Autism Recognizes Autism And Jumin Han Looks Very Familiar

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD. They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

Not long ago I saw someone say Jumin can't be autistic because he "knows how to socialise" and that is a very bold statement because listen. When he's working he is masking. He's following rules and scripts. He's being formal and using taught etiquette and applying tried and tested business strategies. He has figured out how he should be handling surface interactions but has made one actual friend off his own back in 27 years and everyone else he is close to he is close to through association. He struggles with empathy and he rubs people the wrong way by being too blunt in times where it's inappropriate then not understanding what he did wrong. He gets people to explain jokes to him and has a very dry and literal sense of humour that a lot of people don't find funny. Part of his public image is that he's aloof and keeps to himself. And you think he has no social difficulties?

SALT... THE ENEMY... Commission for @yourfriendphoenix !!! THANK YOU BESTIE AAA For anyone interested in me drawing y'all's silly goobers, I WILL!!! PLEASE!! PAY ME TO BLESS OR CURSE YOUR OCS [OR FAVORITE/LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTERS]!! TELL YOUR ENEMIES AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!

Also go check out @yourfriendphoenix 's account. BRO MAKES FANTASTIC CREATIONS!!!

HELLO, HUMANS AND NONHUMANS. I am here to declare that I have $0.08 USD to my name, and I am now asking nicely for sacrifices--I mean commissions.

Please, humans (and nonhumans), I will draw your scrunklies and your mortal enemies, fandom or OC. Pride chibis are also an option, and are available all-year-round in case you miss this month.

LET ME DRAW YOUR WAIFUS, HUSBANDOS, ETC. I WILL DRAW YOUR SPARKLE DOG. PLEASE. I BEG OF THEE.

Cheapest thing is $10 if you're curious, and I take PayPal and CashApp!

Lol, thank you for your time - the Void Lord whom has zero dollars and eight cents https://the-void-lord.carrd.co

YO THIS FANART IS SO FREAKING GOOD

I'm absolutely obsessed with the book of bill, best thing i've ever read and it no joke gave me actual nightmares !! 100/10

Posting these since Discord isn't an image hosting website anymore and I need these for my Art Fight bio lol Images in order: 1. My Art Fight bio intro! 2. solacedrew (AF user) 3. Rebbekxh (AF user) 4. Avvy_The_Bee (AF user) 5. Angelic-Pudding (AF user) 6. sleepy_detective (AF user) 7. YourFriendPhoenix (AF user) 8. RhythmSong (AF user) 9. LoganRae13 (AF user) 10. Sunshowercreations (AF user) 11. Luwise2001 (AF user) 12. pastelgothboy (AF user) 13. Paxident (AF user) 14. Dangangeek (AF user)

Did I ever show y'all my Sonic OCs? I showed Art Fight and Toyhou.se, but I think I forgor this place lol. Anyways, one was made by Eggman and the other works for Eggman. I'd love to hear which y'all think is which lol.

Control (he/him) is besties with Crystal (she/her). I've had them as OCs for AGES. [Crystal was my very first OC].

ORIGINAL/OLD DESIGNS (VERY OLD ART) UNDER THE CUT!

Bro their designs hurt my EYES lolol. Thank GOODNESS they don't look like this anymore. Also, before anyone calls Crystal a Sonic recolor, that is factually incorrect; she was a Sonia recolor, lol. I was really obsessed with Sonic Underground as a kid. I am so happy with their redesigns because back then they were too much lol. ALSO THEY ARE NOT A SHIP ANYMORE! DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE OLD ART! Also, Crystal went through SO MANY redesigns, while Control only went through one because it was an immediate success. Here is just a few of Crystal's many other redesigns...

Like, this one? Not bad, but just a little much and slightly festive.

At least it was better than... Oh God save me from this next past design...

THAT'S NOT HER THAT'S JUST A CHEERLEADER WHAT WAS I THINKING 😭😭😭

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH CRYSTAL!?!?!??

Lol maybe I should make a second blog for reblogging fandom stuff

If that's possible lol

But idk how to do that on mobile

Oh well ^^

rb to explode a terf ^_^ nonrefundable ^_^

team sonic and team dark end up on the same place for different missions, everyone gets separated and tails and shadow end up together. shadow threatens the bad guys with his handgun and tails gives him the most disappointed 8 yo look he can muster and goes, "really? can that toy even harm a chao??" to which shadow replies, "you got any better ideas fox boy?" and tails just pulls out a really bright yellow n cyan coloured missile launcher twice his size out of nowhere and says, "yea."