Scam Prevention
Pause. Verify. Protect yourself.
Most scams depend on urgency, confusion, impersonation, or pressure. Taking a moment to verify a person, payment request, link, or offer can protect your money, artwork, account, and personal information.
Scams often look believable at first.
A scammer may pretend to be an artist, commissioner, staff member, friend, buyer, sponsor, or business. They may use stolen artwork, copied profiles, fake screenshots, convincing language, or an urgent story to make something feel legitimate.
You do not need to accuse someone publicly to protect yourself. It is okay to slow down, ask questions, refuse a request, and privately report something that feels unsafe or dishonest.
Common marketplace warning signs.
One warning sign does not always prove someone is dishonest, but multiple signs should make you pause before sending money, files, account access, or personal information.
Impersonation
Someone uses another artist’s name, artwork, screenshots, portfolio, or identity to appear legitimate.
False Urgency
Someone pressures you to pay, click, download, or decide immediately before you can verify anything.
Suspicious Links
Unexpected links, QR codes, login pages, files, or “verification” downloads that do not feel right.
Unclear Payments
Payment instructions change suddenly, avoid documentation, or require a method you are uncomfortable using.
Legitimate people can answer reasonable questions without pressuring you to ignore your instincts.
Watch for fake artists and stolen portfolios.
A polished profile is not always proof that the person behind it created the work they are showing.
Things worth checking
- Does the person have consistent artwork across their accounts?
- Do older posts show a believable creative history?
- Are examples watermarked with conflicting names or identities?
- Do reverse-image searches reveal another artist’s original work?
- Can they answer basic questions about their own process or portfolio?
- Does their commission information match the quality and type of work shown?
Use extra caution when
- A new account offers unusually cheap, high-demand work
- They refuse to show any proof that work is theirs
- They claim to be “too busy” to answer normal questions
- They rapidly change names, payment accounts, or contact information
- Their profile appears copied from another creator
- Their examples look inconsistent in style, quality, or ownership
Watch for fake commissioners.
Creators can be targeted too. A fake buyer may use a commission request to steal work, gain account access, trick someone into sending money, or push harmful files and links.
Be cautious if a buyer
- Offers far more than your listed price without asking normal questions
- Insists on using an unfamiliar payment workflow or strange third-party site
- Sends a payment “screenshot” but no confirmed transaction appears
- Asks you to pay a fee before you can receive payment
- Pushes for rushed work, unusual delivery methods, or off-platform contact
- Requests access to accounts, personal documents, or private contact details
Protect your work by
- Confirming payment through the payment platform itself
- Using invoices, written confirmations, and saved records
- Keeping previews watermarked until payment terms are met
- Refusing requests that require you to send money to receive money
- Not opening unexpected files, QR codes, or login links
- Trusting your boundaries when an offer feels unrealistic or confusing
Never share account-security information.
Do not share passwords, backup codes, two-factor authentication codes, recovery links, payment-account credentials, or identity documents with someone just because they claim to be staff, a buyer, an artist, a sponsor, or a support representative.
If you receive a request involving your account, payment access, or private information, stop and verify it through a trusted official channel before responding.
Before you click, scan, download, or pay.
A short pause can prevent a much larger problem. Use this quick process whenever something feels unusual.
Pause
Do not let urgency decide for you. A legitimate opportunity can survive a few minutes of verification.
Verify
Check the person, account, payment destination, and link through a known and trusted source.
Document
Save relevant messages, profile details, payment requests, and screenshots before anything disappears.
Report
Use Artifact’s private reporting process for serious concerns instead of starting a public callout.
Protect your personal information.
Marketplace scams can involve more than money. Be careful with information that could be used to access, impersonate, pressure, or identify you outside the community.
Identity Documents
Only provide documents through an authorized verification process when you understand why they are required.
Private Details
Do not casually share your address, personal phone number, banking details, or other sensitive information.
Files and Downloads
Be skeptical of unexpected files, installers, archives, QR codes, or links that require a login.
Account Access
Never give another person access to your Discord, email, payment account, or social-media account.
Report concerns privately. Do not create public callouts.
Public accusations can spread misinformation, expose private details, escalate harassment, or interfere with an active review. Preserve evidence and submit it privately through Artifact’s reporting process instead.
Reports should focus on facts: usernames, links, screenshots, dates, payment records, and what happened. Do not edit evidence in a way that removes important context.
Artifact’s role.
Artifact can review reported behavior involving community rules, scams, impersonation, stolen work, unsafe links, and other serious trust-and-safety concerns.
Artifact is not a payment processor, escrow service, legal representative, or guaranteed mediator for every private agreement. Members should use protected payment methods, retain records, and contact the appropriate payment provider or authorities when needed.
Continue exploring.
Learn how scam prevention connects to payment safety, commissioning, selling, and marketplace verification.