Scams And Phishing

Happened to me yesterday. thank for spreading the word.

great post, thanks Abbie

if in doubt, always ask in the forum before answering a weird request or search the discussions

also helps to search the net with the wording they use, this is how I figured fast that someone offering me a paid job is trying to scam me (they offer photographer jobs, painter jobs, other art related jobs)

Thank You
These two scammers emailed me for NFTs via Fine Art America.
If you get an email from them just block.

Alavez Jaden

Tyson Richard

What about Zellie? Disregard,,,google warns against it!

Scams, Scams everywhere! I just recently got an email with just about what you have stated. They want to offer you $$$ and want several pieces and they ask are these prints are still available. NFT's get these all the time on Facebook in private groups too.

Please don't fall prey to these scammers.
Lana

This seems to be a repeated question about whether it is a good idea to deal with these requests yet a reading of Abbie's Post clearly answers the question.

"Artwork to purchase... This always makes me laugh. This is a sales site. Your work is there fully priced. Ready to purchase!!! They do not contact you."

The reason I'm asking this question is that I did do my research and read about premium accounts, and I quote:

"Your Premium Website

To help you sell online, you've now got your own website!

https://susan-spitz.pixels.com

This is the most powerful print-on-demand website you'll find anywhere online."

I received an email with this wording...
"Subject:
APPEAL TO BUY YOUR ARTWORKS

Message:
I would love to purchase your artworks, its unique appearance and your creativity behind them is really captivating. I’d love to know if they are available for sales because I’d love to add them to my collection"
Would this be a scam or something allowable on FAA?
I am confused about the wording of the Premium membership and must not be reading it correctly.

@Sussn - Yes, that is a scam. I received an email with almost the exact working a few days ago.

@ Bill Swartwout Thanks, Bill, I thought it might be a scam. I appreciate your help.

Yes, just had an "offer" from Alexander Estes, who wanted to buy 4 of my artworks for $2800/each - explained NFTs would be used. I was suspicious. Glad this info is on the forum!

I have had two such scams in the past week. I answer that my work is available on Fine Art America.

@Donna and Suzy, I'm so glad we have this forum also. It's a shame so many are out there trying to scam us. I will reply that he may purchase my work on Fine Art America if he's interested. Thanks and happy creating!!!

Thank you Abbie. Thank you everyone :)

I think from the response to this subject matter, "Scammers," it is evident (DO NOT) engage with any of them, as you will be deceived and ripped off!
I don't understand why FAA does not vet these emails and just block them totally.

I received a request this week by a Mr. Austin. Wanted to purchase several items. Okay, please do. LOL

Hi!! I just got this....
I replied that all my purchases are through Fine Art America.

fineartamerica.com
From:
donotreply- at - fineartamerica.com
To:
lyndasprowl@aol.com

Fri, May 10 at 9:48 AM

From:
Angelica Grullon
angelicagrullon994@gmail.com

Subject:
ARTWORK PURCHASE REQUEST

Message:
Hey there!
I just wanted to say that your artwork is seriously amazing! I love how you've managed to bring your ideas to life in such a creative and skilled way.
I'm interested in buying a few of your artworks for my exhibition, about 5-10 artworks, but I'm only interested in buying them as NFTS.
Could you let me know what's available and how I can make it happen?
New Message from this person
Angelica Grullon

From:
angelicagrullon994@gmail.com
To:
lyndasprowl@aol.com

Do you accept zelle payments then

Thanks for all this important information, Abby. They just said they liked my work and wanted to purchase some images from me. I didn't answer them but plan to tell them to go through FAA for their purchase. They didn't mention "how" they wanted to pay, it didn't get that far. Well, I'm glad I posted so now when this happens in the future, I will know what to say.

NEVER reply to these spammers, by sending you mail here they don't have your email but as soon as you reply they get your email to be used for more spamming and scamming

I had so many offers for NFT´S that i will be a millionaire by this moment... never liked them and never trust them.
Why so many scammers around the world ?
It's very sad

This happened to me this week. I have yet to have my first sale on FAA and I only have 24 followers. I think scammers go after artists/sellers like me, with few followers and not much exposure (although I am working on it). They probably assumed that artists with fewer followers are desperate and therefore easy targets. It's totally unfair. I mean, I am also on Behance and I get the same scams.

.Valerie, just ignore and delete them, keep active on the site, promote your work off site on Social Media, persevere and in time the sales will come.

Thanks a lot. I just got an email from someone wanting my artwork for NFT. Definitely scam. I needed confirmation and you just gave it to me. Thanks again. Donna Anglesano

I have been involved in this process and artists who don’t understand the process are being approached by platforms, not people. They say they love your artwork but give vague information and guild you toward the platform of their involvement. Then you find out there are costs involved in this process and indeed other issues which are pollutants and have energy issues. There is rarely cash involved and your art will be sold over and over again and YOU receive a small commission. You don’t have control after that. You can blockchain copyright your work on other sites, but frankly this is a scam to get you to invest the $150 or more per piece of artwork. I have found there really isn’t anything better than selling your work directly or through a gallery. This intangible for of art, feels as valid at trading with pebbles. Don’t get scammed


The other scam is SEO optimization on your website. They prey on artists who aren’t very tech savvy .

I've received a couple of emails.

Thanks for posting this @Abbie Shores and fellow artists for sharing your experiences. Art or an artist should never been scammed - thanks for the awareness!

Thanks for this. Ive been notified by two emails they wanted one wanted me to purchase my own artwork and send to them, and one wanted to pay me $2800 for NFT'S I didn't know anything about them and blocked them.

Today, Wills Davidson, want my art, NFT's

I haven’t uploaded anything on this website for more than 10 years. I also received the similar message today.

From:
Lasercat
lasercatradesart@gmail.com

Subject:
Enquiry over art purchase

Message:
Hello, I hope this message finds you well. I've had the pleasure of discovering your artworks, and I'm particularly drawn to a couple of them. I'm interested in learning more about these pieces and potentially purchasing them.

Could you kindly share information about their availability with me? I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.

I just received this message:

From:
CHARLES THEODORE
charlestheodorecreativeart@gmail.com

Subject:
HONEST APPEAL TO PURCHASE YOUR ARTWORKS FOR AN EXHIBITION

Message:
I recently came across your work online and I’m blown by your arts! I'd be interested in purchasing some of artworks

Thnak you!
This happens so often and we really need to be cautious.

I did get the CHARLES THEODORE one today and over a week ago. Same text in the email as in the above post...

I was just approached by someone to buy five of my pieces for NFTs. The minting process was $660 per piece and she wanted me to upload the pieces to
axiewax.com. I reviewed the website and I also looked into what it cost to gas the minting of an NFT. I told her I could not move forward that I would not front 3000+ dollars, she would have to pay the minting fees for me to upload anything. She said she would pay half of the minting fees, but I needed to send her my account number and a screenshot of the of me paying my minting fees. I knew at that point that something was up that I was crazy for even considering it because she’s buying something from me. I’m not going to spend money so she can buy something! Further she wanted to pay me in Ethereum. She really wants to work she could cash the Ethereum and buy the art from me directly. You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for someone else to buy something from you.
At this point, I am not going to move forward in any regard because I feel in my bones that it’s a scam.

I also got the exact same CHARLES THEODORE email last night. Was 99% sure it was a scam so I came here for verification.

So here is another one...I wish it was real...lol but I can feel it in my bones it is not!! it is a scam...I am almost 100% sure of it...just letting you know...

McDonald Stephen
mcdonaldstephen383@gmail.com

Subject:
HONEST APPEAL TO PURCHASE YOUR ARTWORKS FOR AN EXHIBITION

Message:
I recently came across your work online
and I'm blown by your arts!
I'd be
interested in purchasing some of artworks

And here my newest:

From:
Serah Bates
serah.gracelandartinc@gmail.com

Subject:
HONEST APPEAL TO PURCHASE YOUR ARTWORK

Message:
Exquisite arts, I would love to purchase some of your arts. Do well to reach out to me, as soon as you.

Totally agree . Watch out, the Art Internet consists of 90% scammers. you get a question in this direction, ask if they want to do that with an email ... 100% chance that you will not hear anything anymore,,, greetings Pierre van Dijk

I was hit with this scam yesterday. The email was from Jessica Carfh. She had scanned,copied 5 of my artwork images and wanted to use them to "...mint them with NFT." How about NO. I blocked her.

From:
Dalton Petersen
dalton.gracelandartinc@gmail.com

Subject:
HONEST APPEAL TO PURCHASE YOUR ART WORK

Message:
Good day, I had a look at few of your works, I developed instant admiration towards them, I’d like to give you an offer to purchase some of your artworks. You have them for sale right ?

I just wanted to mention something that might happen with originals:

If someone offers to commission an original work, get a sales contract and an up-front payment.
Don't agree to payment on delivery, because you might not actually get paid.
Never agree to something instead of an agreed-upon payment - you might not get anything. (Happened to me a long time ago.)
Check on international shipping- sometimes the tracking doesn't work when it leaves the country.

Thank you everyone ! Got such emails too!

Hello, I have received these emails from scammers on all social networks as well, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Thank you very much for providing more information.

I just received and email from a scammer that wants to buy my art for $2800 (about 1 ETH) we have to go to the Arteleon.co site and pay .18 ETH (about $500) to mint the NTF and they will buy it for 1 ETH.

Another example, I just received this email:

From:
Johnson Doe
doejohnson743@gmail.com

Subject:
YOUR INCREDIBLE ARTWORK

Message:
Hey Blueprint exploration

I stumbled upon your artwork recently, and I couldn't resist reaching out to let you know how blown away I am by your talent! Your pieces are incredibly inspiring and resonate with me on so many levels. I'm really interested in learning more about your work and possibly making a purchase. Could you please provide more information about availability and pricing?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Best regards,
Johnson Doe

Blueprint Exploration, LOL, from Johnson Doe, huh?! Wow, that person was really original! ;)

Thank you for this much appreciated I do not like scams the irritating to me

The NFT scum bags are working FAA very hard right now. Be careful and do not engage.

I just got my first scam email! I must be doing something right :)

Great post, thank you. I have not received any such requests, nor have I sold anything, but I am always alert for scams. I received several by email before I joined FAA.

I got an email too like my work but I just ignored it, figured it was a scam. A lot of that online these days gets annoying.

I received an email as well saying:

"From: ...
__ and there is a clickable email address here___

Subject:
arts inquiry

Message:
Hi
Your artwork looks good and beautiful. I am highly grateful to see such good arts and I am interested to buy .

Looking forward for your reply.

Best regards"

Now the poor English is a huge giveaway. Also, I couldn't find this email in my inbox on the site, I only received it to my own email inbox. Is that how "send private message" is supposed to work? If not, then this is definitely a scam. But if so, then could this be a genuine enquiry? I haven't replied yet, and I am certainly not going to click the email link, but I can just type it into the email if I do. I mean what could go wrong if I just reply?

Another sammer:

Jeffrey
jefstapl@gmail.com

Subject:
Art purchase

Message:
Dear there!
I recently discovered your artwork on Fine Art America and was immediately captivated by it. Your use of style is truly inspiring.
I'm interested in purchasing the digital image exclusively. Please let me know if it's available and what the next steps would be.
Thank you,
Jeff

I received this one today through visitor email.

Subject:
AN APPEAL TO PURCHASE YOUR ARTWORK.

Message:
Hello, I recently had the pleasure of viewing some of your works and was immediately impressed. I’m interested in purchasing a few of your pieces. Are they available for sale?