#commission scams

[chickenhoops]

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.

[kyra45]

Are you available for commission

So how does a commission scam work? You’ll get asks like this from blank blogs who didn’t see your commissions posts and instead are programmed to send these to anyone using certain tags. Afterwards, they’ll offer you $300 to draw a pet but won’t use your preferred payment option. Instead, they’ll ask for your email address. What happens next? You’ll get a phishing email claiming to be from PayPal saying you need to upgrade your account and when you click the link you’ll compromise your account details to the scammer who will then try to get your money. You will not be paid for your work at the scammer will then move on to someone else and block you.

If someone was really interested in commissioning you, they would already know the answer if they seen your post about it.

So what can you do? Block bots like this and warn other artists.

[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!!!

[shadowfoxsilver]

So just a heads up, the blog choppedballoonrunaway is just a commission scammer who comments on art posts asking you if you take commissions. They then want you to DM them for further information. Don’t do that.

This is a scammer who will try and send you a phishing email once you give them an email address which will look like PayPal. It is not from PayPal and is just an attempt to get your information. You will not be paid for your work and you’ll get blocked by the time you find out the scam.

Commission scammers often have no posts as all they do is comment on posts or DM users asking if they do commissions. The request is often to draw a dog for around $300 and they don’t use your preferred payment method.

[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!

[scam-alerts]

❗❗Scam Update❗❗

Previously on... 🔎Scam Exam(ination)🔍

Seen as: I would like a commission of my son/pet... Scam Type: Commission Scam

Please read this post for a complete rundown of this scam.

While browsing #scams on tumblr earlier today, I saw a post from the wonderful and very talented @louksna-0 where they were calling out a scam account that seemed to be running the art commission scam.

After messaging them.. I found out something... interesting.

The scammers are now changing their script.

@louksna-0 was kind enough to answer some questions and help explain their interactions with this scammer with me, and even provided me with some screenshots which I'll show you all as well.

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Part 1 - How it start(s/ed)

Note: @louksna-0 has told me that due to being blocked, they cannot access their conversation with this scammer, but they were kind enough to detail their conversation with me to the best of their ability. :)

@scam-alerts: When this person messaged you for a commission, what did they ask you to draw? What was your response, and what sort of images did they provide?

@louksna-0: They asked me to draw two cartoon portraits of a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair, it was 2 photos, but the second seemed to be taken from a video, not a photo itself. I told her alright, the two were separate drawings, one for $18, the other $20. $38 in the end. She started pressuring me for the details of the commission to get the process finished, being cold and even rude.

@scam-alerts: Did you tell them a price first, or did they offer you money first? Was this amount higher than normal, or was it the price of your commissions?

@louksna-0: I told them the price first, they didn't offer a price to pay. They were pressuring me to tell them the final price.

@louksna-0: I say them because although the profile seems like a girl. Her account of PayPal, email confirmation and Tumblr were all different. So I can't really say their gender. Her profile said Elizabeth, her email said mayes Mary, and her PayPal account said Margaret castro.

These were the screenshots provided to me:

image 1 - The scammer getting very persistent in having @louksna-0 check their spam email for confirmation that the money was sent.

image 2 - The different names that appear on the PayPal, blog, and email (in that order.)

Image 3 - A screenshot of the fake email. (the same exact one that can be seen in the previous scam exam(ination) report.

Image 4 - This one is.. odd. @louksna-0 says that this was sent to them by the same email with a request telling them to send a refund, yet it has a very odd and fishy looking link. (they did not click on it.)

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Part 2 - Examining the Evidence

From what it looks like, the scam is pretty much the same 'I want you to draw my <thing>' scam except now they've switched from:

can you draw my son / daughter / pet. to can you draw this cartoon character*

*They might look at blogs now and see what an artists 'style' is to get a grasp on what an artist can do before trying to run this scam? Since not all artists can draw kids and/or pets? So that might be worth keeping an eye on.

They've also switched from:

Offering you a very large amount of money. to accepting commission prices to seem unsuspicious.

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Part 3 - What you should do now

🚩Red flags still present🚩

Blogs sending these asks are either blank or bare in one way in another. Little to no reblogs, maybe 'one' picture or two posted. In this case the scammer just had a picture of a dog that probably isn't even theirs.

They will refuse to pay with any other method than PayPal.

The purpose of asking for your real name and your PayPal email is just so they can make a fake email to scam you.

Stop. Read the email very carefully. Think about what it's asking you.

'you are to send (name) money to expand your account.' You are to send someone money, to get money.

You can't just 'expand' your account by sending another user money. That's not how PayPal works.

Emails from these scammers will always show up in your spam folder because they are not from the real PayPal service. They are 100% fake. Only trust emails about PayPal from a @paypal.com email address. Any email claiming to be from PayPal ending in a gmail/hotmail/yahoo.com address is. a. scam.

Always check your PayPal account via the website or App for issues before responding to someone and certainly before sending anyone money. If you see no issues, there are no issues.

Never click links in an email you get during or after interacting with a stranger when money is involved. If someone asks: 'did you get the email?' Check your spam folder.' Make sure you click the link to fix your account.' It's a scam. And they're probably trying to hack you.

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Final thoughts:

Remember, take screenshots and report these users to the websites they are running these scams on. If they DM you on tumblr? Report the DM. If they do it on insta, bsky, twitter or even discord?

Make sure you report them there too.

ALSO: Beware of recovery scammers. This is anyone coming into your DM's telling you they can 'help you get your money back' after you made a post talking about how you got scammed. These scammers are just looking for a quick buck.

I've got a whole post right here talking about what one looks like.

Take care and stay vigilant.

And thanks again to @louksna-0 for being a dear. <3

Other helpful guides on spotting scams. (by @kyra45)

[gfawkesphoenixchokingonashes]

So.

I've been approached by two 'artists' on AO3 wanting to collab on a project. The thing is, they want me to PAY THEM A COMMISSION.

This is a scam, peeps. Don't fall for it.

[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.

[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.

[kurouppy]

Commission scam alert!

A scam is going around currently where someone will dm artists offering $200 via paypal to draw "their sons dog", regardless of the artists actual commission price which is typically much lower, so far I've seen the dogs name is often bailey but it can be other names too

The account will most likely be blank with no pfp, bio or posts and a small amount of likes and follows that all seem to be found on one or two tags. The usernames will be a combo of around 3 words that seem randomly generated. Typically they will insist on it being a specific payment method (currently it's paypal) and refuse to send money any other way

Here are the exchanges I had with them and their blank account, typically the scammer will follow this general script. Do not accept comms from a user coolcowboywitch

Here are the pictures of the dog they sent me, reverse image searching didn't come up with anything so I'm not sure where they're from (potentially AI generated), if you get sent these exact pictures it's most likely a scam

There are two main ways this scam can work:

1. They are attempting to steal your paypal login information or to trick you into sending them money. There are many ways they can do this, including sending phishing emails or claiming they can't pay you unless you send them money first

2. They will either send you money and then file a charge back or send you money that never processes in the first place, meaning you do the labor and never get paid. This can even lead to your account being overdrafted

A similar scam was going around on instagram a bit ago that instead offered $300

Posts with recent examples of this scam:

X, X, X

Deeper explanation of how the scam works:

X

[rene-hl-trashcan]

Initially, I don't think that this merited any posts but the Concerned Asian Mom™️ within me insists that it should be posted as some sort of cautionary post for young artists.

About half an hour ago, I received a DM asking for a commission. It doesn't look suspicious at first, but it doesn't take long for it to look suspicious.

So, this person asked me to draw their dog, which at first, I was like, cool. I rarely draw animals. Seem like a fun challenge and the pupper looks cute. They asked for 3 poses and with different background each. Since I'm no good in drawing backgrounds, I point it out just for the sake of transparency.

This is the first red flag for me.

I used to do commissions back in college and very rarely people who pay this kind of money would be so nonchalant with their request. Usually, they are a bit more demanding and particular.

Second red flag : They insist on paying upfront without sketches/drafts. Nobody does that.

Third red flag : They insist very persistently despite my concern and refusal.

Look, lady. I don't give a hoot if you're a "busy businesswoman" cuz honestly, I am a busy career woman too. This looks hella sus from the get-go.

Fourth red flag : Desperately trying to convince me to proceed with the payment.

It looks like a scam, so I don't care if by the sliver of chance this person is actually honest, I'm gonna treat the whole thing as a scam. I Googled "art commission scam" too and the Reddit topic below is literally the first link I saw :

It was such a common scam.

Look, art and writing are stress relief for me, and I have no intention of ever making it a side hustle. My IRL job pays my bills and gives me plenty extra for the nonsense I splurge on; so, I personally don't care much about losing a luxurious commission offer. I know the pressure to finish a gig would ruin the joy these two hobbies offer me.

However, I'm also aware that some people depend on art as a side hustle to survive the current world economy, especially young artists. I know college-age me some good years ago would be really torn in refusing this kind of offer because back then I was a broke college student without none of my current stable income.

Hence, please be careful while accepting commissions. These people will hound you aggressively once they proceed with their scam, and knowing that not all people would remain unyielding under pressure, it could be dangerous.

That's all for today's cautionary tale. Thank you for scrolling through my post.

P/S : Just to be super clear, I don't mind if someone asks nicely whether I'm willing to do something for them; be it draw, write or take screenshots. I did art trades before. I took screenshots for people for free because I think their MCs are pretty. If I like the subject you gave me, it's no different than when I do those with my MCs as the subject. It's still fun. I still benefit from your request. It's not a bother as long as you don't be overly demanding and ruin the fun for me.

[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.

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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.

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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.