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  • Writer's pictureSusan Willemse

Online scams you need to be aware of

Updated: Feb 27, 2020


People are using online platforms more and more every day, from social connections, to marketing to selling products and they using personal computers, mobile phones and other platforms. Like every facet of life some do the right thing and others try and gain from doing the wrong thing. Can you imagine a company that trains its staff in copy writing and online scam practices that include templates that are tested to use, sound far fetched? But please read on…

Dating scams

These are particularly nasty as they target the lonely. Contact is usually via social media and they try get you off that platform and into your email as quick as possible because a few dedicated businesses are reporting all such suspicious accounts to platforms for investigation and those accounts will usually disappear as quickly as they arrive. My advice on this is to be wary of low post accounts, out of town occupations (their excuse here is that they have no access to the internet- not so my friends), profiles with no portfolio images, princes, famous musicians... Be wary of strangers asking information how you are, they often don't supply information when you ask back too- my way of accessing how legit a person is. A quick image search on all photographs can often reveal a scam as the names do not match those given, or if you lucky the image search can provide a list of scams that photograph has been used in and this will appear on your search. Often these images have been downloaded from free image sites or stolen online which leads to the next type of scam.

ID theft

Images and personal data are stolen and used to scam others- false social media profiles. The main thing to be wary of is friend and connection invites that are duplicated. Be aware that a person with one account is highly unlikely to send you another invite to connect when you connected already. My advice is to ignore all duplicate invites or connect with that contact and inform them of the duplicate account so it can be reported and removed. Occasionally people will have more than one for business and they will be happy to state this, but with high number contact accounts a verified tick may indicate the original. These can get very sophisticated with surveys asking addresses, phone numbers, occupations etc.

Unexpected winnings, attempts to obtain your bank details

These can be quite crafty, you have won- FB has selected…, but you haven’t entered any competition. These operate on all platforms- Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and FB. Personally entering any completion online can lead to a barraged of email clutter or spam from hard marketing tactics so certainly if you haven’t entered a competition do not respond, links for you to click can contain computer viruses and under no circumstance ever give out bank details. A huge amount of online purchases now use PayPal, Stripe, Square, these are safer but are also open to scammers which leads to the next type of scam.

Over payment scams

PayPal and other payment methods can be used for these, the customer/ scammer overpays you with stolen credit card money and then asks you to send the over payment to a bank account. You send the money and the original money is paid back too once it is discovered it is stolen, leaving you minus the over payment. Waiting specified bank clearing times is advisable on all transactions before shipping art due to this reason as well. This is the reason I have now had to add a PayPal over payments statement to my website as well https://susanwillemse.wixsite.com/artaustralianbirds/return-and-refund-policy-faq as artists are often targeted in these types of scams, only credit on further purchases can be offered. Don’t overpay PayPal, you will be frowned upon too.

Beneficiary scams

These are particular annoying and are often sent via email with standardised templates, your long lost relative is dead and we need to pay… confidential, please supply your bank details and they get better after the first have been deleted, this is the FBI and we are investigating the beneficiary scams of such and such a country. Know that FBI does not need your permission to investigate these, they are not all from Nigeria- they operate from all over the world, the emails are also suspicious if you hover over them – they appear to be hacked accounts and not the same person that is given in the letter as the email, and the spelling is of poor quality, again military and ship captains are very suspicious. Know that ships have better satellite telephone connections than your home lines and access to banks on board. Mark all as scam, if they persist do what another artists do and send them forward to other scammer’s to overload their email inboxes or add a Donation button to one of your profiles and refer them on but never think a load of money ever is offered free to you- this does not happen and I highly doubt a solicitor would contact an individual by email, rather they will contact your bank, who will then ask you to come into a branch with proof of who you are.

Grant and residency scams for artists

Nasty because none ask for bank details but be wary if you have not applied for any. This method works because after you have set an account up for them they ask you to pay money to them to receive yours. Loans are also dangerous and interest rates higher than banks is the way these companies profit, you don't ever pay someone for a Donation, Loan or Beneficiary allowance- they pay you. The websites are newly set up- yes you can check online and often are just landing pages. Worse is people trying to convert illegal cash into legit cash, so you can be sure that funds sent will be requested back in the future, fine print like should the monies paid not be used for the purpose given... This is why new platforms like Patreon exist for artists that are unsure of a which partners to work with. My advice to other artists is to apply for a few Grants and Residencies to see the process entailed, when more is offered than requested this is suspicious as well, some will have entry fees but many will not.

Residency scams are operated in two ways, firstly the residency is substandard and a few artists have landed up in drug hotels- not acceptable but they have lost funds to accept. The other method is art competitions that are actually created to make profit without ever rewarding any artists for their work. Always choose partners, sponsors and opportunities wisely and research offers as much as others research you. Gallery's should also be researched as well.

Threats

Report these to the police immediately or to your local scam watch- they are particularly evil. In Australia https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/ writes on these giving examples, they give statistics of those affected and you can report these here too, but know avoidance is better as some authorities will find it difficult to prospect outside their jurisdiction. Of particular note is the ato or Australian Tax Authorities, many Australian business are targeted each year by those acting as official government sites, ignore all emails like this and contact your government department from a phone number provided on your documentation, the scammers can create quite realistic “updated” government websites too.

Online work opportunities

Beware of online jobs that make you money offers- the pyramid schemes- they all fold long term and are rather outdated, many coaches are actually just making a living off you buying their online products be it digital or a physical product. Make sure that what is offered is received, will you get value for your money, many are really difficult to access to a new marketer but always ask how does this person benefit from my learning and how do I benefit- this is the right kind of affiliated work for freelancers, these are part of life’s lessons and no one can guide you, they can only give you tips to help you, keep learning, subscribe to those that give helpful information and if you unsure- don’t do anything or make any commitment especially if there is a time offer until you have thought the proposal though. Things often become clearer with time and having connections that you can discuss these things with is also invaluable on your learning journey. Help all those you can too for I have always found that those you help always help you too in the future, thus education on these scams is super important to reduce them in the future and the amount of people affected.

Investments

For those that do, do your homework, get professional help, never put all your eggs in one basket, if it sounds very good it may be too good to be true. It you have been scammed do not be ashamed, these are professionally trained people that target you and seek help.

Parcel/ bank card deliveries

If you a business having a postal box is super as the offers of unexpected cards and parcels can be processed there, but again if you not expecting anything find out more before accepting strange parcels, I have declined all so am not sure how these particular scammers benefit. If you do know please email and let me know too, so I can update this blog as well.

New mobile fraud

A sms sends you a Link, you click on this and money is taken off your account without your permission. Whatsapp, Skype, Hangouts all allow scammers to collect your digital voice and images as well, I would recommend getting business offers in writing and avoiding these technologies unless you have a mobile security expert at your disposal and can record the conversation, yes it is possible to generate AI now of a person without ever meeting them and the politician who says I didn't say that after a post goes viral may just be telling the truth. Banking on mobile phones is also very new to avoid the atm scams so you can be sure the scammers are here trying to mastermind a perfect way of cash generation as well. Remember the less they receive- the less it is reported and the worst it gets, hundreds of $1.00 can add up quite quickly, whereas the larger amounts often activate fraud department investigations and mean a higher risk of getting caught for a scammer, thus a small sum of cash suddenly disappearing from a account is a lot more significant than a large sum.

Lastly

Charity scams

You will note I have a Donation button on my website, but would it not be better to support your local artist buy purchasing their art, music or attending a performance? They love to give in return for your support. I would encourage everyone who donates at tax time or after natural disaster events to choose theirs wisely, yes there have been sad cases of the charity actually earning more than the organisation they represent and yes it does take money to market but those that go directly to the people/ things you want to Donate towards are always better. Has your organisation been operating for a long time? Charity is a marvellous way to help but there are those that use the kind hearted givers for their scams too, like the sale of car tickets that are never drawn for a good cause. A good way to monitor this is to check winners actually receive their prizes, if they don’t its fraud- report them and learn a little about your charity.

Thus to sum up, this is by no means detailed and just a summary of what I have learnt in the last 2 years of my art practice but you can

Question everything even if it starts to feel like detective work

Do the obvious things like passwords etc

Learn what to suspect and be suspicious of

Don’t be obedient to demands

Don’t be blinded by extravagance and show

Report these scams and educate others to the dangers

Share this blog to someone that could benefit

Value your personal details and only add online what you are prepared to share

Connect and share this information with a network of like minded people

To all the other businesses in Australia and overseas- online and off,the artists, coaches and Gallery owners, bankers and lawyers I have met: Thank you for your tips and guidance as well- you know who you are! Passing your help forward to others for I now joke about the stages of a artists marketing career- the dating stage 1, the can I see your photograph stage 2, the high number of lost relatives stage 3 and all the stages in between- it's super funny some days and I am glad that medical research work has awarded me a curious mind that notices and questions that which is around me, but it is also sad that this is the reason many don't share their artworks online #passingforward #onlinescaminformation #forartists #forbusinesses

To the scammers may you all find something more valuable to do for you have skills that can be appreciated in legit business- you can network, connect and know your way around a computer and value IT- social skills, have you considered marketing, every business would appreciate your skills worldwide- so why not do the right thing- if your employer appears suspicious and asks you to do the wrong thing- leave, they are not worth working for- there is scam marketing and there is marketing, the police, banks, hospitals would prefer your IT security skills more and you could be proud to be part of this global online community too. Something that is worth your work takes time to build and create, short term gain is never beneficial in the long run and scamming people leaves many distrusting, without and sad. Plan for a better future, give not just take- it takes the same amount of effort. You all can be valuable contributors to your communities and societies, it is a choice you all have. Hoping you make the right decision.


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