How To Recognize An Art Scam

Art scams are becoming more and more than sophisticated by the day and it is very important for you, as an artist, to protect your art also as your hard earned money.

art scam

Have yous recently received an email from someone who says that their married woman saw your artwork online and brutal in love with it instantly? Or someone who would like to purchase your artwork immediately? Or maybe an artist'south agent wants to show your work at a prestigious art fair? Feels great, right? Of course, just how practice yous tell if it's real or an art scam?

The problem with art scams that begin like this is that they are based on something you would like to believe. By the time yous've exchanged a few emails, you feel as if yous know the 'person' you're communicating with – they will often include personal details about themselves or their families – and naturally, yous are inclined to respond positively to someone who is praising your work.

The advice that is ofttimes given is simply to remember that 'if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.' But while that is a practiced dominion of pollex, it's not enough to protect you if you're an artist – because, after all, there are times when something that seems too good to exist true really does happen to an artist, and you may well take experienced this yourself.

Perhaps a collector you take never had contact with earlier happened to attend the opening reception of an exhibition of your art, and instantly decided that he had found what he was looking for and bought four pieces. Or you were giving a demonstration of alive painting at an fine art auction and one of the people y'all got chatting to during the process turned into a collector of your work and an abet for your creations. These things practise happen – and you certainly don't want to repulse a 18-carat expression of interest. So, what tin you practise?

art scams

Why Do Scammers Target Artists at All?

Well, why not? Artists are good targets – they are familiar with the demand to ship their work, sometimes to collectors who might be anywhere in the world. They're invested in their creations, and then they're susceptible to the charm of the idea that a stranger fell in love with their work on sight.

And scammers may believe that artists are less probable to be aware of the dangers presented past the sorts of fine art scams they depend on. You want to brand certain that you don't fall into that category. Exist enlightened of the possibility, be skeptical – be conscientious.

Types of Art Scams

Although the most common intention behind an fine art scam is money, there are other components, like your personal information and artwork images, that a scammer can take reward of. Here is a list of the types of scams that accept come up to our attention.

Pay Shipping Payment Upfront

Sometimes, art scammers that show a keen interest in your works may ask y'all to transfer them the shipping cost start before they can transact the total amount to you lot. They may fifty-fifty ask yous to ship the artwork before making any payment. Never requite in to such requests. If the person is genuinely interested in purchasing your work, he or she will most likely know how to go nigh it and will never make such an unreasonable request.

If you lot still recall that the person might be genuine, consider request for a partial payment at to the lowest degree earlier aircraft your artwork. However, if the person asks yous to pay the shipping price upfront, exercise not that it could not be anything other than a scam to extort money from you lot.

Overpayment by the Scammer

A very common case is when the 'client' overpays and asks you to send the extra corporeality to their shipping company, using the details they take sent you. You send the money on – from your ain banking concern account – and only discover a week or two later that the cashier's check you had received from the 'customer' is non genuine.

How tin can this happen? Won't the banking concern protect you from this art scam? Probably not. Most banks are willing to proceed with checks provided that the customer has a balance in their account that is able to comprehend the check. If the bank check bounces, they just reverse the transaction – leaving the client responsible for any negative balance. It can take upwardly to three weeks to clear a cashier's check, which the scammer is betting will exist long enough for them to persuade you lot to transport them the 'shipping' money they 'overpaid'.

Be aware to never have overpayments. Request the person to conduct out the transaction themselves or wait for the payment to exist cleared.

Phishing Scams / Fine art Fair Participation and Promotion Scam

As an artist, you are e'er looking for a new, sometimes original identify to prove your work. This is why y'all should always search for options and keep an eye on opportunities. When an invitation to participate in an art fair or in a group exhibition knocks on your door, you should always brand sure information technology is legit and makes sense. Participation in any of the major fine art fairs ordinarily costs thousands of dollars and requires an awarding process. If you are approached by someone who is offering this to you for very low fees and immediately tells you that you accept been accepted, it should raise a red flag!

Earlier accepting an offering, make certain to do a thorough research near the organisation. Your checklist should at least include the post-obit basic data:

  • Disregard whatever email that comes from private electronic mail accounts such as Yahoo or Gmail. Professional companies must have their ain domain names.
  • Check the domain registration by doing a WHOIS Search – if the owner of the domain is subconscious and at that place is no articulate contact data that is a clear sign of alarm
  • Inquiry the web and social media for reviews from other users
  • Make sure the company has a physical address and a contact person
  • Search for the contact person's proper name and come across what you tin find about that person

art scams

How to Recognize An Fine art Scam?

Scamming emails in the by would often be vague or get of import details wrong, thereby making them easily recognizable. The thought was to exist able to ship the same email to thousands of artists – and then a photographer might be approached nearly a painting or a sculptor baffled by references to their canvases. But the emails have become more sophisticated over time, and now it is common for the scammer to quickly make full in the 'gaps' in his electronic mail with accurate information virtually your website or your artworks. Nevertheless, don't allow these details fool you – information technology takes very little time to make full out these details, and it does non mean the electronic mail or the person is genuine. If your instincts are screaming, pay attention to them, even if the email did get your medium and the title of your artworks right. Of course, if they're wrong – be very suspicious indeed!

Here are a few important clues that can indicate that an email you've received is an art scam –

The subject of the electronic mail will be something that screams for attention

Remember, the scammer can only be successful if the email reaches you, which is why most of them would include words like 'Of import' or 'ATTN' to catch your attention. A genuine person, however, would not have that goal in listen while sending you an inquiry.

The email is in your spam folder

This is possibly the about obvious carmine flag. If the email concluded upwardly in your spam folder, there is definitely a reason for information technology.

The person volition accept a fictitious name or the email accost and proper noun will not be consistent

From the examples shared with us below in the comments, this seems to be a common element in scamming emails. Art scammers sometimes employ made up names like John Cena or Terry Flowers and it tin can exist a very easy clue to resolve whatever suspicions yous might have. In addition to that, sometimes, there are discrepancies in the writer's proper name and email address. E'er, cheque the writer's name and email address first!

The person will often sound like they are in a hurry or insist on an immediate purchase

This is partly to fluster you and give you less fourth dimension to think, just mainly because if they know the check they're sending you is going to bounce, or the credit bill of fare is stolen, they demand the transaction completed before the bank catches on and you observe out.

There will often be some complex story nearly why yous demand to send money over again

Sometimes involving the individual or their family moving to another country correct at the time they want to purchase the artwork, necessitating the sum y'all're going to exist sending to comprehend the shipping. Yes, this does happen sometimes to honest people in real life, only it's not that common.

There are too many grammatical errors

If the person mentions beingness from the United States but their English language is extremely poor, it is definitely a red flag. However, do note here to not dismiss everything because it has a few grammatical errors. The person might actually be genuine, and English language might not be their native tongue.

They want to accommodate the shipping themselves

Well-nigh genuine clients are only as well grateful to take you lot accept the brunt of aircraft from them if shipping is necessary. And if they practice want to take intendance of it themselves, existent collectors will most likely use a major company they've had positive experiences within the past – a company whose name you will know.

art scams

Of course, none of these things are sure-fire ways to tell that you're being approached by someone who is trying to steal your coin or art. But if you run across them in an email, you should start to become suspicious, and more wary of the communication. If the chat develops in a mode that matches the sort of blueprint we've been talking about, then yous can feel confident that in that location's something wrong.

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How To Avoid Art Scams?

Well, you can look out for the clues mentioned above, which will alert you to the possibility that something might be wrong and be careful rather than gullible in your approach. Be witting that scamming is a possibility, and aware that it might assault you. If you lot start to worry about a particular case, don't let your prejudice in favor of people who claim to admire your work arrive the fashion of your caution.

Yous can also be business firm about following your usual method of payment; explain politely that you're not willing to accept payment through cashier's checks or postal money orders, which are more open up to this sort of art scam. Oftentimes the nature of the art scam will center on the method of payment suggested by the scammer – if you stick to your normal method, something you know to be rubber, they may exist forced to give up.

Also, brand sure to never have overpayments. This is non a common way of doing business organisation, and you lot probably haven't come across it before in genuine transactions. You're selling, they're ownership – no money should exist leaving your account. Make it your policy non to piece of work this way.

If yous're suspicious for whatever reason, try googling the e-mail accost of the contact you lot're corresponding with. Because scammers transport and so many art scam emails, their address gets to be known as 1 associated with the fine art scam they're running. It might well exist that the person contacting you is already on a 'blacklist' which you can discover online. In situations similar this, being represented by a gallery tin besides testify to be beneficial.

For one thing, you tin can rely on the gallery staff, who will probably have had more experience with art scam attempts than you have had, to make sure that everything is as information technology should be and protect you every bit necessary.

Useful Article: viii Benefits Of Gallery Representation

Another important thing to make note of is to never transport your work before the payment has been cleared. This seems so simple that you lot read it and wonder how anyone ever gets caught acting differently – merely when you're in the middle of a series of emails going back and along, and you've built up a picture of your correspondent'south life in your head, and yous're pleased that they capeesh your fine art. It can exist hard to remember.

Brand information technology a dominion of how you do business organisation, and if yous're ever asked to brand an exception, think very seriously about whether information technology seems like a good run a risk to exist taking (if you know the buyer personally, for case, it might be a reasonable decision).

Art scams are condign more than and more sophisticated by the day and it is very of import for you as an artist to protect your art as well every bit your hard-earned money. Following the advice in this commodity will aid you to avert art scams when selling your art. Just what you really need to do is accept the messages here to middle. Call up when you are selling your art on the net, you demand to know and trust your potential clients.

As a promotional gallery, we take pride in the diverse group of artists from across the globe represented past us. Want to give your art more time, and get out the marketing and promotional hassles to someone else? Visit our Gallery Representation And Creative person Promotion page for more information.

Take you lot received an electronic mail from a potential buyer that looks like an art scam? Recently, a group of artists has informed our Agora Gallery staff that a so-called Catherine Nipps who pretends to be a gallery representative, is offering representation with our Gallery. Agora Gallery's representation process is transparent and it starts with our dedicated folio. Our representatives are presented on the website. If you are contacted past someone offering representation on behalf of the gallery, please reach out to us at info@agora-gallery.com

In the comments below, share your stories with our community, offering your advice, and keep it a condom place from scammers.