A Warning to all Artists and Galleries.

Over the last few weeks I've been contacted via email by two scam artists. At this point it remains to be seen if they're working together but I think they're just working the same territory. It's remarkably smart and stunningly stupid at the same time.

The smart part is they're targeting independent artists who, on average, aren't the most business savvy group around and they only seem to be after your higher priced paintings. The stupid part is in their sloppiness. The first scam began shortly after the website Drawn did a post about me and sent a ton of traffic my way. Perhaps they're fishing around the artists linked there.

Here's how it works. It's a variation on the ol' Nigerian email scam. You will receive an email from out of country. The writer will be very complimentary of your work and will request prices for a multiple piece purchase. In my case it was for 4 paintings totaling $7000. They will often present themselves as successful business people who are looking to buy artwork for their new home.

Believe it or not I was already suspicious as I regularly deal with buyers and the combination of successful business people and art collectors usually adds up to someone who can communicate with ease and clarity. This email had neither. Clue number two was the email address was simply a gmail account. Artists can be quite vulnerable in this situation as it's never a good idea to begin a potential artist/collector relationship by questioning their honesty.

I provided the total price plus an estimate of my shipping costs (I always allow for insurance and shipping costs in my totals). Several hours later I received a reply approving the price and an enthusiastic green light to proceed with the transaction however I need not worry about shipping because it's all arranged and paid for. I provided my contact details and waited for the check to arrive. The next week it shows up in a (clue number 3) envelope with no return address. The check itself was for $9900 - $2900 more than the quoted price (clue number four). Receiving a check for a larger price than you expected is the single biggest red flag to look out for. He gave me some double talk about his accounting department screwing up by sending me the extra money meant for his shipping company - BUT - I could straighten the whole mess by sending the $2900 overpayment via Western Union to his shipper.

His plan got pretty wobbly at that point as I made it very clear that my bank has a non-negotiable policy for holding international checks for a period of three weeks to verify the funds. He seemed disappointed but said he understood. The very next day he phones me (!) and gives me a sob story that he's having a big party at his new house and would like to have the paintings picked up immediately. Now I got really pissed off with this guy and told him point blank that I would not, under any circumstances, release either the paintings or the funds for his shipper until his check to me had cleared. At this point I didn't care if he was legit or not, he was being a prick. What I didn't tell him was I googled the shipping company and their address and it came up empty.

He's tried calling back each day for a week plus regular emails. He may be stupid but he is persistent. Here are a few more things to be wary of: they will promise a "certified cashiers check" and you will get one with big type saying Cashiers Check, but it isn't certified. The check will also be from a different country than he claims to be from (his was from a Florida credit union) and there will not be a bank address or phone number printed on the check to make verifying easier. Also check to see if the postage is from 'his' country.

I'm only midway through this process right now. My bank has not yet said the check is bad but there are just too many problems with this deal, too many sirens. I was going to hold off on this post until it was official but I received a second email this afternoon from a new scammer trying the same thing. That's why I'm posting this now rather than waiting as I'm afraid this may be a new scam aimed at the artist community. I can just imagine some young artist who is so desperate for not only a sale but a big one, could easily get sucked into this. I'm only going to get dinged 35 bucks for a bounced check but hopefully this might help someone else avoid these bastards.

In the end, I may be wrong but I don't think so. If I am, I really owe thing guy an apology.

UPDATE: 5/10/07 - yup, the bank confirmed it, he's a fraud. Beware of a Mr. Samuel James - samueljames2000@gmail.com