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Scammers
target Kauai artists
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Although hardly a new phenomenon,
online and email scams continue to proliferate and still
catch some people unaware. KSA reminds all artists to use
special caution, especially with any unsolicited online
contacts. While no one wants to lose a possible sale, and it
can, initially, be hard to tell if a potential purchaser is
for real, a little care and common sense can save you a lot
of time, and possibly money and/or your artwork.
Since it is often hard to tell if
an initial inquiry is legitimate or not, and no one wants to
lose a possible sale, it is always best to respond in a
friendly, professional manner. Sometimes there are obvious
signs from the beginning that a scam is being attempted and
the inquiry can just be ignored. Other times it may not be
obvious until the actual transaction takes place, with phony
checks or money orders received.
If you have any doubts about an
inquiry, and you have access to the internet, it's a good
idea to always search online first, something like "art
purchase scams," and do a little research yourself. It can
save you a lot of time and, potentially, your money and/or
artworks.
The information here was quickly
thrown together from several online sources and personal
feedback and tips from Kauai artists. Anyone with helpful
information or updates about other scams going around, KSA
would like to hear about it.
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What to watch for and
what to do...
Here are a few basic suggestions to
avoid being scammed over the internet:
For ANY unsolicited email
contact:
- Use caution and common
sense.
- Never let yourself feel rushed
to finalize a transaction.
- Never give out any confidential
financial or personal information.
- Never accept overpayment for
which you must refund ANY amount. YOU are the one selling
something. You should NEVER have to send any money to
anyone in connection with a purchase of your art.
- Assume any check, money order,
etc may be a fake. This may not be discovered by your
bank for days, weeks, or even longer. You will lose any
artwork or money sent in return for a fake check. On top
of that you may also be charged a bounced check fee by
your bank.
- Be cautious with anyone
contacting you from a generic email account (like yahoo),
from a foreign country, or unable to give you some
verifiable identity.
- Other red flags include poor
spelling and grammar, interest in multiple works, wanting
to arrange shipping themselves, or not having correct
information about you or your work (asking about your
sculptures when you are a painter for instance).
- Again, searching for
information about scams online can save you a lot of
valuable time and more. There are many websites that
discuss email scams, and even some that deal specifically
with this type of art scam. This site, although in the
U.K., has some good, brief, basic information:
http://www.theartistsweb.net/wiki/Art_Scam_Email
Some other good tips came in from
KSA members on how to deal with these types of potential
scams:
- Contact the bank of origin for
any questionable money order, check, etc. to verify it,
BEFORE depositing in your bank. You can avoid the bounced
check fee that way.
- Saving the emails and the
addresses, etc of scammers is key to hopefully tracking
down and stopping these kinds of scams.
- Report the incidents to the the
email service provider (they have teams set up to fight
illegal on-line operations) and the federal government
who has an on-line reporting site for such
incidents.
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