Sneakpeak in the -not so perfect- life of an artist

There are times, you wished the scammer that is mailing you, was for real. Last week I just made the heart-wrenching decision of selling my beloved first car, a little blue Toyota-Yaris in which I had a lot of adventures and buy a larger Renault-Kangoo instead, to transport my paintings when I have an exhibition or want to deliver them to clients. As a result my savings lowered and my bank-account screamed up into my mind every night while I went to sleep: "What did you do?? Why?" And then for a moment I thought the universe finally let it all fall into place. It would all be alright. The money stress was gone. This happened:

I got mail via my website from Ruth Bradley. She sent me an e-mail and was interested in one of my paintings.

"Do you still have The choices we make available for sale as i am highly interested in it and do you accept Paypal as a mode of payment and also if pick up is acceptable, hope to read from you soon."

I remember the adrenaline rush from getting this mail and the happiness floating through me. You have no idea what it means when someone loves your art and what it does to your soul as an artist. <3 I made a little happy dance and hugged my son until he almost couldn't breath. ^^ (No worries, he is still alive. ;-) )

So, this was my answer:

"Hello Ruth,

So nice to hear from you. Yes, "The choices we make" is available and I would love her to find a beloved home. Paypal is perfectly possible, if you add her to cart you will see this as an option for payment. Pick-up depends on the country you live in. In Belgium I deliver my works at home myself. Within Europe it depends on distance and timing if I deliver them personally or send them by parcel. Out of Europe I have to take special precautions for shipping and calculate the price considering the country. If you would like to pick the artwork up at my atelier yourself, this is also possible. Can I ask you where you live?

I hope in this way I answered your questions. If something is still unclear, feel free to ask.

With kind regards,"

Her answer:

"I really appreciate it. Am Ruth Bradley from South Africa. I am a marine biologist and am currently at sea at the moment, i am buying the item as a gift for my Dad, i want to make it a surprise for him,he wont know anything about the item until they get delivered to him, i can only pay through Paypal as i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking,but i have my bank account attached to my Paypal account and this is why i insisted on paying you through Paypal,So please kindly get back to me with your Paypal details and your best price for the item so i can proceed with the payment and after the payment has been done, i have a pick up agent that will come around to pick the item up so don't add shipping fees and will be done after i have made the payments for the item."

Hmm..... I started to get an image of how Ruth looked.

I answered once more, referring to my website for payment, but with a churning feeling in my belly... and stopped mailing. Following my gut, I asked around in my facebook-groups if this was a scam as too many alarm bells went off: poor writing. Certainly for someone with a background as a marine biologist! No online bank account? This was someone with a university degree right? Wanting my PayPal details while I have a clear webshop with PayPal-option? And last but not least the uncomfortable feeling I don't want my artworks to be called "items".

My intuition was undoubtedly spot on.

Seems Ruth is a real art-lover. Writing and wanting to buy a lot of art and failing time and time again at it to really get it delivered to her dad, she writes the same letters over and over at many artists. Must be a full-time job. Google tells us she must also move houses/ or oceans, with the speed of light as she writes from South Africa, Ireland, UK, USA.

Other artists posted how they went on in the conversation with her, so you can see how Ruth proceeds. And at last.. it became all clear. This is how the scam proceeds:

"I was just about to make the payments when i had this little problem with the picking up of the item, I am currently on sea and i am buying the item for my Dad as i explained earlier on and i tried to book pick up with my pick up agent, but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking, and they only accept Money gram Transfer for payments and they don't accept Paypal or bank transfer and I tried to send the money online but i couldn't and I am on sea and there is no way i can find a Money gram agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so i wanted to ask if it was ok for me to include my pick up agent's fees in the payments I am about to send through Paypal, my pick up agent charged $650 plus insurance and all of that, please can i include their money in the payments I want to send then after i have made the payments you will help me forward the $650 to my pick up agent through Money gram Transfer,this I would have done myself and not bother you but the for the fact that I am currently on sea, so after I have made the payments you will help me send $650 to my pick up agent through Money gram Transfer,I just want to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments,I will more than appreciate if you mail me back, and I will be making the payments shortly."

The scammer sends you a fake PayPal-mail as if the money with the extra $650 is been transferred. I believe this can only be done if they know your account details, not if they purchase by your store. If you get a mail like that and you need to check your paypal-account, to see if it arrived at your bank-account for real. If you just believe the mail and they ask for the so-called shipping costs your money is gone into the unknown quantum-world of the digital labyrinth and to never be seen again.

The gold inside The lessons I got out of this: Never get too delightful and joyous on a mail from someone who wants to buy your art. Don't do the little dance. Not until it actually got delivered and was found alright and the money is on your bank account. In selling my art I sometimes meet disappointment and frustration. But I might call me blessed for my intuition that warned me and protected me from further pain. This are things that are likely to happen when you are an artist-entrepeneur. * To those who wish to buy art: do mean it when you write to the artist of your choice. You are playing with soul-fire here. * To all my other artist-friends.. beware of scammers! * And finally to Ruth the scammer: you can kiss both hands that I didn't pull this trick on you (see video). Who knows, one day I will, when I get bored or so. ^^