Spotting and avoiding scams

If you have a public portfolio, you will get scam messages. Working artists are targeted constantly through contact forms, artwork inquiries, and social media. Getting one of these messages does not mean you did anything wrong, and falling for one does not make you foolish. The people behind them do this full time, and they are good at it.

The good news: almost every scam aimed at artists follows one of a few patterns. Once you know the shape of them, they are easy to spot.

The universal red flags

Most scams share the same tells. If a message has more than one of these, treat it as a scam until proven otherwise.

• It came out of the blue. An unsolicited buyer, gallery, or licensing offer from someone with no real connection to you.
• It pushes you to hurry. Deadlines, urgency, and pressure are designed to stop you from thinking it through.
• It never names the actual work. Scam inquiries open with "Hello" or "Hi there" instead of your name and use vague flattery like "your style is unique." A real collector talks about a specific piece.
• The budget makes no sense. An offer that is far too generous, or a wildly wide range like "$500 to $50,000," is bait.
• It asks you to pay, or to move money. Any message that wants you to pay a fee, buy cryptocurrency, accept a payment for more than your price, or send money on a stranger's behalf is a scam.

The golden rules

These few rules stop the large majority of scams cold.

1. Never pay to get paid. No real buyer, gallery, or platform requires you to send money first in order to receive money.
2. Never accept more than your price, and never refund or wire back a difference. This is the single most common way artists lose money.
3. Let every payment fully clear before you ship. "Funds available" is not the same as "cleared." A check can bounce weeks after your bank shows the money.
4. Never share a wallet recovery phrase or an account password. Anyone who asks for one is trying to take over your account or wallet.
5. Verify people and platforms yourself. Look them up independently. Do not trust links, phone numbers, or details supplied in the message.
6. Treat "you can only sell this as an NFT" as a scam. It is one of the most common pitches aimed at artists right now.

When a suspicious message arrives

• Do not click any links in the message.
• Do not reply with personal or financial details.
• Slow down. Urgency is the scammer's main tool, so removing it removes their advantage.
• When in doubt, do not engage. You are never obligated to answer a message, and ignoring a scam costs you nothing.

Learn the common scams

Each of these covers how the scam works, the warning signs, and what to do, including what to do if you have already responded.

• Crypto and "NFT" offers to buy your art
• Overpayment and fake-check scams
• Fake buyers, commissions, and shipping agents
• Fake galleries, contests, and listing fees