I’ve already written about the art scammers, who contacted me through my website, and Daily Paintworks back in January. I thought they had gone away, but they’re back. I want you to know what to look for if you’re approached by these scammers. Here’s what was sent to me last week through my contact form here on my site..
Name: Mathew Duncan
Email: mathewduncan79@gmail.com
Website:
Comment: Greetings!
My name is Mathew Duncan from Washington DC. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work. I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to purchase a piece of artwork (16×20 Acrylic Landscape Painting on canvas – Time Tested $325.00), if it is available and ready for sale as a surprise to my wife on our anniversary. Also, let me know if you accept check as mode of Payment.
Thanks and best regards.
Time: April 11, 2016 at 3:20 am
IP Address: 105.112.18.90
Contact Form URL: http://katiejeannewood.com/contact-katherine/
Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.
This almost looks legit, which is why I’m warning you about it. If I hadn’t been contacted by scammers before, I wouldn’t have picked up on it. You know how I know this is a scam? Because it has the exact same lines in it that the other scammer sent me. His wife likes my artwork, and looked at it on his laptop, just as Handy’s wife did. These men really should password protect their laptops. They have some wild, out of control women, who visit my site all the time. Also, like the other scammers, he picked one of my largest and most expensive paintings available.
I’ve always wanted to be a private detective when I grow up (for real), but I guess I’ll have to settle for playing one on the internet. I decided to dig a little deeper into this. If you contact anyone through WordPress, we automatically get sent your IP address at the bottom of the email..you can see it up there ^. 99.9% of the time, I pay no attention to anyone’s IP address, but since I’m 100% sure this is a scammer, I wanted to see where “Mathew” was really writing me from. I had a strong hunch he wasn’t writing from DC.
You can look up any IP address for free. I choose to use the first two sites after doing a Google search for “IP lookup”. On both sites, his address came back as Nigeria, Africa. Need I say more? I typed “scammers” into my Bing search bar and “scammers in Nigeria” was the first thing to pop up.
We all want to make sales, and it’s always exciting to think someone likes our work. However, if someone isn’t clicking the Buy Now button, and asking you to take a check instead, it could be a sign you’re dealing with a scam artist. I’ve had a no check or money order policy for years because I don’t want to take any chances.
If he can write me a check for the painting, why can’t he use his debit card to purchase it through Paypal? Makes no sense. If someone doesn’t have a debit card to go with their checking account, it’s highly suspicious.
After I wrote the last post about art scammers I got an email from an artist who thanked me for writing it. She said she had been scammed by Handy..the same guy who tried to scam me in January. She did a Google search, and found my blog post. She’s now in the process of getting back thousands of dollars. He did the old “I’ll send you a check for much more than the painting is priced, and you refund the difference.” This scam has been around forever. I was surprised she didn’t know about it. The check he sent her didn’t clear the bank, but the refund check she sent him did. He stole her painting and money. I sincerely wish her the best of luck getting it all back.
If you do still accept checks or money orders for your artwork, make sure it’s made out to the exact amount, and that it clears the bank before you ship the art out. Money orders can be fake, also.
Before this post was scheduled to post, I got yet another email..this one is almost exactly like the first one I received back in January, except this guy’s name is “Paul”, not “Handy”, and he’s from CA, not MA…
Name: Paul Moore
Email: pmoore525@gmail.com
Website:
Comment: Greetings!
My name is Paul Moore from California. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work, I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, : ) You are doing a great job. I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you. I am very much interested in the purchase of the piece (in subject field above) to surprise my wife. Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales.
Thanks and best regards,
Paul Moore
Time: April 18, 2016 at 1:51 am
IP Address: 172.102.215.5
Contact Form URL: http://katiejeannewood.com/contact-katherine/
Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.
This IP address came back as Miami, FL, which is a long way from CA, but I can see how you could get the two states mixed up. smh
If you are getting the same messages sent to your inbox, and you think there’s nothing you can do about it, there is! Report it to the FBI here, and let other artists know about this scam.
Have you signed up for my newsletter yet? You should! Starting next month I’ll be giving away a painting, each and every month to one of my subbies. Be eligible to win by signing up now..
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