Friday, December 16, 2022

Post 274: Art Scammers are Everywhere

Art Scammers are Everywhere

You know the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is". The short and sad short version is that someone is going to try to scam you out of your art and/or your money. Perhaps both.

Spammed as an Artist

Not so long ago I wrote a blog post about this called "Spammed as an Artist". In it I tell the story of a group of emails I received, and have periodically turned up in my inbox in various versions since then.

These characters are trying to steal your art and sometimes trick you out of your money as well - so be careful in your dealings. Occasionally, good fortune does comes from 'out of the blue', but probably more frequently, something 'out of the blue' could leave you black and blue - if you fall for the scam.

A friend recently shared this article with me which describes similar emails sent by these types of scammers, so for those unaware, we thought it might be a good time to repost the topic, the warning on how to watch out for these scams.

 



Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, Donna's Etsy site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.


Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

5 comments:

  1. From my personal experience, I can testify on this! It can happen on the highest level as well. 10 years ago, I received a hard copy magazine that has amazing artwork in it. There was a "call to artist" that reached out internationally. The magazine had all the details about entering. They had a website showing other artists as well. I entered two paintings to be submitted to the gallery in NYC, along with many other artist from as far away as Japan. My art was excepted as well as 20 other artist. We even had a "chat" page that we set up that was separate from the gallery. It was just for artists that were going to be in the show. We drove all the way up to NYC with my two paintings, and just like OSA, there was a check in table. The magazine came out with all the featured artist including myself. How exciting for all of us to have our work hanging in a gallery in NYC!
    The show was for an entire month. When we returned to pick up the paintings, the doors to the gallery were locked. You could see through the door that the place was completely empty. Of course all of us were in shock, and heart broken. My favorite painting was gone! We contacted the NYC Police department and they said there was nothing they could do since we had a private agreement (contract) with the owner. Let's face it, if it had been a famous artist that this happened to, they would have been right on it. We found out a year later, that the guy was in Florida and had sold our paintings on the black market. Again, we were artist from all over the world, and Florida was not his home base. Again, we could not do anything. Local galleries are safer, if you know the gallery well. Never give out any personal information via email, text or phone call. Always get a deposit via PayPal, Venmo, etc. if it is a commission piece, unless you know the individual personally. I used to get emails from my website saying "I love your work, and would like to commission you to do .....l. If you send me your information, I can deposit the money in your checking account so that you can get started right away. LOL! No way! Don't even think about it.
    Navigating through the world of art can be challenging. Just be careful. That is one reason why Saatchi is so popular with artists. These well known art groups take care of the payment transactions for you.

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  2. Thanks for the great information. Closer to home, the LoveJoy Gallary in Manassas has a call for local artists to show their work there. I followed the online guidelines and submitted images for consideration. No feedback. I have called and left messages and emails to no avail.
    Merry Christmas to all .
    Thanks for the love and encouragement this year.

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  3. This Happened to me last year. This guy contacted me via email, said his wife loves my work and he's building a new house and wanted to purchase some pieces. I send him my catalog and he wanted around $20,000 worth of art. He said he'd send a check. I was broke and really needed some cashflow, so this seemed like perfect timing. There was some back and forth on email for a few weeks. Mind you, I hadn't met this guy or spoke with him over the phone, that, combined with the lack of enthusiasm over the purchase set off my BS detector. I eventually received a check which had a different name and state that he claimed he was from. By the time I received the check I was 99% it was some sort of scam. Of course the check bounced and I pretty much knew it was a scam.

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