The holidays are here and at this time of the year, we often see an increase in internet art scams. Today’s artists must be aware of how the art scammers operate and how they attempt to take advantage of the artist to receive free art.
The art scammer knows that artists want to make an art sale so many will be eager to sell and ship their art to a buyer or art collector.
The scammer wants the artist to ship them their art without their paying for it. They achieve this by providing the artist with a stolen credit card number or with phony checks in order to make the art purchase.
The artist believes that the credit card transaction was successful or that the check cleared, they then ship the art, only to find out later that credit card was stolen or the check was no good. Now the artist is out their art, along with the costs of shipping the art to the scammer.
There are variations on this theme with scammers having a story as to why they need the art for some special occasion, or want or need the art quickly for whatever reason or asking to have someone pick up the art or to use “their” shipper for the transaction.
In all cases, the scammer wants the art transaction to proceed swiftly in order to have the art shipped before the artist discovers that the check or that the credit card was phony or stolen.
All artists should attempt to get to know their buyers and be comfortable with the people they are dealing with when selling their art on the internet. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Artists should not abandon good judgment and common sense when trying to sell and deliver their art to an art buyer.
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