"Art" Scammers and You: A continuation of this nonsense.
The great thing about the internet is you can find the answer to just about anything. A stranger is not someone you trust and you should always do your own research!
What does this person want? (Money, usually, sometimes information.)
What evidence are they presenting to back up their claims.
Is there some form of consistency between the provided examples? (Even artists who can adapt to different styles will STILL have their own way of doing it.)
I am not an artist but I KNOW ART. I know that, in this day and age, (nearly) EVERYONE has at least one platform or another that they are regulars to.
ESPECIALLY DIGITAL ARTISTS!
Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, FurAffinity, DeviantArt, whatever the fuck else. A real person will have an internet footprint. That's how you get a following! That's how you can spread the word if you're taking commissions!! Now, the scammer gave me a website.
Creators tend to keep their "brand" name consistent across any platform that showcases their work. Or their site will have a real name that you can research from there. So I search the name of "their" website and get a multitude of various results because it is a common enough name.
I cannot stress enough that there have been SO many red flags in this conversation. Not to mention they deleted the one picture they DID send me.
Artists looking for commissions, even if they don't use social media, will have SOME gallery or portfolio. SOME form of proof that they are who they say they are. And due to the influx of AI nonsense, a lot of artists have started sharing the progress of their pieces to further prove they did actually make it.
They blocked me after this but I did report it to the server they found me through. You can look up domain information, as well, and the information provided also stated that the website hadn't been updated since December of last year.
Artists will not cold call you for commissions.
Scammers will try to "beat around the bush" until it's mulch instead of directly telling you why they're messaging you.
AI has no place in or near artistic endeavors.