Spam, Spool and Con of Artists

Have you ever gotten an email like this:
I would like to see your available art work so that I can show it to my client who want to buy. Send available art or painting picture to me in my box so that I can forward it to my client who are in need of it .

Be wary of emails from someone claiming to be an agent for a buyer. Increasingly there are scam emails targeting artists. These scams often involve sending you a cashier's check for an amount greater than the value you requested for your item. You are then asked to refund the difference only to later find out that the check was a fake. Don’t be fooled by these come-ons.

Here’s another example:

I have  forwarded the picture of your art to my client and he had choose the selected one that i attached with my email to you  and i will like to know the price of all this art and as i said in my previous mail that I am acting as agent to my client who are in need of this item. He is the one willing to pay for the item not me he is using his business cheque to pay for this item and also he's using his shipper to come and pick it up from you and he wanted to add the shipper fees to your  item money so that you can deduct your fees and let me know as soon as the cash the cheque so that i can inform his shipper to come and do the pick up of the item from you and i will let you know what to do with the balance of the money that is with you which is the shipper money. You can pack the item for him. .Do get back to me with required details from you so that i can forward it to him to issue the cheque to you.

The following tips, compiled by Brian Willis of Zhibit.org will help you deal safely online.

• Deal locally whenever possible. Try talking to the person on the phone. Often their tone of voice will tell you a lot.
• Do not accept cashier’s checks from unrecognized institutions as these can be found to be fake.
• Use PayPal as an additional layer of protection between you and the buyer.
• Avoid phishing scams intended to direct you to a fake website so that your login credentials can be obtained. If an email claims that a financial account of yours (e.g. PayPal) was disabled or that a charge you don't recognize was applied to it and then asks you to login, it is most likely phishing. Consider all links in emails suspect! To be sure you are not redirected to a phishing site, always type the address of the website directly in your browser's address bar. This is especially important when accessing financial websites, such as PayPal or your bank account.
• Always use your own personal computer to access your online accounts. There are programs out there that can record keystrokes or even take snapshots of the computer screen. A public computer may be infected with such malware without your knowledge.
• Never ship the item until the payment is cleared and secured in your account.
• Do not display your email address on your website. Instead, whenever possible, use a web form to enable your visitors to contact you. Some commercial website builders like Zhibit.org offer this option. Similarly, use care when posting your email address in other areas of your site, in description fields or in your blog.
• When in doubt, there is no doubt ! Avoid deals that sound too good to be true or too complicated.

Watch out for the small print in competition entry forms. The following information was supplied by Jeffrey R. Brosbe. It appears in a similar format for more & more art competitions, especially but not exclusively with web entry for photography.

LICENSE: By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable perpetual non-exclusive license to Authorized Parties, to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: Display at a potential exhibition of winners; publication of a book featuring select entries in the Contest; publication in National Geographic Magazine or online highlighting entries or winners of the Contest. Entrants consent to the Sponsor doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant's "moral rights" in their entries. Display or publication of any entry on an Authorized Party's website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to Authorized Parties the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.

This license surrenders your rights to your work by just entering the image. You could win nothing and be given no recognition ever, but your work could then be reproduced on every website, calendar, advertisement, etcetera which is related to the contest without giving you any compensation or even name credit for your work. We recommend you protest to the entity sponsoring the competition if their powers go beyond what is reasonable. You have the option to boycott all such competitions. Using your image for promotion of the contest should be limited and with credit.

None of these guidelines are alternatives to common sense so always exercise your best judgment when dealing online.