I have been hearing about different versions of the "Nigerian scam" and "advance payment scam" that target artists.
Today, I heard from an aspiring artist friend who was very excited that someone had seen his artwork online and wanted to buy it! This would be wonderful, except - yes, you guessed it - it was a scam. I hated to be the one to tell him. These scammers do more than steal artist's money - they also cause artists wrongly to lose confidence in themselves.
I already have several art-related pages on this site, and decided that a page with information for artists to be able to protect themselves from these e-mail scams would be a good idea.
What's in this page...
Scams Targeting Artist Links
- Max Magnus Norman's Email Fraud Experience
- Examples on E-mail Fraud attempts against particularly art dealers, artists and other dealers. Mugu and Nigeria letters.
- Art Scams: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim
- Art Scams: How Scam Artists Work, Tips to Protect Yourself, How to Stop Them.
- Artist Portfolio Fraud Alert - absolutearts.com
- A sign of a growing concern for artists - AbsoluteArts.com has found it necessary to create a long page about scams targeting artists to protect their website members.
Awards and Grants that you didn't request
Normally, an artist needs to research grants and awards opportunities for himself.
Think about their motivation: people don't go to the work and effort of emailing all the artists they can, to let them know they could win an award or grant.
Wait and do your own research on the offer before you get excited and act on the offer. Don't even click any links in the email, because there could be malicious code. Type in the website address yourself. Do a web search, find out if any art friends have ever heard of the organization.
Some are valid, but require an "application fee" for your grant. Is it really an application fee, or is this just some kind of artist's lottery, masquerading as a fine art grant?
Art Business and Marketing Books
News About Scams
- Beware of North American Shoppers Sweepstakes scam
- Money scams are old news. However, a new scam - promoted as the North American Shoppers Sweepstakes - is targeting area residents by issuing checks through ...
- Family Scammed Out of FEMA Money
- They tell us several families were scammed by the same man. Officers are looking for Jose Delgado. He's accused of collecting more than $12000, then leaving ...
- Scammers target grandparents for bail money, crash help
- by The Saginaw News Sheriffs in at least two mid-Michigan counties were warning grandparents not to fall for a vicious scam. "An emerging phone scam is ...
Talk in Blogs About Scams
- The Value of an Artist Blog
- "internet art scams" on Google "review liepke" on Google "sylvia white art advice any good" on Google "'miles mathis' gravity" on Google "van gogh, ears of wheat, blotch" on Google "red frog paintings" on Google ...
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