I have to share a recent experience as a cautionary tale to freelancers out there hoping to earn a little cash before the holidays. Let this be a warning that there are people out there who have no qualms about preying on your hopes and dreams.
I recently received an email stating that the writer had seen my work on Behance, and was interested in hiring me to do several illustrations. On 11/5/2022 at 3:07 pm [email protected] wrote:
“My name is Deborah. I am an academic event organizer and an Apraxia patient. I got your contact details on Behance. I need the service of an artist or illustrator/cartoonist to work on a project for an upcoming workshop. I will give the idea of what I need to be illustrated/drawn when you get back to me. Warm Regards, Deborah.”
So, after Googling what the heck an Apraxia patient was and not wanting to turn down an opportunity, I replied:
“Hi Deborah!
Thanks for contacting me. I would love to know more about your project to see if my work is a good fit for what you have in mind.
I’m an illustrator and elementary school art teacher in New Mexico, USA. I love to doodle, draw line-work illustrations, letter and Sketch-note. I can work both traditionally or digitally. Current projects include illustrations for a coloring book and a web comic project. If you haven’t done so yet, please visit my website to see more of my portfolio at: https://lizstevensart.com
Feel free to email me if you think my work will be a good fit for your project and we can arrange a phone call or Zoom meeting to discuss the project in more detail.
I look forward to hearing from you!”
I won’t bore you with the entire exchange… suffice to say I was offered $1000 to do 4 illustrations but due to an unrealistic deadline, I negotiated it down to 2 illustrations for the same amount because it was a ‘rush’ job. Ha ha. Yeah, the art of the deal for sure. I’m such a shark.
Deborah, after checking with her ‘sponsor’ agreed, and so I modified a standard illustration contract and emailed it for signatures. I did stipulate in the contract that I should be paid half the money up front. Deborah claimed her sponsor didn’t want to cut two checks. *red flag #1*. Being an eager beaver, I let it ride and got to work on the illustrations because at this point I had just about 10 days to get both the illos finished.
In my defense, once I received the signed contract I did attempt to look up Deborah’s organization – Petersburg Healthcare Center. Here I encountered another red flag, as I was unable to find this organization in New York City – which Deborah had listed as her mailing address. Instead, I found it listed in Virginia which I felt was odd, but not enough to deter me.
Being the dedicated illustrator that I am and realizing that the deadline was now less than a week away, I spent my weekend working up line drawings and a limited color palette for approval. Oh, did I mention that no money had been received yet? Well, the red flags are starting to pile up now, aren’t they?
Fast forward to contracts signed by both parties via Adobe Sign (which is a pretty cool feature of Acrobat & allows you to send a document to all parties via email, and automatically authenticates the signatures, then sends the document on to the next person). When all parties have signed, it sends signed copies to everyone.
Now <rubs hands together briskly> show me the MONEY!
I next received an email from someone calling himself Steven Mark ([email protected]). YES. I KNOW. The gmail address should have been another ?. What legit organization doesn’t have its own email address. Sheesh. I’m just an itty bitty LLC but I’ve got my own .com and email address! Here’s the coup de grace:
The instructions wanted me to open the images on my computer and then use my banking app to photograph the check and deposit it to my bank account. ?Ding dong, darling! The warning sirens are wailing now! Yup, you got it. Did you notice that the amount on the check is ?$850 more than my contract amount? SCAM SCAM SCAM. YOU FAILED TO HEED THE WARNINGS AND HAVE JUST MOVED RIGHT IN TO THE…
Well, at least we got a cool Top Gun/Kenny Loggins break in there. Flashback to 1986. Good Lord. Those were the good old days when we were all on AOL and using dial up internet. (Insert modem sounds here). Big hair, big shoulder pads, big dreams. Deposit that check I dare ya.
Ok so… not wanting to commit fraud, I finally put the brakes on this project. No Christmas Cash, BUT since I am the eternal optimist, I did get a couple of interesting portfolio pieces! Mine all mine, paid for with sweat, disappointment, and a large serving. of CROW. Stop ignoring those red flags ??? Lesson learned.
The last one is pretty ironic, don’t you think? ?
One other good thing came out of this mess… while researching if this was a scam (and yes, this was most definitely an illustrator scam) I came upon this amazing website hireanillustrator.com that had a whole article on email scams and ripoffs that freelancers have to deal with. That’s how ultimately, I confirmed my suspicions that my so-called “client” was actually trying to rip me off. The entire text of that first email I received is directly quoted on the hireillo site! I only wish I’d found out BEFORE I wasted a weekend on artwork that I’ll never get paid for. <sigh> Here’s a link to the article and I recommend you check out the website for lots of great info for illustration freelancers.
If you made it this far, I want to thank you for reading my rant and letting me vent. In closing, I’ll just say what my Dad always used to say… “Caveat Emptor” (let the buyer – or illustrator in this case – beware). So, do your due diligence and check out the client. Ask those hard questions and trust your instincts. My bells were going off from the first email. I should have trusted my gut and done my homework. I should have asked more questions. I should have Googled the text of the email inquiry and found out it was a scam before I replied. Could I sue for breach of contract? Absolutely. But you have to sue a real person, & good luck figuring out who these scammers really are.
I did report it to the bank listed on the check because I checked the routing number and it was real. I didn’t want someone’s real bank account to get ripped off. I had a very entertaining discussion with the bank representative. The account on the check has been closed because this isn’t the first time the scammers have tried this scheme.
Live & learn, my friends. Don’t let this happen to you.
Until next time,
Liz