Mermaid, acrylic on Canvass by Tammy Vitale for day 20 of AEM (art everyday month)
For those of you who are stopping in and haven’t been following AEM, I’m working outside of clay sculpture because I work everyday in clay and wanted to use the participation in this fun event to stretch myself. It has been awesome. Kat’s Paws is responsible for this wonderful idea and has a list of other participants on her site. Check it out!
Art Scam
The following is taken from a recent email – it is an excellent description of the scam, and yes, I’ve been hit once or twice but never got further than: it costs a lot of money for me to ship to Europe. They are very prompt in responding to emails if they think they can hook you. So be aware and beware and be smart: if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Here’s the description of the scam:
The scam is they love your artwork and want it for their new (house/office/etc) overseas. They are transferring or moving or buying a place … and are in the middle of moving and shipping and it’s basically a crazy time for them. They need the artwork shipped internationally BUT have arranged for your piece to be included in the shipment of their other personal items (so it will be all handled by them (very easy!). They will send you an international cashier¹s check/money order that you can cash at any bank (very easy!) …you wait.
One day, lo and behold, an envelope arrives with checks inside! But as you fan out the money order checks, "oh my, look, a mistake, they sent you WAY TOO MUCH money in the form of these money-gram international cashier’s check things … they sent WAY too much money. Tell them, not tell them, tell them, not tell them (my sculpture was $2550 -they sent $4500) and so you are either greedy and keep quiet (after all it DID come out to be the
British pound exchange rate -close and my customer WAS moving to London, so maybe he assumed I meant BP and paid that much higher amount of course my sculpture is AWESOME. Of course he assumed it was much more expensive, so why don¹t I charge more?!…conversation to "self" continues. Or, you could (like I did) wipe the angel and devil off your shoulders and tell them "hey this is too much". Either way they say in the
end so now YOU are supposed to pay the shippers with the overpayment.
Of course they are in a hurry and want you to wire it since the mistake is a large amount and they are moving. So you take these international checks to your bank and cash them. Surely, they will know if they are real, right?
Not. They, as usual, are put on hold for a few days. Then they even appear to "clear" so you say to yourself, what a crazy story this is, but it cleared so I guess it¹s a real deal. So you wire the shipping/excess money to them minus any fees you have. You wait for pick-up of your piece … which never happens.
Then a few days later the bank contacts you to say the checks were actually fake and you are left holding the bag. There were MANY variations of this story on the internet.
Anyway, my real-looking checks for too much money came yesterday and then the request to (ASAP) send funds to the shipper came today. Luckily the whole thing was such a complicated story I was moving very slowly and was suspicious all along. There was just no WAY I was wiring money anywhere. Plus the bank required a LOT of information that they didn’t give me in the
vague information they did send even if I wanted to wire money.
So I did a "search" and I found a bunch of other similar stories…
So, no sale … but no loss either, thank goodness. Glad I wasn’t greedy, either, or I would be impatiently waiting for a fake $4500 to clear.
Here’s a good link to a blog called Escape from Cubicle Nation: I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, people like me! It’s about being an artist and "making it." I think you’ll enjoy this post.
Threw the work bench fish picture in to remind everyone, while I’m throwing up paintings instead of clay sculpture pictures, that I am for the most part a sculptor, just so you know.
thought for the day: there is enough time, and you do have enough talent. Trust yourself.
3 Comments
I had no idea about that art scam. Man, people are so sneaky sometimes.
Thanks for the link to the inspiring post at Escape from Cubicle Nation!
Hi Tammy,
Thanks for visiting my blog and the comment about my questions. I need the reminder, you know? One time, I questioned WHY i have all these questions (LOL … even that is a question) and why I can't just be ok with the status quo. LOL!
I was created to question and i am ok with that. I think it is the fear of being labeled a trouble maker that bothers me.
I have loved look at your art, your AEM. I am a beginner, just breaking free of my cocoon and learning that I can fly. Isn't it funny that a butterfly doesn't try to crawl back in the cocoon … but I keep slipping back into some cave of non-creativity. ugh.
tammy,
thanks for the heads up; ~I don't sell artwork but it is nice to know about current scams; the sly dogs!!!
Love your painting by the way
http://tinas-space.blogspot.com