Photography scams make me SCREAM! It’s a new year, and many new ways for thieves to try to pry money from you are out in full force. Monty Python has a tune for this type of thing. Sing it with me to the tune of the Spam song… Scam, Scam, Scam, Scam SCAM! Let be vigilant and share any scams you have run across.
Beginner photographers beware
As a professional photographer I have been sniffing out many of these scams and can spot them far away. But if you are new to photography and think there’s a break heading your way that is way too easy, it most assuredly is. Here’s an example from a beginners Facebook group I try to help out.
“I’m just wondering if an inquiry I got last night might have been a scam.
I got a text message (I very rarely get texts for inquiries but my number is listed) about a man wanting me to photograph a surprise party for his wife. My reply to him was my estimate and he said that it sounded alright, and then said that if I told him my address he would send me a cashier’s check with the full amount.
I told him that for personal safety I don’t give out my personal address, and he said that it was the only way he could do it without his wife becoming suspicious. Further, I said I could take a deposit through Venmo, Paypal, or send him an invoice to be paid with card, and I even offered to meet him in a public location to receive the check. He then ghosted and never responded again. Could it have been some sort of scam attempt? Just wanting to know for the future.”
The answer to the question? Yep, it’s a scam attempt.
Claim to fame
Companies or individuals claiming to make you famous or get you instant work in exchange for an upfront fee should be discarded without further look. ‘No experience necessary’ is also a big clue! Please be extremely careful where a photo shoot also includes an offer of representation or promotion beyond the shoot.
‘We saw your portfolio and want you to photograph our fashion shoot. We’ll pay you $XXXX and you pay the model/makeup people etc…” These can look as if they are coming from a fashion magazine. Then you receive a bogus check. After you pay any others you’ll discover the check is no good. And guess who is out the money? That would be you.
Look carefully at the return email address there are often tell-tales of scammers. Misspelling of the purported business address, from some unknown or if it is emailed to ‘Undisclosed recipients.’
Like your mama told you, if it sounds too good to be true, bet that it is and trash the BS.
Fake jobs
A scam that pops up on a regular basis among photographers is the ‘I want you to photograph my, (wedding/family portrait, sports team, party… etc). I will pay you via credit card (or check) but I want to send you extra because the venue/wedding planner, hair dresser, make-up artist or caterer et. al don’t have credit card machines.” You will be asked to forward that portion of the money to them. By the time the dust clears, if you sent on any money, it’s gone! So is the money sent to you because it was a bogus check or stolen credit card.
Many times, you will receive a description of the shoot such as this. “Photograph a volleyball team of 12 girls (13-16 in age) that wants 15 images per player. Can you do 2 head shots, 2 group shots, 6 full body and a few actions shots?” They will say their budget is $900. This would be sent to a self-described newbie with no action shot/sports history, just a beginner. This photographer would want to know if that was a fair price. One, it’s not a fair price. Two, it’s an unrealistic scenario. Three this photographer did not have experience in this genre. Why would they ask an inexperienced photographer to do a paid job even if it was on the cheap for the service?
Heads-up for viruses and friend requests
When you click the link it attaches to your Facebook and may lock you out permanently and then tags and spreads to your friends news feeds. Facebook allows this virus to proliferate. My Facebook news feed is full of them.
Here’s an example:
Selena Zhang
“I want to know why you are on my page. Do we have common interests or friends? Maybe you can add me as a friend and we can get to know each other better. Wish you all the best.”
DO NOT AS FRIEND. That gives them a way in and one step closer to scamming you and your friends list. A similar version of this is complimenting you on the image, or your photography in general while noting they can’t seem to friend you
Another is the link that appears in your Facebook feed or in your messenger. “I can’t believe he is gone I’m gonna miss him so much…” with added crying emojis ostensibly from a friend. Your friends account will have been taken over. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK.
Guest post on your website
I learned of this one while researching photographer scams for this article. I must admit I was very close to falling for this one myself! Sure I’d like to earn $50 bucks for someone else providing content for my website. Read on to how this one works. This may be the sneakiest scam attempt of all because they reach out like they are going to do you a service. They want to write a free guest post, or even pay you for ‘placement’ on your blog! If you show interest they try to get the login to your website. Why? So they can write the blog post for you. All part of the service right? At that point you will find your login has changed and they ransom your site.
A side note, as you become frustrated with all the communication spam and you click the ‘unsubscribe’ or ‘unsub’ link in their emails, you are sent to a phishing site. Just trash them and move on. Think of the time spent trashing these emails as part of the price of doing business in today’s world.
Protect yourself
Watch for the email address. Check for undisclosed recipients with you as an add-on addressee. No good. Check the sender email address. If it is not from the company or there is an alphabet soup of characters, toss it. Make sure to see the address by hovering over the email to see the actual address, not just what the sender wants you to see.
Think it might be legit? Call the phone numbers and try to speak with a person. Not sure of the phone number? Look up the name of the business and dial in directly. If they refuse and only want to deal via email, toss it.
If you believe you are a target of a fraud, stop engaging. Report the case to the Federal Trade Commission by calling their hotline 877-382-4357 (877-FTC-HELP) or file an online complaint. You can also visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
Share
If you have run across a scam that I haven’t covered here, please share it in the comments below. Let’s watch out for each other! Be safe out there!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
great read Bob, they sure are getting tricky and devious aren’t they?
Yeah, they copy logos, make email addresses close to the real thing and try scare the poop out of you to get a reaction!
enough to drive you crazy!
I don’t know if this is legit but on Twitter awhile ago I was getting approached to put some of my photos to NFT’s and he would buy them from me. He said to use this site to register them, the cost to do that was over a hundred dollars, I had no guarantee he would buy anything from me but he indicated he wanted 3 of my photos to NFT’s. I said no I will pass. He indicated he would give me 2500.00 for each one. It sounded to good to be true. Then I had different person on… Read more »
Hey Vaughn, Good move on not falling for that. This has all the earmarks with a different twist. Send money and we’ll get you more money later. Too good to be true. Not to mention NFT’s AFAIK are going by the wayside. Proof that the same profile photo was used on another account with the same offer and you can be sure it was BS! Thanks for sharing! Be safe out there, Bob