#scammers!!!

[simder-talia-blog]

Just a general reminder that these kinds of posts are spam. These “shops” are buying products from aliexpress/alibaba sometimes charging 20x the price or more. They are scams. This item is approx. 6 US dollars. This scam shop wants to sell it to you for 25! See below. Please reblog.

[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.

[adhdisgay]

Friendly reminder to listen VERY VERY CRITICALLY if someone tries to convince you not to register for federal disaster assistance following a declared disaster. Helene is still moving north and I see the usual rants picking up steam already.

That person trying to win social commentary points online is not your friend. That person can’t give you funds for house repair or to restock on food and meds. And if they say they can - that is a scammer and not someone you can trust.

Scammers and developers trying to take advantage after a disaster intentionally spread rumors/misinformation to convince survivors not to apply for federal disaster assistance. Many well meaning people pick this misinformation up and spread it further without understanding how the assistance process works. It’s happened more and more over the years and it will happen with Helene.

If you do not apply for assistance, you lose the chance to receive federal funds. APPLY APPLY APPLY. This doesn’t guarantee you will meet eligibility requirements, but you definitely can’t meet them if you don’t apply. The application process isn’t perfect but it continues to be updated - and was updated in 2024!! - to try and make it easier for survivors. If you have damages or lost power for an extended time, APPLY.

You can check on FEMA.gov or with local news to see when disaster recovery centers will open, how long the application period will last, and what information you’ll need when applying.

[butchniqabi]

here's list of Palestinians who have reached out to me, please donate if you can

posted august 23rd 2024

@ahmed-mohammed1 vetted here €4,935/€30,000

@hadeelmekki vetted here €15,295/€35,000

@mohiy-gaza vetted here $17,546/$31,000

@yazanfamilly vetted here €10,695/€50,000

@olagaza vetted here (line 205) $29,723/$50,000

@ahmedalnabeeh11 vetted here €23,008/€30,000

@save-mohamed-family vetted here (line 192) $9,946/$50,000

@wafaaresh6 vetted here €28,300/€100,000

@atalah-mohammed vetted here €12,735/€82,000

@abdullahgaza vetted here (line 81) €81,851/€120,000

@save-ahmed-family1 €1,023/€20,000

@asmaayyad vetted here €11,646/€45,000

@bisanalbalawi18 vetted here €37,551/€50,000

@ezzaldeens-blog €297/€20,000

@yousefjehad3 vetted here (line 255) $3,487/$15,000

@hanaa-yousef vetted here (line 246) £11,071/£20,000

@noor-alanqar vetted here €20,427/€40,000

@mahmoud-1995 vetted here $11,709/$50,000

@sabahfamily £7,570/£50,000

@fatma--gaza vetted here €5,530/€20,000

@nisreensuhail vetted here €1,984/€50,000

@sameer-family vetted here $2,259/$50,000

@abdelmutei €10,718/€25,000

@safaabed8 vetted here €28,261/€90,000

@kareem-family vetted here €7,252/€20,000

@ahmedhelllis vetted here €10,473/€80,000

@asmaamajed2 vetted here $3,570/$50,000

@shimaajoj2 €3,302/€50,000

@nourfamily1989 vetted here $14,240/$90,000

[kyra45]

Names of scam accounts

A post compiling assorted names from scammers running medical,vet bills,and insulin scams, and more. All names listed here have been recorded from confirmed scam accounts, often hidden in multicolored text. These names are likely stolen off real people who are now being impersonated. Please make sure you haven’t sent money to these names from accounts that are relatively new. These may also appear in other scams.

This update is a WIP so it will regularly update.

—

Lucymkira | Steve mwit | AGNES KEBWARO | Mwanasiti Heri | Stella Sipeto | sophia magubo | Martin Gomba | Sarah Migiro | Luciana | A'lycia Thorn-ton | Jessica mathew | Edina sirikale | Bitita Nyaata | Luciamkir | Sophia Magubo | Stev'en mwi'ta | JACKLINE JACKSON |

—

Names used in scams pretending to be in Palestine:

Rawan Abu'M (this name is impersonating a real person from a legitimate GoFundMe.) | maryline Otieno | Nicholas Ochieng | Jeff Owino | Grahy Marwa | Taheera Abdallah | Gloria Naomi | Amisi Twaleh | Salima Abdallah | Aisha Mahmood | Remmy Cheptau | Newton ombogo | Godwin Okoth | AHMED SHIMBIR | Wafula Valentine | Rahwan AbdiMahady (same reason as the above; Impersonating a name from a legitimate GoFundMe.) | Nada'r Ab hussein | DIANA MUTENYO | Hakim Malfadho | Leila Rajab | Elizabeth Omasete | George Ochieng | Cecil Wangila | Leila Rajab | Emmily Kimesis | hezron onyango | christine wambura | princereinhard baraka | Iyvon Wabuyele | Wafula Valentine | Raobh Tingo | Sophia Magubo | Sharon Opiyo | Nada,r Ab'r Hus'sein | Jared Orwa | Zalka Yusuf | Khriytine wambura | Ann Stephen | Niva Wangila | Dorine nanjala | Taheera Mohammed | Dorine nanjala | Jastus Kimanzi | Paul Sila | Sussy Wamela | Mwanasiti Heri | Emily Mwelu | Hakim Abdi | Rasher Onchweri | Purity Sikuku | DIANA MUTENYO | Margaret Opiyo | Janeursular Mumali | Jane Majuma | Fred Odhiambo

[habken]

scammers to lovers au

original

[softwaring]

we’re really out here living in an AI dystopian hellscape and this shit has just begun… the future is grim…

[spyres]

like idk maybe this is just me but i'd genuinely rather throw my loose change into something that could possibly be but is very unlikely to be a scam and just be like "oh well" if it does actually turn out to be a scam than try to denounce every single palaestinian that just wants to live in safety. tripling down on that behaviour is just fucking embarrassing. "it's not racist to be skeptical of donations asks" that's true but saying that a group of brown people are all hustlers running a mass scam ring is undoubtedly extremely racist you fucking clowns.

[luwha]

LMAO so, recently someone tried to SCAM me, so i'll show you what happened and the telltales of it being a scam.

This one is quite obvious but i know people who are just starting their artist careers and might not have experiece.

Follow the thread:

🚩#1: They pick your most famous/Popular art as reference. They don't know what you actually sell.

🚩#2: They will pick a random popular character. They're not roleplayers or anything. They're not here for the art in any level

You ask me, what are the odds they really like Goku? Oh, well, you'll see. At this point i check their profile for anythign that might indicate it, but as you'll see you won't have to.

🚩#3: They say they saw my ToS. On it i state i only work with paypal and google forms.

🚩#4: Random issue with payment method. They might have a real problem with it, but see; they'll never ever accept any other payment method, such as Zelle, CashApp, Payoneer, Ko-fi, etc.

I already knew this drill so, let's continue.

🚩#5: I love playing dumb lmao. Anyway, this scam revolves on them either sending you "too much money" and asking it back or something like it. I won't be following through because i know it'll be annoying.

BE ADAMANT WITH YOUR METHODS. Do NOT EVER bend them for randos.

🚩#6: They're so ready with the info on how the payment works it's fucking funny.

The reason I PERSONALLY use PayPal INVOICES (no any other payment within paypal) is that they're safe for both me and my client. My rules are stated clearly.

MAKE A ToS I BEG YOU YOUNG ARTIST

🚩#7: They're not even a good scammer lmao they REFUSE to go on my PROFILE to get a link or read anything.

I use Forms because it collects the client requests and it's easier for me to read it all in one place. It ALSO makes scammers bored.

🚩#8: They're so disinterested on the art they don't care for posing, vibes, colors, nothing. Again, they're NOT here for art. That's hilarious.

🚩#8: Same as above. They don't care for posing or anything.

On my art they link me, i have a vampire almost staking himself in a state of euphoria.

IMAGINE VAMPIRE GOKU STAKING HIMSELF THAT'S SO FUCKIGN FUNNY MY BRO, THINK YOUR SCAM THROUGH MAYBE

🚩#9: They will price your own work for you. And they'll overshot what we, smaller artists, charge for it.

They'll overshot by a lot.

They want you to be impressed and showing "generosity" usually gets people who need monay into risky situations. That's just plain cruel.

🚩#9: Same as above. Over generosity and eagerness to pay.

They're not even with the sketch, this haven't been an hour, they don't have any work form me but OH GOD they're SO READY to pay you NEED TO KNOW they WANTS TO PAY YOU SO BAD

Lmao yeah it's working out ❤️

THIS ONE IS JUST HILARIOUS BRO I CAN'T EVEN.

ANYWAY let's continue

🚩#10: They don't know me. They don't follow me. They broke every rule on my ToS. They're making me go through a payment method i am unfamiliar and don't use.

They don't care for my process. They're not interested on my sketch.

BE. ADAMANT. ABOUT. YOUR. RULES. AND. PROCESS.

Now, for the beautiful closure of this:

Have a ToS. Don't bend the rules for randos.

Use Invoices. Be sure you're safe.

Use forms if you'd like. Requests through DM and Discord ARE COMMON FOR OTHER ARTISTS. I personally don't like it, i have ADHD.

Being an artist on an online space is dangerous. If you need help, poke an artist you know, see how they operate and if it fits you. Most of them would help you.

🚩#11: goku isn't even on their icon 😭

This is the account that tried to scam me.

#art is life ❤️

[maikaartwork]

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

[luckydrunk]

[ The constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' is looking at you ]

[cleolinda]

Phone scam gothic

So my mom sits down and starts telling me about two weird-ass phone calls she had today—she was returning a missed call, and the woman who answered just… sobbed for a minute. I’m sitting here asking, like, a whole minute? Nothing else, just sobbing? Who did you THINK you were calling back?

“United Healthcare, they have my Medicare plan. They’ve been calling me for weeks without leaving any voicemail.”

(Are you sure it was United Healthcare? “It was the same number that’s on my card, I checked, and that’s who the caller ID said it was.”)

Are you sure it was a whole minute? Did YOU say anything?

“Yes, like sixty seconds while I kept going ‘Hello? Hello?’ It sounded like she was having a nervous breakdown, I kept waiting to see if she’d tell me what was even wrong. Finally I just hung up.”

And then my mom turned right around and called back again, because she was gonna get to the bottom of this.

This time she got a different woman, perfectly calm, who wanted to set up “your in-home direct patient care home health visit.”

At this point (at this point?) I’m staring, because no one here currently has anyone coming to the house to help with any kind of medical care. My mom might honestly be the healthiest member of the household, but even I don’t use any home services, herniated discs and all. “Did they have you… confused with someone else?”

“No, she repeated my full name and phone number back to me.”

This lady then started ARGUING with my mother. Why don’t you want us to come to your house to manage your direct patient care? Don’t you need home health care to be managed? Why don’t you need home health care? Why would you not want home health care? “I JUST KIND OF HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL?” But don’t you want us to manage your home health care? “WHY DO YOU NEED TO COME TO MY HOUSE TO MANAGE HEALTH CARE I DON’T USE?”

My mom finally hung up on this lady as well, without giving her any real information.

The more we talked about it, the more things we started to notice:

I was incredibly creeped out by the unsolicited use of the word “manage,” for some reason. Very sinister “write me into your will” vibes for some reason—I don’t know what these people want, but they’re gonna get you to sign something over.

My mom got especially stuck on “WHY DO YOU NEED TO COME TO MY HOUSE?!”

My mom has used home health services before… years ago, before she was on Medicare. But this company wouldn’t know about that. However, if you’re on Medicare, you’re over 65. Having not ever dealt with my mother before, someone calling a Medicare user might be playing the odds that a person over 65 is 1) in frail health and 2) old enough to get easily confused.

Fair play to my mom, she’s the one who thought of number spoofing. I’m so busy not answering the phone ever and arranging all my medical communications to happen through passworded portals that I didn’t think of it.

Hey, are you guys, like… holding someone hostage…?

So at this point, I google “United Healthcare scam.”

The “health insurance counselor”

This fraudster will offer help navigating the health insurance marketplace for a fee, capitalizing on people’s confusion about the state-based health exchanges created through the Affordable Care Act.

What to know

This sort of assistance is indeed available and is legitimate, but the people who offer it – also known as “navigators” – aren’t allowed to charge for their services. Also, remember that people with Medicare coverage don’t need to use the state health exchanges. The exchanges are for people under the age of 65, who are looking to enroll in an individual health plan.

Change “navigate” to “manage,” and I think this is it, although the lady on the phone never mentioned any fees. Either my mom didn’t let her get that far, or this is the point of actually getting into someone’s house: persuading them face-to-face to pay something, and potentially refusing to leave until the scammer has worn their target down.

Medicare does not make unsolicited phone calls.

Okay, so it was a scam no matter what it was about. As far as I’m concerned, my mom should contact Actual United Healthcare about it, and I’m here to spread the good word of Never Believing Anyone on the Phone 2k24. I don’t know what to tell you about the lady having the nervous breakdown though.

[atavist]

His mother got duped by a man who claimed to love her—so he headed to Nigeria to find the con artist who broke her heart.   The Romance Scammer on My Sofa. The latest incredible true story from The Atavist.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

[chilewithcarnage]

yeah so going off that maykitz post about sonya massey & it's showing me that white people have this gross almost fetishtic relationship to witnessing violence against brown and black bodies. like why are you encouraging people to watch what is essentially snuff. everytime a black person is murdered on camera by a cop or a group of Palestinian children get killed in another iof bombing y'all will share the uncensored horrific blood and viscera talking about some 'dont you dare look away'. like girl fuck you how do you think it feels for us to see our people get graphically tortured and murdered at the hands of white supremacist colonial forces? I saw the video of Sonya being shared all over twitter and I couldn't even get past the first few seconds of her holding the pot. I'm not even being funny when I say don't nobody wanna see that shit. y'all might see it as a 'oh people are trying to stick their heads in the sand and shield themselves from the truth!' like NO we're really not! we're not sitting up here making crybaby ass posts about how 'tumblr is supposed to be a fun place so if you use it as an escape from all of the bad things happening you're valid 🌈' we are all very much aware of what is going on in the world, and ask yourself why you have to see first hand explicit horrific footage of a black woman being shot in the FACE to have sympathy with us?!

[habken]

survived the semester

ko-fi | inprnt