Shrewd As A Snake…

I can not think of anything more frustrating, deceitful, and possibly heartbreaking than being scammed by someone we believe wants to collect an original piece of our art.

As artists and creatives, we put our whole selves into what we make. Whether we are creating as a constructive outlet or we create to provide for ourselves and our families, having someone show an interest in our work is exciting...flattering. When the attention received is not genuine or worse, has the trappings of a scam, our excitement quickly fades and we are reminded that our 'collector' is wearing fraudulent clothing.

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On one hand, this amazingly accessible platform allows us to freely share our work with the world - eventually connecting us with our ideal collectors. On the other hand, there is an inherent vulnerability in showing up and sharing our work in this way. It leaves us exposed in a way that lesser humans seek to take advantage of.

This Got Personal

When I first began sharing my work on social media a few years ago, I often received emails and direct messages from "collectors" requesting custom pieces. With the first few requests I received, I was excited! I honestly thought someone wanted to purchase my work. I even went as far as to take photographs of all of the work and began to assemble a 'catalog' for the 'collector'. With each fraudulent request, however, there would be obvious 'red flags' where the scam would begin to reveal itself and I would immediately stop any further communication.

The most recent attempt at fraud happened a few months ago.

The story of the scam is outlined below and I openly share the criminal's "name", email address, and phone number used as well as some of the correspondence so other artists remember the structure and language used - while I am sure each case will be different. While this was a more 'sophisticated' attempt than I had experienced before, I did not succumb to this fraud. For the past few years, I have had the blessing of loyal and faithful collectors who have purchased from me through the systems I have set up.

More on that later...but here is how this experience unfolded:

Red Flags

In December of 2022, I received an email through Etsy from a collector named "Amy Glassner" who was excited to own a piece of my original art. The initial email did set off a quiet red flag within me as the request just felt weird. I followed my gut and ignored the first request. A few days later, I received a second email with the same strange wording in the request and "off" sentence structure. While this is not a crime, I did proceed with caution.

The request was simple. "Amy" wanted one of my original works, but instead of purchasing it online through Etsy, they said their "uncle" was uncomfortable with online purchases. "Amy" asked if she could write me a check for the exact amount and send the check to my home address (second red flag). I decided to honor the request but let her know that I would not send any work until the check had cleared through my bank. I wrote up the invoice for the exact amount (tax + shipping included) and emailed her the invoice. 'Amy' confirmed through email with the invoice and said she would put the check in the mail the next day. Within a few days, 'Amy' contacted me to let me know that her uncle had mistakingly written the check out for $600 over the amount of the art (third red flag) and wanted to know if I would quickly send the overpayment back to her through Zelle or CashApp. Because I had not received the check in the mail yet, I asked her if she wanted to cancel the check and write another one for the amount on the invoice. She answered saying that she would rather me deposit the full amount and send her the balance (fourth red flag). A few days later, I received the check (see image below) and deposited it the next day. I let "Amy" know that the check had been deposited - and the waiting began.

Days later, her neutral tone shifted to a more frantic one as she began repeatedly asking if the check had cleared. With each request, I told her it had not and that no movement on my part would happen until it had. She then replied back by saying she really needed the extra money that her 'uncle' accidentally wrote for a party 'they' were planning (fifth red flag). Then she began texting, asking the same questions over and over, "Has the check cleared? Can you send me the money now? I need it for the party!" Each time I reminded her that I would not send either money or art until the check had cleared through my bank.

The check did not clear.

Note: I reached out to the HR department at Roche Construction. They had not heard of "Amy Glassner" or "T Shaffer". They were not associated with this company.

Scam Confirmed

By this time I was certain this was a scam - but just in case, I waited for my bank to clear the check. Each time I mentioned this, it seemed to rattle "her" even more and revealed the desperation and deceit, "I really need the money! Without it, I can't buy supplies for the party!"

I stopped responding to the frantic texts and emails.

A few days later - the check did not clear. I called my bank to confirm this and then reported the fraud.

"Amy" stopped responding to me.

Had I sent the money and the art BEFORE the check had been discovered, I would have financially been out the cost of my art ($350.00), plus the amount of the "overpayment" ($950.00), totaling $1300.00!

Shrewd As A Snake

As I stated earlier, it was not only my business acumen that saved me from this, it was the experience of having sold my work to genuine collectors that altered me to this dishonesty.

As creatives, we desire to attract our ideal collectors/clients and repeal those who mean harm. Below, I have listed a few ways that have helped me to be shrewd in my business practices while keeping my vision turned toward my genuine collectors:

CREATE CLEAR COPY: Create a clearly written document or even a few sentences that you can automatically send to potential collectors/clients when they ask about purchasing your work. It should have the verbiage that states purchases must be made through the online platforms where the interested work is listed. Be clear, confident, and concise in your communication regarding this.

WAIT ON PERSONAL/COMPANY CHECKS: The check that was mailed to me did look legitimate. However, I erred on the said of caution and waited for it to clear through my bank. I would have been happy to have been wrong, but instead trusted my gut. Unfortunately, I have heard of a few situations where banks initially clear fraudulent checks - this is tough. For this, I would again trust your gut and consider the entire "vibe" of the interaction.

TRUST YOUR GUT: This may seem esoteric, but it is possibly the most revealing way to access if a potential collector/client is genuine. Trust the initial instincts your spirit reveals to you. Is there a funny feeling you get from an email? Does the collector seem 'distant' and 'not specific' about the details you are inquiring about? If you are unsure about the experience, do not give over any personal information.

WATCH FOR INCONSISTENCIES:
There were a few inconsistencies with "Amy" that caused concern:
1. Her “uncle” was the one who would write the check, but another woman's name was on the check when I received it.
2. All of a sudden, there was a party the extra money was needed for but this critical detail was not previously mentioned.
3. Carefully asking about the exact amount of the art, but the 'uncle' mistakingly wrote the check $600 over the amount. I mean, who does this?!

UNNECESSARY URGENCY: Does there seem to be an urgency (implied or direct) concerning money? This was a clear red flag for me that revealed the scam. The frantic emails and text messages were, I believe, intended to cause an artificial urgency BEFORE the bank called fraud on the check.

In Conclusion

If you have been the victim of a scam, please give yourself grace. Your natural inclination was to trust - which is a beautiful thing. By nature, frauds are skillfully cunning and deceitful criminals who seek to take advantage of trusting individuals. Do your best to learn from this experience and if need be, begin to put specific systems in place within your business to hopefully avoid this in the future.

If you have not already done so, you will find genuine collectors who are interested in acquiring the things that only you can do.

Has this happened to you? How did you handle it?