Not really, since it's pretty obvious when its a scammer and not an actual client.
Most of the time scammers have targeted specific hashtags that some artists use, or specific words, thus depending on your settings, if you have open comment section then you'll receive the typical "Omg I love this, plz dm me" or "love it, are u open for commission".
If you have a comment section limited to only those that you follow and followers, the most common thing to happen is that they end up in your spam messenger folder.
Most of the time they are repetitive and lack any kind of proper grammar, and you'll find out it feels a bit off as if they are under a script. A lot of times happens that they contact you through fake or recently made accounts with less than 10 posts made, following around 2K people but less than 500 following them back.
Here is a detailed guide I've made:
Typical "hello are your commissions open", no question mark, just blunt
Ignores your actual prices, doesn't bother to ask about your ToS, TaT and other stuff
Probably over flatters your art
"Hey I'm willing to pay you (Usually is $300) so it isn't stiff"
Wants to know your name and which country you're from
Wants your email and would likely ignore a Paypal.Me, you asking for THEIR email or an Invoice link
Would claim there are issues with their bank or Paypal if you insist in sending them those instead of your email to them
Pfp that are selfies or typically some white woman in a minivan?
Few photos on their account, be it of children, selfie or a pet?
Following a lot of accounts but not many actually follows them?
How does the scam work?
They want your email so they can send you a fake “invoice” from Paypal.
They'll show you a screenshot of the money being sent
You'll see no money in your account
They'll claim they did the invoice and to check your spam folder since Paypal "does that sometimes to them as well"
Then they'll try to make you panic through them accusing you of scamming them
If you check the "Paypal" spam email, you'll see it's not well written, refers to you as Dear Costumer or your name (In case you gave away your real name to the person)
Basically there are two alternatives to the scam: One is about your account having money on hold so you have to send money in order to "unlock it" and receive it. The other one is about having to upgrade your account to Business in order to be able to accept the payment.
The most common Scams are
“I want a drawing of my daughter”
“I want a picture of my son and our dog”
“I want you to draw my 25 ocs”
“Hi my team and I analyzed your work you’re growing fast and developing fast”
“My team saw your portfolio and considers youre have a lot of talent and we'd like tu support artist and allow them to have real payment”
Yet another type of scam
There is also another type of scammer which is about some stranger coming and claiming to be some kind of Art Manager, they make artists and clients connect with one another through them but honestly. Just by looking at the conversation you can get all the red flags of the world.
I would put it in a Summary but it gets broken from time to time, so not to flood with screenshots, check it here
NFT Scam
This is already a bit common, is the typical of someone once again coming and flattering your art and being so in love with it, or totally talking as if you have some kind of "gallery" thus want to buy your work, and ask you to put it on a platform so they can bid for it and buy it, also trying to lure you there with the "Oh is a crypto currency, is really expensive, you'll have lot of cash <3"
The quickest way to get rid of them and notice they are scammers is by either having a Google form, Ko-Fi or any "extra step" platform for others to Commission you and telling them
"Hello there, feel free to make your request in the following link" and the link to my Ko-Fi Commission page
The usually never respond, and those that do it totally ignore the link or greeting and go straight to their script, usually trying to pressure you to give them your paypal email, name and even Nationality, in an attempt to fill on the most important aspects before sending you a fake Paypal email that will likely end up in your Spam folder (With logic reason)
As well, some are so bad at scamming that they totally ignore when you're a digital artist and proceed to treat you as if you were a traditional portrait artist, they talk about inches. Most of the time, genuine clients ask in pixels or simply go "I want it be enough for a pfp but also to use in post"
Always remember to memorize the official emails of the virtual wallet or transaction app/website you use, for example, Paypal's are only two: Member@paypal.com or Service@paypal.com.
They will not arrive in your Spam folder
They'll address you by your first name not "Dear costumer"
Paypal won't have some kind of urgency for you to act
You don't have to pay any kind of fee, to either "unlock" a payment or "upgrade" your account
You, as the seller are recommended to have a Business account, since that way you can remove your Address, email, phone number and real name from your invoice at the time of payment, you do not require the client's email and there is definetly no reason at all for you to give yours. When you create an invoice you can send it as a link by clicking in the three dots, and the client can pay normally
Scammers will claim that their bank won't allow invoices, but if that were true, they won't be able to pay through "Friends and Family" (Never accept payments like this) nor "Goods and Services" (Not as bad, still not recommended, less successful in case of refunds) either.
