Red Flag Update - Beware of any job offer that includes a *_Phase One, Phase Two_* structure. Seeing this a lot lately and it is a clear indicator of a refund scam.
The scams have been rampant lately. That, coupled with some personal setbacks and the popularity of AI portraits, has really stalled my freelancing. It's unfortunate that people think artists are easy targets. Great video! Thank you and Kelsey for this.
I feel the same way. Also, I am older (52) and have dreamed since I was in my 30s of making art into a career. Now that I am retired and have the time to devote to it, I often wonder whether it is worth the fight.
A scam that goes around alot rn is a very generic one where the persons asks for a comission (usually asks for a picture for their kid and dog), then offer like 500bucks 'if it's not too steep' they say. And the scammer usually arn't even a follower and havn't liked any of your stuff (instagram, facebook) and yet saying they love your art...
ha, I got that one from two different accounts at the same time at instagram. They wanted a painting for their dog. One had no posts. Also their typing was the same exact format and words, what a small world.
I literally was approached with a scam job offer right before I was notified that this video had been published. The Universe was speaking to me. Thanks for the info! the timing was impeccable and incredibly useful!
One major piece of advice from me... Assume you are going to be scammed every time... this way you will do your due diligence for every purchase or email, and not fall foul to BS scams. Trust No One. Until they prove they are worthy of trust. Be careful out there...
had a scam the other day from someone ( probally a BOT ) trying to buy some art from me as an NFT. for me, as soon as i see the word NFT i back away....it was very convincing tho so i can see how they fool people not in the know.. great video hardy!
I get a lot of NFT related stuff on discord too. I agree that NFT related projects often give me pause, but I have actually had plenty of freelance jobs in that space that have ended being great so I am gradually gaining comfort. I think you're right though, trust your instincts if those red flags pop up.
Within past 2 years, i got lot of "virus" commission, they behave like real client, always communicative , then they gave you zipped references/NDA form etc file with password (the reason its passworded so it wont be scan by your email AV etc). People beware whenever opening links (and if you not sure, try open it up on virtual machine)
I'm in the opposite side of the bridge. I suspect everyone, so much that I usually miss commissions posibilities, my guidelines are too long and detailed 😅
That's the really crappy part of these scams is that it makes us all so guarded that we filter away everything or start seeing everything as a threat. Sorry to hear that.
Yes, I'm getting most scams through email, instagram or Artstation messages and they seem to travel in waves. It makes me imagine these giant scammer strategy meetings :)
i havent gotten any on artstation thankfully, but that might be because i hardly post there. im sure if i started to use it more i would be spammed with scams :/
I was wondering why I was getting so many messages asking for commissions of my work earlier this year. I had a feeling something was off because I stated I wasn't taking commissions in my IG bio.
Yeah, it really seems like these are spiking recently. Not sure why but we definitely have to keep our guard up. Definitely don't close yourself off to all opportunities, but really investigate any offers that have those red flags. Good luck :)
Thanks to you both for this informative and important topic. I am new to another popular social media site and was offered the purchase of some of my artworks as or for NFTs. Knew it was too good to be true. Person was rather aggressive, but I remained polite and said “no thanks”. So sad that we have to navigate this swamp for the good of our creativity.
Keep an eye out for Unicode characters used in emails, e.g there an a character that looks like an a but isn’t an a, so these characters can be used for fake but real looking domain names.
I get text message emails on my phone with "we have noticed unusual traffic on your amazon account and it has been locked. follow the link to unlock your account" or variations on this theme and the email link is a gmail account. I immediately delete it and block email. what makes these bad is they seem to come in during the early morning hours 0200 to 0400..
Red Flag Update - Beware of any job offer that includes a *_Phase One, Phase Two_* structure. Seeing this a lot lately and it is a clear indicator of a refund scam.
The scams have been rampant lately. That, coupled with some personal setbacks and the popularity of AI portraits, has really stalled my freelancing. It's unfortunate that people think artists are easy targets. Great video! Thank you and Kelsey for this.
Hate to hear that. I hope that things get better and I'm glad this was helpful.
I feel the same way. Also, I am older (52) and have dreamed since I was in my 30s of making art into a career. Now that I am retired and have the time to devote to it, I often wonder whether it is worth the fight.
@@samreevesartist it's never too late! Despite the scams and things happening, I think it's worth it if it's your dream.
A scam that goes around alot rn is a very generic one where the persons asks for a comission (usually asks for a picture for their kid and dog), then offer like 500bucks 'if it's not too steep' they say. And the scammer usually arn't even a follower and havn't liked any of your stuff (instagram, facebook) and yet saying they love your art...
Great points - thank you!
ha, I got that one from two different accounts at the same time at instagram. They wanted a painting for their dog. One had no posts. Also their typing was the same exact format and words, what a small world.
I literally was approached with a scam job offer right before I was notified that this video had been published. The Universe was speaking to me. Thanks for the info! the timing was impeccable and incredibly useful!
Oh wow, that's crazy! Yeah, they seem to really be flying around lately. Good luck and keep your guard up.
One major piece of advice from me... Assume you are going to be scammed every time... this way you will do your due diligence for every purchase or email, and not fall foul to BS scams. Trust No One. Until they prove they are worthy of trust. Be careful out there...
Sad, but that's a wise strategy. Keep the guard up and followup on leads before trusting blindly.
had a scam the other day from someone ( probally a BOT ) trying to buy some art from me as an NFT. for me, as soon as i see the word NFT i back away....it was very convincing tho so i can see how they fool people not in the know.. great video hardy!
I get a lot of NFT related stuff on discord too. I agree that NFT related projects often give me pause, but I have actually had plenty of freelance jobs in that space that have ended being great so I am gradually gaining comfort. I think you're right though, trust your instincts if those red flags pop up.
Within past 2 years, i got lot of "virus" commission, they behave like real client, always communicative , then they gave you zipped references/NDA form etc file with password (the reason its passworded so it wont be scan by your email AV etc).
People beware whenever opening links (and if you not sure, try open it up on virtual machine)
Great points and solutions. Thanks!
I'm in the opposite side of the bridge. I suspect everyone, so much that I usually miss commissions posibilities, my guidelines are too long and detailed 😅
That's the really crappy part of these scams is that it makes us all so guarded that we filter away everything or start seeing everything as a threat. Sorry to hear that.
so many scams, instagram has gotten really bad lately. since i dont offer commission or say im working freelance, i say no to anyone
Yes, I'm getting most scams through email, instagram or Artstation messages and they seem to travel in waves. It makes me imagine these giant scammer strategy meetings :)
i havent gotten any on artstation thankfully, but that might be because i hardly post there. im sure if i started to use it more i would be spammed with scams :/
I was wondering why I was getting so many messages asking for commissions of my work earlier this year. I had a feeling something was off because I stated I wasn't taking commissions in my IG bio.
Yeah, it really seems like these are spiking recently. Not sure why but we definitely have to keep our guard up. Definitely don't close yourself off to all opportunities, but really investigate any offers that have those red flags. Good luck :)
Thanks to you both for this informative and important topic. I am new to another popular social media site and was offered the purchase of some of my artworks as or for NFTs. Knew it was too good to be true. Person was rather aggressive, but I remained polite and said “no thanks”. So sad that we have to navigate this swamp for the good of our creativity.
I agree, it's hard enough for artists - this is not cool.
Great video! this is one of my greatest fears the moment I want to start getting comissions
Glad this was helpful! I totally get it, such a tough thing to navigate at such a critical moment.
😮
Yes - agreed!
Keep an eye out for Unicode characters used in emails, e.g there an a character that looks like an a but isn’t an a, so these characters can be used for fake but real looking domain names.
Oh wow, that's really clever of them. Great to know - thank you.
Great Video.
Thanks! glad you enjoyed it.
Well there goes my respect for this channel.
Sorry to hear it!
I get text message emails on my phone with "we have noticed unusual traffic on your amazon account and it has been locked. follow the link to unlock your account" or variations on this theme and the email link is a gmail account. I immediately delete it and block email. what makes these bad is they seem to come in during the early morning hours 0200 to 0400..
Good to know - I haven't yet encountered that one. Thank you