#scammers be scamming

[chrissy-kaos]

Aaaannndd my block list grows ever so slight everyday. You’d think these scammers would eventually have something better to do other than steal content and impersonate famous trans girls? How are y’all still falling for this shit?

[im-adrienne]

Please be careful out there

Please don’t spam DMs. That goes for any platform. Don’t do it. I just got a DM from a streamer with a large following on here and Twitch. I should have known because they started with the classic spammer line of“how long have you been streaming?”

I looked at their accounts and their stats. The numbers are phony. They are follow for follow on socials when they’re not buying follows and their content is worse than mine and I’ve only been streaming for 3 months!

They have so many followers and yet people barely interact with them on stream and they never post VODs or clips. 12K+ followers! I wonder why…

I don’t want anything to do with people like that. I would rather have double digit followers that I can interact with than padded numbers. They were even going to try to sell shit in my DMs and try to get me to follow them elsewhere. Fuck off!

FYI: I’m not going to name them. They do not deserve recognition of any kind. This would give them that. I am reporting them on all platforms. I’m so tired of spammers and trolls invading legit spaces. I’m fucking tired.

Please be careful and watch out for scammers online. Even if they have a perfect social presence with tons of followers, and some of them huge names, it's wise to actually look at their content, look at their links, and see for yourself. Not everyone is legitimate and has your best interests at heart. Please be safe.

[headedoutleft]

Literally do not ever do business over the phone with someone who calls unexpectedly, and you are significantly less likely to get scammed. If someone calls you saying they are representing any government body, no they’re not. If they are, and you ask them to send info in the mail, they will do that. If it’s really serious, they will show up in person.

While you’re at it, with ai voice software the way it is and the ease of spoofing numbers, be suspicious of any phone calls you might receive that claim to be someone you know needing money urgently. Hang up. Call the person you know or someone close to them directly at a confirmed number and ask them what’s going on. They will most likely respond and let you know you’re being scammed. This simple step would have saved my grandmother a few thousand dollars she got scammed out of years ago.

And if anyone you don’t know or have not met in person ever calls you or dms you and pressures you into giving them a significant amount of money for any reason on an urgent timeline, in person, digitally, or by wire, they are most likely scammers. I don’t care if you’ve been messaging online for years and are completely in love or whatever. Be wise. There are well organized operations all over the world doing this all the time, and romance scams in particular are devastating

Please protect yourselves and DO NO BUSINESS over the phone unless it’s something that YOU have initiated (ex: called your bank directly). I’m willing to bet most of us don’t have tens of thousands of emergency funds to lose, I know I fucking don’t, and it’s devastating hearing about people who’ve been financially injured very badly by this shit. That financial advisor will be fine, I’m sure, but the average person isn’t when these scams run their course. Not to mention the psychological damage that occurs.

It’s whatever to laugh at someone for falling for it, but are you familiar with common scams? How are you protecting yourself? Because if you’re not actively doing so, you’re just as vulnerable as someone who was educated about these issues

[greekedtext]

Name and shame: the company is Golden Bell. This reddit post connects the dots from the court docket to an article about the trash fire that is Golden Bell:

https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/s/ADPPhNCTHZ

I’m so pressed about how evil this company is that I’m reposting Alex’s gofundme over here. They’re trying to bury Alex under so many legal fees that they have no choice but to give up their ip… and they’re only one of many many people (and pets!) that have been harmed by this company.

[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]

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

[softwaring]

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

[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.

[jellazticious]

Hey gang, I fucked up, the original was full of misinfo and this is a link that sends you to a version of the thread with all the right information in the reblogs

but in case you don't want to click the link, here's the contents

[image ID: a reblog from @determinate-negation saying "

if you get the same copy pasted message that is NOT NECESSARILY A SCAMMER. please remember that for a lot of palestinians fundraising on here english is not their first language and they might not speak much english. the accounts youre accusing of being fake in your first point were both verified by 90s-ghost, a palestinian on tumblr who was able to evacuate.

i cant say for sure but it seems like people in gaza are telling each other that tumblr is a good place to fundraise and making template messages that are translated well because 1. its easier to send a bunch of people 2. people may only have a basic knowledge of english. a lot of the people fundraising made accounts specifically for this bc theyre not familiar with tumblr so their blogs will be recently created and not have a lot of posts.

its probably better to just go off lists of fundraisers that have been verified by palestinians and arabic speakers on here. you could be hurting an innocent person in need of help by assuming their awkwardly worded message is a scam and telling people that

paypal campaigns are much more likely to be scams, definitely search the name and reverse image search photos if you cant tell if somethings legit.

also, a lot of the language that you my find dramatic or confusing could be someone trying to translate with minimal resources. just keep that in mind"

end ID]

below the reblog is a link I shared about the fundraiser list

Edit: upon knowing the situation regarding the writing prompts account, I'm turning reblogs off

I still see that people are reblogging the outdated version

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Not a scam!

I think by now most of you know about this but I am making my own post about it bc it's important.

A few days ago, a misunderstanding happened, and @malokamohamed & @mohameedibraheem got labeled as scam accounts that stole @supportgaza 's campaign.

That was NOT correct.

As I said, it was just a misunderstanding and yesterday I got in contact with @idocumentscammers @kyra45 @el-shab-hussein and gave them all needed evidence and even Mahmoud ( @/supportgaza ) himself verified that Mohammed ( @/mohameedibraheem ) is his brother & Malak ( @/malokamohamed ) is his sister-in-law. And that the 3 girls (Malek, Eleen, & Najah) are actually their daughters.

They were very quick to answer and made the necessary edits and announcement posts about it you can find here, here, and here. To which I am very grateful.

Thus, Mohammed & Malak's campaign is now verified #240 on this list by el-shab-hussein/Nabulsi/Moayesh , and I vouch for them personally.

Now I ask that you please share their story and donate if you can bc they're very low on funds!

And please notify anyone you know who still hasn't read the update!

Sorry for the tags ♡

@goodguydotmp3 @northgazaupdates2 @appsa @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @wingedalpacacupcake @elksewer @a-shade-of-blue @tortiefrancis @mushroomjar @fromjannah @neechees @irhabiya @ibtisams @lacecap @dykesbat @socalgal @ankle-beez @mahoushojoe @transmutationisms @deepspaceboytoy @nabulsi @zionistsinfilm @beserkerjewel @babacontainsmultitudes @spacebeyonce @mauesartetc @vakarians-babe @ghostofanonpast @c-u-c-koo-4-40k @ot3 @xinakwans @komsomolka @chilewithcarnage @akamanto0 @feluka @effen-draws @pkmnbutch @ghostingarden @azalea-alter @sayruq

[felsicveins]

Follow up to this

[slenbee]

Current Scammers - 10/31/24

Disclaimer: This list is only meant to serve as documentation and reference material so that others know: what to look out for in regards to a scam, and who to block preemptively if you so choose. I do not, in any way, endorse harassment or mass reporting these users. Do NOT do this. I'm serious. DO NOT mass report. Only report these asks if you GET them or ones like them. Thank you.

Part 2

----------

This is the current list of scammers pretending to be Palestinians from Gaza asking for money (USD) through PayPal rather than via an official fundraising site like GoFundMe. Many of these accounts have non Palestinian names attached to the PayPal accounts while using real Palestinian names on tumblr stolen from real people. The accounts that claim to be vetted are in fact, NOT vetted by any well known group or organization, and they will beat around the bush or straight up block you if you ask for proof. All of these scammers follow a similar but slightly 'altered' script, and multiple scam accounts are usually run by one person. They will usually reblog a handful of posts after they join, then not reblog anything else, or give updates on their aid situation (like a normal user would). Also, if you look at their pinned posts, most have comments/replies turned off, and or have comments deleted/removed. I wonder why? :) Here is a comprehensive guide on how to spot these scams.

Thank you to @kyra45 for providing the list. I just wanted to provide the explanation(s) so people are aware of what exactly these people are trying to do and/or how they are 'scamming' others.

Note: Most evidence linked will be call out posts that can usually be found by searching an accounts username on tumblr. If you are suspicious of an ask you receive, I suggest you search their username to see if they've been reported by other users! If you have the time. please take a moment to report the PayPal connected to these scam accounts. Thank you!

----------

Insulin Scams: A guide on how to spot it and where it came from.

@lastdosesworld - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@diabeticpandemjckryptonite > @gaza-diabetes-childrenhelp - Insulin Scam - NOT vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@androgynousharmonyavenue > @toopeanutsweets - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@bitchygardenarcade > @holywerewolfgiver Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@colorfulgladiatordelusion - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@perfectpiratewonderland - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@happyladyparadise - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@furryreviewearthquake - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@gladysconnoisseurpost -Insulin Scam - NOT vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@Generalladypeaces > @deliciouslightpenguin - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@foggyruinspost - Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@daregosh - Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Story stolen. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@cleversuitsoul - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

----------

@janeursular-bakir > @gaza-family1 - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. Evidence it's a scam: here

@esta-0 - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@magicalbluebirdkitty - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@a-mother-of-gaza - Evacuation Scam -Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@family-of-gaza - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@reallyuniquedaze - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@maximumtriumphmagazine - Evacuation Scam - Stole images from a real artist. Artist confirmed via e-mail not related. Uses fake gofundme for asking donations. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@perfectlovercat - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@makozh - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@boldlynumberonejellyfish - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@al-rasher - Evacuation Scam - Fake GoGetFunding campaign. - Evidence it's a scam: here

----------

@nishverian - Medical Scam - Reported to be using pictures of the filipina actress claudia barretto. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@tinytreewombat - Cancer Scam - Not vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@cherrylydia - Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@dimoral - Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@hltabdallah - Medical Scam - Uses stolen images. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

[waiterwaiterpercolator]

Maxwell-o is a scammer who has ripped off the gofundme of Manuel Fajardo, who is battling leukaemia.

They have already conned over $600 out of people who haven't done due diligence and checked the donation link, which is a paypal and leads to a name which is definitely not Manuel's.

Here is Manuel's real gofundme. Please share this link instead and report & block maxwell-o.

[leidensygdom]

Commission scams: A guide on how to avoid them and find legit artists

Hello! I am writing this guide in order to hopefully help people spot scammers and art thieves, to teach people how to deal with them and to give people ways to actually get real artists for commission work.

For those who do not know, there is a recurring, extremely widespread type of scam where someone will advertise their commissions using stolen artwork, or (sometimes) traced or AI-generated pictures. This started (as far as I know) on Twitter, but it is currently in all sorts of social media (I have found them in Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Tumblr) and also on Discord servers, often large Discord servers requiring no invites or that are easy to find through Discord advertisement places.

These do obviously hurt both, the people seeking to buy a commission (who will either get their money stolen, or given a product that is not of the quality that was advertised), and the artists whose work is being stolen, who are not getting the work themselves. It is important for people to learn how to identify these people, and to quickly take action when possible. This post is kind of lengthy, so please press the Keep reading button below for the full guide! (And please do share this post around if possible- This is a very common scam and I have met far too many people who have fallen to it or have got their art stolen due to it, including friends and myself.)

So, how do they work? (in Social media)

In my experience, a lot of these scammers either run multiple accounts or are part of a larger scheme, operating in organized groups that follow similar tactics. They will very often use automated means to advertise en masse. Those in social media will make accounts that post some example artwork, often with a myriad of tags, in styles that do not match (see first example, featuring my stolen art :'')). They very rarely post anything that isn't stolen artwork, or have any actual real following they interact with properly. They will then very often spam heavily through replies (such as it happens in Twitter), posting hundreds of really similar messages in a short period of time. In the second example, you can see an account from one of these scammers that is using automated posts to garner attention, which are shared by similar accounts (notice the same exact wording between the first and third post). The third example (in the Replies tab) shows how one of this accounts replies "Hi" to every single message they get.

They will often seek posts from people who are searching for commissions, answering them (often with a "I do commissions, DM me") or other variants of that. (They often only share their "art" on DMs to not be caught stealing by the original authors.) You can see an example of that on the first screenshot below. On Twitter, Instagram and pretty much any place where you can DM people, they may also come to your DMs, often starting with a "Hello" or something so you answer to them, and then they will suddenly share their commission information (as seen in the second picture).

In any case, they rarely have publicly available commission sheets, and will only disclose their prices on DMs. They may share more stolen artwork in there. From there on, they will often speak in fairly broken English, and try to lead you to commission them. They will haggle the prices if they can- But they tend to be fairly steep, with them going up to $300 a fullbody, which tends to be unusual in people without a fairly established following or popularity.

They will often give you a payment method that does not allow for refunds- Such as sending the money to "Friends and Family" in Paypal. This is actually illegal for commercial work, so if you get an artist telling you to pay them through such a method, please do be incredibly wary: Professionals will use methods that do have an option for refunds.

2. How do they work? (on Discord)

On Discord, they will often enter in servers where there may be a place for them to advertise, or servers available through Disboard and other Discord-community searchable sites. Then, they will often not interact at all with the community itself, but they will jump to advertising channels and post about "seeking for work". I have found out that scammers operating on Discord do only very rarely also have socials, so look out for that. Do reverse searches if you can. Legit artists don't tend to join Discords solely to advertise, so look up "from: [name]" on Discord and check how they have interacted in the server, if they have done that in any way. See the first and second example for an example on how they behave. First example has art from @ydteus (in the second message, the dragonborn's source is unknown.) Second example is from one of these accounts who entered on a Streamers' Discord. Streamers and VTubers are very popular targets for these scammers. Third example (with art from absent_lambeth on instagram, and unknown for the second picture) shows another important point, which I'll explain below.

Many of these scammers do not have solid commission sheets showing examples and prices for them. The third one even mentions "it is under construction", fully knowing a commission sheet is expected. Not every professional artist has them, but most do. It is often expected that people who do commissions will have some sort of Terms of Service at the very least, even if they do not have a commission sheet.

3. What do they do?

They scam you. You may never get any art from them. You may get traced art, or art that is not of the quality they advertised, because the art they used for promotion wasn't theirs on the first place. Or you may get an AI-generated picture, too. In either way: You will find yourself with +$200 less in your pocket and no way to seek a refund. So, it's very important you know how to spot them BEFORE they scam you. I have known people who have lost their money

4. How do I actually spot them?

Simply put, they do not act like normal artists would. Let's make a handy list of suspicious behaviours to look for, though.

Most people who draw commissions won't directly DM you unprompted to ask you to pay them for work. If you get such a DM- Report as spam and block.

Most of them don't act like bots, either. If you're on Twitter or similar pages, seek for extremely repetitive posts, hundreds of Replies in their Replies tab that are copypasted or very similar. If you see that, report as spam and block.

Reverse search is sadly very unreliable nowadays, but it does not hurt to try. A lot of them will modify the picture so it doesn't show in reverse search, but try it- And seek if it links to a different account with a different name.

As an ESL, I hate to say this, but the grand majority of them have really broken English, so look out for that. Not every person with broken English is a scammer, but it is something common amidst them. You will notice they fail to communicate general information. Try to ask them for Terms of Service, for example: They will probably be unable to provide you anything (if they do even understand you.)

You will rarely find them on your own unless you frequent specific tags, such as "commission" or "openforcommission". Or even using completely unrelated tags in their posts. I found one of them using a tag about someone's death to cop violence on their anime art. These people mostly only interact with their fellow scammers, but not with artists you'd find through other means.

As mentioned above, they won't provide you a payment method that allows for refunds the grand majority of the time. If someone tells you to send them money "as friends and family" in Paypal, or through something life Ko-fi's donations (although this one is rare), do not pay them. This is a general advice: Do not use payment methods that do not allow refunds for people you don't know.

Ask them for a commission sheet, a webpage, their Terms of Service and other things. Professionals should be able to provide at least one of these, usually.

5. What do I do if I find out they have stolen art/if my art has been stolen?

If you have found stolen art, let the original artist known ASAP if you can find them. Ask for help from friends if you cannot find them.

If you're the artist, DMCA claim. Every page has it, it is required for them to have it. If you search "dmca form (and the website's name)", it should show up. Bsky only has it in mail form right now, but it's there. A DMCA claim is a Copyright claim, and as long as you can show that you posted your picture somewhere before they did, you can do it. The form may seem scary, but it is not all that much. They will ask for your legal full name, address, a mail + a telephone, the url of the post stealing your art, an url to where you posted it first, and to sign/agree to some terms. DMCA claims tend to be processed swiftly (in about a day) because websites can get in trouble if they allow for copyrighted content to be stolen. And you actually do have rights to any picture you have created without needing to trademark it or anything.

You may also want to ask your friends to help you report the account and/or posts. Often, reporting it for spam will give you the best results. DMCA claims will take down the offending posts, but sadly, reports in most major places are rarely taken seriously, but they may limit an accounts' reach or auto-flag it as spam in DMs, so it is still a fairly effortless option to follow. DO still DMCA claim them though.

6. Where do I actually find real people to commission?

Your best bet is through other real people. Let me explain some good methods for this.

Do you have friends who are artists? Ask them if they have commissions open, or if they know other people who take them. Artists almost always know other artists, and they can quickly find you someone you can trust.

Did a friend of yours get a commission? Ask them who was it from if you like the style, and they may be able to get you a link to their social media!

Do you follow artists for any sort of content you're interested in? (General art, fanart/fandom stuff, people you look up to, etc). You can check their work first and see if they have commissions, or if they share art from other people, and then check those.

Scammers really don't partake in fandoms or have art-related posts go viral (some get some follower-begging bait going viral, but that's it). Chances are that, if you found a cool art in your dashboard or timeline, it is from a real artist.

I think places such as VGen need verification for artists and have ratings. I am not personally experienced with it, but you may want to check that out.

You can always ask people to double check with you if you found someone but are doubtful about them being legit. If you are part of any community, do ask there! If you have artist friends, tell them! A lot of artists are acquittanced with the scam issue.

I have seen people do lists of artists available for commissions in places such as bsky, too. These can be an option, but always do verify that the people doing the list in the first place do seem like an actual person.

Ending notes

This is a very long post, but I really wanted it to be very thorough. I would greatly appreciate if you could share it around, as it is a very widespread issue that not many know how to identify. If you do find out scammers in Discords, please DM the servers' admins and link them to this post so they can get banned, in order to prevent scamming and art theft.

If you have any question or you need someone to help you verify an artist being legit or a scammer, my DMs are open for that too. I have talked about this a bunch in other places and I am fairly experienced with these cases, and I would be very happy to be able to lend a hand and find you an artist, if you do need the help. Thank you for reading!