#commission scams

[yellowingbread]

Just got this type of scam. Be careful, guys !!

Sorry for double posting but APPARENTLY those commission scammers have showed up on Tumblr at least for the first time for me.

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, there were/are commission scams going on in Instagram and even places like Artstation where people would pretend to be interested in your work and try to commission a pet or portrait for the sake of trying to get your bank details. Here’s how to (somewhat) sniff them out:

1- They don’t seem to be an average customer/ person that would be involved in your fandom, or has a blank template for an account or don’t even follow you.

2- They ask you to draw a portrait or a pet picture either for themselves or their children/family.

3- They promise to overpay you (in the hundreds) and do not listen to you even if you firmly state the price is cheaper.

4- They are constantly asking for your email name, or private details regarding things like banking details or passwords or other private information others should not know.

5- They try and over reassure you they mean no harm, try to guilt you into giving them the info, or become aggressive over you not giving them what they want.

What should you do if you come across one of these guys? My best advice is to block and report. Sadly these people jump account to account so there isn’t really much to do other than spread this info to prevent artists from being scammed.

[ultraviolet-ink]

An Important Warning:

On November 1, 2024, I received the below comment on one of my fics. I had replied to it, believing it to be in good faith. This person, Leaona Colin, as seen by the Ao3 comment chain and discord profile below, directly messaged me under the guise of discussing my fic, and the conversation was normal for the most part

The conversation started to change into an attempt to strong arm me into commissioning them directly (something that unfortunately does happen through a desperate measure) for an animation project. I had believed, in my naivety, that this was just two artists workshopping ideas until they had mentioned this being a "paid collaboration". Please note that I at NO POINT made any indication of wanting to make a commission or anything of the like. For the full context, I will link our discord conversation in its entirety

At this point, the conversation started to change to the commission, and in my own personal awkwardness/fear of being perceived as rude, I played along because I honestly did not know what to do next. The way that this person has approached me feels like a MUCH bigger red flag than the insane price they came up with. It would be one thing to come into my direct messages and say "hey, I'm an animator and I'm wondering if you'd be interested in commissioning me to draw [scene] as a paid commission", however what I went through was a bait and switch. I had gone into this thinking I would be entering a casual conversation about my fic, about the story, and about my writing process, but that pretense was very quickly dropped after the above polite small talk

Mind you, THIS is the animation that they seem to be requesting between 1800-2200 USD for:

I had debated whether or not I should include the video, but I feel that it is important to bring up due to the insane price and the information that @baratrongirl helped provide me with due to her husband's own experience in this industry (thank you SO much Richard!!)

I have reported the comment to Ao3 and I have reported the profile to Discord itself. This is a warning to fic authors and other fan creators to please, please, PLEASE, be on the lookout and to stay safe. I have also learned of a recent scam in Ao3/FFN comment sections where a wave of commission scammers use stolen or ai art to promote themselves and either make of with the money or send some sort of ai art. There hasn't been any mention of anything for animation, but it is very much possible that the scam is evolving, more info about this can be linked below r/FanFiction: PMs on Fanfiction.net offering me commissioned art r/AO3: Great, the art scammers are now being registered users r/AO3: These comments are starting to be an annoying trend

[goreyskeleton]

PSA FOR ALL TUMBLR ARTISTS!!!

On Tumblr there’s these users who will private message you and pretend to be interested in your artwork just so you can tell them your personal information and then steal it from you. It’s usually blank blogs but basically if you provide an alternative way to do an art request that doesn’t involve sharing your private information THEN ITS A SCAM!!! This is the third time I got one of these mfs and the first two times I hadn’t even seen a post informing about the scam. Stay safe gang!!!

[kyra45]

Mural commission scams/Commission scams

(Mural commission scams/Commission scams)

If you are an artist who regularly posts art to tumblr, you may have received DMs/replies from accounts who are either asking to use your art in a mural because a client wants it or a message asking you if you take commissions (even if you have a post that would answer that question) before requesting you to draw their pet/family member.

These are actually known as scam messages/asks and were originally mainly spotted on deviantART/Twitter (X), Instagram, etc. You get these if you use certain tags as these mainly blank blogs are usually watching them for new artists to target and con money (or time) out of. These are never real people wanting art from you and are always scammers who have no interest in paying you for your hard work.

One of the most common things is that they will never look at your commission sheet or read your TOS, and will avoid answering any specific questions you may have since they’re not here to talk. Their talking is just trying to flatter you (claiming they love your art) and to make you think you’ll be getting a lot of money for little work. Unfortunately, these blogs do not want to pay you and they will not give you the funds no matter how much it is.

These kind of scammers will ask for your email and then send you a fake PayPal email claiming they sent you money but there was a problem and you need to ‘upgrade’ your account to receive the funds. This email is not officially sent by PayPal and is made to scare you into thinking something has went wrong. Do not worry. It is not a real PayPal email. It is a fake one.

Keep in mind these scam blogs will not use the payment methods you already offer. Their task is getting your email then trying to get your personal information.

If someone’s offering to pay you $300+ for a simple drawing of a generic dog took off Google images, be wary of the account and ask them questions first. If you feel like something is off, cut contact and report them immediately before blocking them.

If you drew the art anyway, just edit the drawing to have a block of text saying the commissioner was a scammer and then advertise your commissions!

Always have a clear Terms of Service around payment options and do not let high payments trick you into drawing for scammers.

I am post this with the art tag as it relates to art and the current situation of artists over here now getting the same scam messages that deviantART users get. Please share this post to your art friends.

[arianwen44]

ATTENTION FELLOW ARTISTS!!

I've been getting a lot of spam 'commission' requests lately and I wanted to send out a warning to anyone who might be starting up their commission business. (LONG POST)

The idea that these scammers want to take advantage of an artist makes me so angry and I want you all to be safe out there doing your art!

These requests (for me) have always started with an account asking if my commissions are open. Usually these accounts have no content of their own, are new accounts, or are 'private'. The premise is almost always 'painting a picture of my son's pet for his birthday'.

(I am including the usernames because as of writing this they were deactivated)

The account will then ask for prices, or they will offer an INSANE amount of money ($200-$500). I conduct business through PayPal invoices and require an email to send the invoice through.

These accounts ALWAYS refuse to give you their email and insist that you provide yours. DO NOT DO THIS. Never follow links from someone you don't know, always remember that you don't know who or what is talking to you.

Conclusion - fellow artists, if you EVER feel uncomfortable about the person commissioning you, be it subject, money, or you just plain feel off, you can say NO! Always know you can tell a person NO.

Keep yourself safe first! There are so many amazing people out there who appreciate you, and these scammers are NOT among them. Edit: if someone is insisting they send you money directly (through links especially) this is a red flag in my book!

[purplebehittindifferent]

LOLLLLLL BRO GOT MAD I EXPOSED HIM AND BLOCKED ME

[zephyrbug]

I'm really annoyed I have to make this post but let me be very clear! I am not on discord promoting commissions anywhere! If you see someone posting my artwork it is not me!! Especially cause my username is ZephyrBug, any other name is not my account! It is a scam!!

With that being said thank you to the people reaching out and letting me know, it helps a lot! Here's an example of someone doing it in two septate discords using my old art. (I have already asked this person to stop and thus far they have been kicked out of both of these servers but considering they keep doing this I just have to warn people at this point.)

Stolen work: brought to you by user elenor_henry. on discord :,)

Original Work: brought to you by my Instagram!

So reminder to reverse image search people promoting random commissions who don't have social media linked or art styles clearly done by different people!

[wolsalwastaken]

‼️ARTIST PSA‼️

So, lately I’ve been made aware that there are rampant art commission scams going around. Random people, usually with broken English and little to no post history, will DM you asking for commissions. The conversations are… well… suspicious to say the least. Here are my encounters:

Convo 1: (they sent 2 photos of paintings that look to be stolen or ai, image limit won’t let me put them)

This person seemingly could not and would not respond to a single question I posed, and honestly it was so odd and unclear. They were claiming to want to buy the rights to a drawing I did so they could… paint it for a client? No clue. Clearly fake.

Conversation 2:

This one similarly, well, has issues? Just… it’s such an odd scam interaction and is so unconvincing it’s almost funny. Do give it a read, as again, very funny.

I have chosen not to censor the names, so people know to look out. And this isn’t just me, I’ve had several other artist friends complain of near enough the exact same issue.

I don’t know the purpose of this scam, but it’s definitely a scam nonetheless. Not only are the intentions of this scam harmful, but they also suck for another reason. As of right now, the artist industry has taken a huge hit. Ai art and unfair working conditions has forced artists into poverty, and commissions are so important for artists. To try and prey on artists just trying to do their job and make a living is fucking pathetic. It’s also awful. Do better. Be better.

If you are a legitimate person who wants to commission art, don’t act like this! I assume most people who actually want to purchase real art wouldn’t, but do make it clear that you are a real person in one way or another. And make sure to support your local artists, if there’s an artist you love who does comms… consider getting one if you have the extra money! Artists are under siege. The prevalence of things like ai imagery, NFTs, writers strikes, artists strikes, etc, make it very difficult. Artists deserve better working conditions. This artist stroke is necessary, but it means a lot of us are out of work and now more then ever commissions are important, and scams that are leaching off of that and trying to get more gullible artists who may not know that it’s a scam is just disgusting.

Stay safe ✌️

[writer-of-worlds]

The last post I reblogged.

If you have a fanfiction.net account, please be aware of bots trying to fish for commissions. Their accounts are pretty new, and they DM you trying to butter you up about your stories before offering to draw something for you.

Examples below:

One of them even made a Tumblr blog just to follow me here (on my sideblog). IDK if that's even a bot at this point but... their art is AI art.

So be careful folks! It's super scummy, and I hate to see y'all get scammed because these bots try to butter you up and such. I've been there, being a Twitter refuge, and had been harassed to commission someone multiple times there.

[shadowfoxsilver]

Commission scams

What are commission scams? - These scams occur when someone messages you on Instagram/Facebook/etc and asks you to draw their pet/son/daughter because they really love your art style and saw you had commissions open. They may not have liked any of your drawings or had and previous contact. They will ask you if you do commissions even if you clearly have stated yes.

What is the scam? - The scam occurs when they ask you if you would take $300 or more for the commission. While amount isn’t too unreasonable for a commission, it may be far more then your usual asking price which should be a red flag that something isn’t right. They may also ask if you’ll accept a check for payment and if you’ll deposit it with a banking app which is another red flag for not being a legitimate customer.

How is it a scam? - The check they will send you is a fake check that will bounce if you deposit it no matter how long it might take to go through. This check is not legitimate and you won’t be scamming the scammer just because you deposited it. The money isn’t real and it isn’t theirs either. You’ll just lost your money and they have no plan to pay you for your work.

What can you do? - Have a clear terms of service for commissions and ask questions regarding payment plans if your suspicious of the commission requester. If they turn hostile, block them once you deny their order. And alert your Art friends.

—

Are there other versions of this scam? - On occasion, someone may steal artwork from other users and pass off a commission sheet as theirs and take commissions that they can’t actually do. They’ll take money and orders but are really not intending to fulfill them.

Anything else? - Sometimes these are art scams where someone says they’ll pay you for using your art in a mural. Unless this comes from a legitimate business account or a real account, this is yet again someone trying a fake check scam.

—

This guide is from my other account, but I’m reposting it here as a backup. If you found this guide useful, please let me know and share it to your friends.

[greater-than-the-sword]

How to recognize a scam targeting artists

None of these are universal, but all are red flags. One red flag does not necessarily mean it is a fake commission, but more than one is very sketchy.

1) They contact you in a way you didn't ask to be contacted. Message when you said email, email when you said message.

2) They tell you they want to buy your art and name upfront a large budget with seemingly no idea it is large; an attractive amount to give the impression they are rich with no indication they ever looked at your commission prices.

3) Nothing about their message proves they ever looked at your portfolio. They will say "I looked at your portfolio" but never name a single piece they liked or anything they like about your style. This could be a copy+paste message sent to any artist.

4) The commission they want is frustratingly vague. Usually a person who requests a commission has a specific idea about what they want; this person (or bot with a limited response repertoire) can't figure out how to respond when you ask them if they want a bust or a full figure, and what style they prefer. A portrait is a portrait, right? You get the sense they've never communicated with an artist before.

5) Wants to pay via an unusual method that avoids accountability. Tells you they have financial trouble and can't use a card or PayPal, but will wire you money or mail you a check or something.

Even if it is hard to tell at first, a few questions will suss these people and bots out! They are unable to engage with normal commission negotiations, so they're likely looking for people who are very new to the online sales game and desperate enough to ask zero questions. They will also manipulate you via pity. Don't waste your time on them! Block and report! I have gotten these via Instagram, Deviantart, and email (from Artstation.)

[b-theshittyhuman]

... This is a bot isn't it?

[neokandis-hardcore-art]

Scam Targeting Artists

Hi! I just discovered a scam account with the URL "bonyivan" running a commission scam. After we discussed the details of the commission and they supposedly sent me the money, I got a fake PayPal email (from a gmail address) telling me the amount was too big to receive and I have to click the link to upgrade to a business account (I'm already a business account) then saying I would be paid twice the money and had to refund half. Screenshots below:

I was getting red flags from the start, but wanted to see it through to make sure this was in fact a scam and so I could warn other artists. Please don't fall for this and report these accounts! gmail specifically has a feature for reporting phishing.

[lulu2992]

During Inktober, I received several commission requests… but I’m now pretty they were all scams.

On X:

Those people left the same comments on dozens of other drawings. Some of the accounts are now suspended and they all looked stolen to me. There was a sixth comment but that account got suspended before I could screenshot the post…

Someone else sent me a DM instead:

Aside from that, there were more “invisible” comments I could never see. I assume some of them were about commissions as well.

On Instagram, I got 2 DMs:

These accounts looked stolen too and don’t exist anymore.

And here on Tumblr, I got 3 DMs, all identical.

The usernames were similar (exactly 11 characters with one or two words followed by numbers) and the blogs were empty. I could see some follows and sometimes a few likes, but that was it. In fact, two of them have since been deleted…

So yeah, they’re not real, are they?

[kyra45]

Commission scams

What are commission scams? - These scams occur when someone messages you on Instagram/Facebook/etc and asks you to draw their pet/son/daughter because they really love your art style and saw you had commissions open. They may not have liked any of your drawings or had and previous contact. They will ask you if you do commissions even if you clearly have stated yes.

What is the scam? - The scam occurs when they ask you if you would take $300 or more for the commission. While amount isn’t too unreasonable for a commission, it may be far more then your usual asking price which should be a red flag that something isn’t right. They may also ask if you’ll accept a check for payment and if you’ll deposit it with a banking app which is another red flag for not being a legitimate customer.

How is it a scam? - The check they will send you is a fake check that will bounce if you deposit it no matter how long it might take to go through. This check is not legitimate and you won’t be scamming the scammer just because you deposited it. The money isn’t real and it isn’t theirs either. You’ll just lost your money and they have no plan to pay you for your work.

What can you do? - Have a clear terms of service for commissions and ask questions regarding payment plans if your suspicious of the commission requester. If they turn hostile, block them once you deny their order. And alert your Art friends.

—

Are there other versions of this scam? - On occasion, someone may steal artwork from other users and pass off a commission sheet as theirs and take commissions that they can’t actually do. They’ll take money and orders but are really not intending to fulfill them.

Anything else? - Sometimes these are art scams where someone says they’ll pay you for using your art in a mural. Unless this comes from a legitimate business account or a real account, this is yet again someone trying a fake check scam.

—

If you found this information useful, feel free to share this post to your friends! If you really appreciate it, I accept pocket change or words of support. Hope this helps! I also post guides on how to spot scam blogs.

[potatothemouse]

This was another funny scammer once I made that last joke they backed off