Staying Vigilant!
It’s that time of year again …
Cold weather, holidays around the corner, shopping, spending time with family and friends …
And no-good SCAMMERS lurking behind every corner!
I don’t know HOW they seem to find me - but they do! Fortunately, I stay vigilant around the clock, carefully vetting any incoming calls, messages, and emails I may find suspicious. Each time, I learn something new and do my best to get the word out to others about some of these pitfalls!
Here’s how it started.
I’ll receive an email from one of my websites. I’ll call this individual John Doe, for now.
Hello,
How are you today? I hope this email finds you well! This is John Doe, a learning facilitator. I need the service of an illustrator/animator or cartoonist.
.....
Best Regards,
John
Usually, the first red flag would have been poor grammar - as if the person somehow lacks the proper skills in composing a proper sentence. But here, everything seems normal. Now they could have easily used a spell checker or perhaps received additional help from AI with the grammar. I wouldn't be able to tell. So far, so good.
Next email:
Thank you for your interest in this project.
The project is for Montgomery County Schools in Troy, NC
These illustrations are to be used for a presentation in a Workshop coming up soon, the title of the workshop is LEARN ABOUT IT (SAFEGUARD AND AVERTING).
Always Research
The first step I took in verifying this person was downloading their google profile image from the browser and do a reverse image lookup on it. I learned this years ago and to keep me from getting ‘catfished’ on some of those dating sites (which I STILL wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole!)
And where does the Reverse Image search lead me? The results of the search algorithm returned over 40 possible results, with almost a third of the results coming from ‘adult’ sites. Though this is concerning, these scammers could easily use anyone’s image as an imposter, and that innocent person may not be fully aware of it.
Additional Steps
I went straight to Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. to search for the name of the school, and fortunately, I was able to locate it on LinkedIn - this school actually exists, at this particular location in North Carolina. When I researched the school’s website, John Doe actually works there. Seems legit so far. But - still too good to be true!
Now I actually located John Doe’s profile on LinkedIn and noticed that his image here is the exact same image in the school’s website. However, neither image matches the google profile image from the email. I can’t really hold this against them. My WA image doesn’t match my LinkedIn profile, or my WordPress Avatar either. But I noticed, in one of the images, he’s wearing glasses and has a full head of hair, whereas in the other image, he’s not wearing glasses and has a receding hairline. So, I'm still not quite sure about it.
But here’s where I caught them!
I finally decided to google the name of the workshop from the mail, and where does it lead me? To a Reddit forum titled "Scam targeting freelance illustrators" where the discussion contains the EXACT title of the workshop from my email!
I discovered there were hundreds of artists and illustrators like me online, claiming they either received a similar email, years ago, months ago, or weeks ago. The post contained the EXACT body of my email copied verbatim! Others have received the same email! They'll use a different email address, and a different company name that they verified as a real company, with a real company employee who works there, copy & paste, cast out the emails and reel in the fish!
But don’t worry everyone - if this last step had come up short, I would have reached out to Mr. Doe via LinkedIn or Facebook to verify this email conversation with him. My other option would have been to initiate a zoom call with this person to verify their identity. If they reply back with any technical difficulties, a physical impairment, or any excuse NOT to hop on a video call - then it’s a wrap!
Additional Red Flags
Near the end of the second email, they were already mentioning their budget, price quotes, and proposing options like bank draft, cashier’s check or certified check. This is a HUGE red flag! I’ve seen this before, and it almost happened to me years ago! Don’t accept checks! It could potentially be a fake check!
Fake checks look like REAL checks - even to some bank employees. Even if you cash deposit, it right away, the bank may say that the check has cleared, but that doesn’t mean it was a good check. These fake checks may take weeks to get discovered. By that time, it's too late! Either the scammer has gotten away with any money you sent them, OR you’re stuck paying that money back to the bank, drafted from your account - even if it drops to a negative balance!
Also remember - scammers will prey on your emotions! Don't be so quick to believe everything in your inbox or text message. Always think first before you react. They're trying to catch you off guard!
So, stay vigilant everyone!
I hope you find this post helpful!
Isaiah 😊
Recent Comments
17
Great job, Isaiah! 👍👍😎
It’s getting more and more difficult to separate fact from fiction, especially with scammers having access to AI technology.
Fy🤘🎸
Thanks, Jeff.
I've come close to getting burnt in the past and hope to pass my lessons on to everyone else.
With the advancement of AI, those criminals would creatively use that to their advantage.
Appreciate your reminder! We all need to be vigilant especially during the holidays!
I almost got scammed few weeks ago! Nearly, but still it doesn’t make me feel good about it!
Those fraudsters won’t stop! Gosh, I hate them all!
Cheers,
Maria 🌹
Thanks for this heads up post about the scammers still out there. My son is a graphic artist and was approached about 3 years ago with a job offer from his resume post on Indeed website. They had seen his resume and proposed a job offer that matched his qualifications. They scheduled an interview with Google chat and asked him questions all relevant to his job and skills. They even gave him an online test with questions about his approach to an example of the work he would do. The grammar in all communication was good . The name of person and company was legitimate but there was an extra letter in the website address in the email signature. Also, the job offer letter they sent asked for sum of money to be sent to cover background check via credit card or loadable debit card. We were suspicious with the misspelled website and asking for funds verified our suspicions. We found out with researching that these proposals using Indeed were scams coming from Nigeria. I also received a job offer using Indeed as a reference for a nursing position that matched my qualifications later that summer with the same strategies used on my son but directed to the medical field. If these people put all their skills to legal work, they would do well. Instead, they want to do damage to an honest working person. You have to be careful with your resumes on online job sites as well as with your online business. Glad you avoided their scam.
Thanks Delois!
I find that odd that they asked your son for funds for the background check - that should always come from the employer's pockets.
A scammer contacted me by phone a few years ago claiming that I won some local lottery (which I had no idea about or even entered). Yet - in order to claim my money, they needed me to wire a deposit for tax purposes! I thought prizes were free. Another scam I dodged.
Good for you. Keep dodging them. They come up with something new everyday! Take care. God bless
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Great job Isaiah ,that took alot of effort and time , thank you for sharing this, yes scammers are all around the corner i also had my fair share of those, and i think after the covid pandemic and the drop of the economy we will still find those scammers for a very long time.. trying to get a dishonest $$ here and there , i think we should all just be vigilant.. nice one