How to tell if you are being scammed

How to tell if you are being scammed


Published On: 03-03-2012 02:36pm

Comments: 7 - Hits: 191

Category: How To

Today was another round of scam e-mail coming at us from parts unknown, (well I could have known the parts if I'd read the headers, but really there's no use in that, they'll just come from somewhere else next time)

And, as always, shortly after they go out, there's someone new to the world of online selling who gets their hopes up (understandably) panics (also understandable) or worse: falls for it. 

Some people go to the forums to ask "What do I do about this?" quoting the e-mail. Which, when in doubt, is probably the best place to go for peer help. The community here on ArtFire is very helpful and friendly, and since we are all over the world, there's usually someone awake on the forums who can help you no matter what time you post your question, so if you are ever in doubt, you can pretty much rely on a quick, helpful answer.

But the thought occurred to me that it might be handy to write up a little something to help you identify this common scam easily and save yourself some drama.

so here's a little list of things to look for:

1) These e-mails will rarely address you by name, or when they do they will make some obvious mistake, such as incorrect personal pronouns or titles.  like referring to you as "artisan" or "seller" or "artist"  instead of your name, or using 
Mr. (your extremely girly sounding name no one could mistake for a guy) 
or 
Mrs. (your extremely manly nomenclature, like Butch Craftthighs, for example (which would be a great name for a band, btw))

OR either Ms or Mr JEWELZONGOLD (using your shop name as if it was your proper name.) 

2) They refer to you as a *insert thing you don't carry do or make or you did make and have one of in your studio but clearly that's not what you mainly do* artist or crafter.

For instance I have 2 collage pieces in my studio, it's not really what I do, and there's two out of  228 items. So warning bells sound when someone refers to me as a "collage artist" I like collage, I find it interesting and fun, and I think the collage artists on ArtFire do some great work...not knocking collage here at all, but it's clearly not what I do for the most part so being referred to as a collage artist tells me that the person just searched collage, found one of my pieces ( one of the most expensive I have up... which I will touch on later) and didn't look at anything else.

So let's say you mostly sew, but you have one knitted hat and the e-mail addresses you as a knitter. Well, no, mainly your shop is centered on fabric not fiber and if they actually saw your shop they'd know you were a seamstress. Or you have two vintage items but mostly you sell new supplies... If some referred to you as a vintage shop owner, this should make you wary.

(note: this is not always a scam, sometimes it's just someone who is not going very deep into your shop, so when this is present it's important to look for the other signs of scamminess)

3) They are asking questions that make no sense. 
Not stuff like 
"Will it fit my horse?" 
or 
"How many aardvarks did you use to stir the soap base?" 
(those questions indicate a whole other layer of issues that there is not enough coffee in the world for me to get into). 

I mean stuff that doesn't really need asking. Like;

-Is the item still for sale? (of course it is, or they wouldn't be seeing it in your shop)
-What size/color/medium/... anything that's clearly stated in the description
-Can you take Paypal/propay/amazon (again this stuff is evident on the page, and doesn't really need asking)

The reasons it's important to be wary of things like this, is that these scam emails are often a scripted function, that a person basically tells to look for certain things (sometimes as simple as a price threshold or low sales or the sellers first initial)

questions a human can actually see the answers to in your shop are a key indicator you are dealing with a scripted robot who is searching  by a set parameter, automatically.

4) You have low sales or have hit a sales slump and they are asking about THE MOST or one of the most expensive items in your shop. They are hoping you are desperate enough for a sale to think it is a legitimate nibble. 

You wake up after a month of nothing to find someone inquiring after your $2,000.00 painting, there's a moment when you think "YAY!" (well at least the first time you see this scam after that you see it and go "Yah, right.")

They are hoping you will follow thru on the "Yay!" and respond, eager to get your work into their hands.

5) You are super busy, the orders never stop coming, and they send you one hoping it will fall through your notice as a scam and you, being the excellent god/goddess of customer service that you are will bend over backwards to make ALL your customers happy, thus falling for their scam. These may be worded slightly different and will sometimes come with offers to feature your super successful god-like self in their blog for a nominal fee and a free product.

6) They need to arrange to pick the item up from you.

This is the big one to watch for. This is their attempt to remove the sale from the paper or electronic trail. if you arrange to give them the item in person, there's no tracking record which is key to the scam.

Here's how this scam works:

Scammer finds a sucker, asks to pay by special invoice either through paypal or propay, OR to send you a check or money order (bill me) they tell you they'll be sending someone to pick it up, 

Before the person comes they send you the money, only it's for more than the item and shipping... a lot more, hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Then they either tell you to give whatever is over the amount in cash or check to the person picking up the item. then of course you find their payment doesn't clear or is counterfeit , but they are happily away with your cash. And your item. 

OR the person picks up your item, and then they start a paypal dispute for non delivery. You have no record that it was delivered, you lose the money, and the item, 'cause since you can't prove that the item was picked up paypal will side with the scammer.


Not to mention on ArtFire, these people are never AF members so the email has to be responded to by you from your actual email, giving them you real e-mail address and opening you up for further scams and spam. (That's the trade off for having a site where anyone can buy, member or not...you have to be vigilant when responding to non member emails. It's a fair trade if you know what to look for)


SO here's what you do when you get an e-mail like this.

Ignore it, hit delete and move on. Never respond to them.

 Never agree to hand deliver an item paid for through Paypal unless you personally know the person or have proof it is a legitimate sale.

 Never send an off site invoice for a hand delivered item. If they want to meet in person, tell them to stop at the bank and grab some cash first. 

Or bring your cc takin' smartphone doo-hicker and meet somewhere with free wifi so the sale can be verified immediately 

Meet them somewhere public, busy and during the day time (another bonus to making the sale public is other people who may want to buy from you might come over and ask for a business card when they see your beautiful item)

If someone wants you to expend the effort to come meet them with the item, they can expend the effort to stop by the ATM. 

Never allow them to send you a check first or invoice them thru paypal if it's not going to ship in a verifiable manner or they aren't willing to wait to meet you till the check clears.

If something sounds to good to be true; etc..

If you have any questions or any other examples of scams, feel free to comment, Let's all pull together to keep ourselves protected!

Reader's Comments

By amyelyseneer on 07/17/2012 @ 03:03pm

I got a new scammer to add to the list, same M/O but actually using a slightly different hook, starts with a mild inquiry none of the usual earmarks till after one responds (I was suspicious so I used a spam catcher addy I have set up for just this sort of thing) anyway, beware emails from "mckainjean(at)yahoo(dot)com" even though this is more than likely a hacked account.

By PrettyGonzo on 05/08/2012 @ 09:14am

This is a great blog article! Thanks for sharing the information.

By YoursTruli on 05/08/2012 @ 09:08am

Excellent post with a lot of good points to watch out for! It is really great of you to get the word out to other ArtFire sellers who might receive this type of email on here, or even elsewhere. There seems to be a rash of these scam emails on ArtFire lately and it would be awful if anyone fell for one of these scams. Thanks for this :) YoursTruli

By ShadowDogDesigns on 05/08/2012 @ 08:56am

Here's one I just got. The email yesterday, requesting information about a necklace, seemed legit - I replied to it. The I got this email this morning: "Al rite no problem am going to pay you through Bank Certified Check.So the payment will be mail out to once i have details.Notice item is needed urgently am going to arranged the item pickup by my self by sending my private shipper should come and pickup the item from you once the payment get clear....Contact me with the present state of the item and your contact information to mail out the payment to you as soon as possible.Name you want on check: Home Address: City,State: Phone Number/Office Number Waiting for your responding asap Thank's" Have deleted the email.

By Designs-in-Stained-Glass on 04/18/2012 @ 08:25am

It is still around, I responded to it, not sure if it was a scam or not. The folks on the forum and Artfire service have all been helpful. I just hope I haven't violated my e mail or Artfire account. Yeah I am all about customer service, but it did not feel right, after my response to them. As they say...Go with your gut feeling.

By amyelyseneer on 03/28/2012 @ 11:45am

Webgems, the email you described on the forums is definitely a scam. The common usage of "oceanographer at sea" has been around for a long long time. Stop all communication with him, do not give him any paypal info. Several of us got these from this exact person just this morning. This particular rash of scam emails seem to have been focusing on low sale shops. So it's Because you haven't made any sales yet that he sent you this email, he is looking for shop owners desperate enough to fall for it. Do not reply, and change you email/paypal passwords if you did.

By webgemsltd on 03/28/2012 @ 10:52am

Amy, thanks for the blog info, I really feel that this is possibly one of them, I don't know why, I've never been scammed before. My artist friend who paints wacky things has requests from men who want to come over to have their shoes painted (she does that LOL) but she refuses. I will keep the request and see if he follows up with my offer to make him another, I will bill him through Pay Pal, wait for confirmation then I will arrange to have my tall, bald, tatooed friend meet with whomever at a local bar and sign a receipt of transfer, with them providing a permission slip to pick up if they follow through. That would cover me for Pay Pal. It struck right to the heart when you said they look for someone with no sales and pick the most expensive item, fortunately that is the one item I'd hate to give up, I think I will make another one just in case LOL. I've been on Artfire forever and have never had a sale...sniff...thanks for your help. Web Gems Ltd. P.S. Tis the season, You should have this info sent to all members for their protection.

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