels like validation. It feels like…
Read moreHello friends, and welcome to the IntroVerify blog, where I’ll be sharing descriptions of art scams and other vital information affecting the art community. More to come soon!
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