Art Scams = GRRRRRR

Today's post is about SCAMS.

SCAMS SUCK.

Especially (or at least especially for me, since, you know, this is from my perspective) in the art world.

Last week I got an email from a dude named Frano Mawer, who claimed to be from Malta. Yeah, Malta? I didn't want to be too skeptical, because international sales are really cool! I got kind of excited, thinking that someone on the other side of the globe may actually be interested in purchasing my work! Like I said, hey, it could happen, right? But I didn't want to be played for a fool either. I googled his name, nothing came up, but I kept up the email exchange. If anything, I could gather more information on if this was truly a scam or not, and IF not, I could still be cordial, not offend a potential buyer, and maybe come out ahead.  I had to dance a dance.  Here is the initial email, it's subject line read "Inquiry":

Hello,
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork for sale in your gallery, if you can ship international and also if you are able to process Visa and Master Card Number/Expiry date/Cvv as payment. Let me know so that i can communicate with you on the artworks that interest me,you can also indicate to me which of the arts are sold and which are available on your website.
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Frano

I know, I know, skeptic radar up. But you never know, so I replied that I could process payments via PayPal and through Square, but that I would need an address, especially to know where I was sending my work (notice, no mention of Malta, yet) and I would need to know which pieces he wanted.

His response:

Hello,
Good to hear from you,
Below are the artworks that interest me so i want you to get back to me with the cost price of each so i can give you the credit card number to run for the payment

Bang Bang Bang
Acrylic on canvas.
16 in. X 20 in
====================================================================
Rewind I
Aerosol on canvas.
16 in. x 20 in.
====================================================================
We Are All Americans
Acrylic on canvas.
24 in. x 18 in.
====================================================================
Lollyputnik
Acrylic on plywood.
23 in. X 23 in.

I want you to get back to me with the cost of  the above so that you can have the payment.
I will be looking forward to hear from you asap.
Thanks
Shipping Address
2, Enis Street, Hunch.
PQY 6428  Malta

Hey! Sweet! That's quite a bunch of my work! ...But I wasn't too sure about that address. It didn't read right. I've not sent much mail overseas, so I wasn't sure about how addresses are set up in other countries. I decided to call FedEx, see if they could ship there (I wanted to call UPS too, but their offices were closed at the time I was calling). The very patient lady at FedEx's phone center explained that that was not a true address in Malta, and that she would need a proper zip code. Zip Code, got it. My reply to Frano: 

Ok,
Here are their prices:

Bang Bang Bang: $150 USD
Rewind 1: $150 USD
We Are All Americans: $180 USD
Lollyputnik: $200 USD

The total would be $680 in addition to shipping.
I called FedEX today to try to get a quote for shipping, but they were not able to locate the address you listed. They would need a proper town name and a proper zip code.
I would also need a proper billing address for the card, including zip code.

Again, thank you very much for your interest.

-Joy Hernandez

Again, I wanted to maintain civility, just in case this was legit, but the chances were getting slim. That and I had found this nifty blog that posted a nearly identical email sent to an artist, but hers included the Malta address off the start. They're getting tricky. I was pretty sure the jig was up, but I got a reply back: 

Hi,

I am okay with the cost of the artworks therefore i want you to get them packed while on the shipping,one will have to pay additional fee at the delivery point here in Malta  because they will never bring to ones house. courier like Fedex, UPS are not worth it here especially USPS all of them are not rendering good service here probably because they already known very well.
You can contact this courier Airpro Delivery  (airprodelivery@hotmail.com) as well with the weight and cost of the artwork for the shipping and insurance to my
address because they ship and deliver safely without one paying any other money before collecting the goods unlike some other courier where it will not be
delivered to your address rather you will have to go to their office to pick it up and when you get there you will be told to pay other money before collecting it.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you asap.
Thanks
Shipping Address
2, Enis Street, Hunch.
PQY 6428  Malta

No change on the mailing address, no 'real zip code' and not even a real town listed. (And, yes, Malta has more than one town). I'm not going to mess around with "AirPro Delivery," I'd never heard of it, and I'll never EVER ship before I have payment, let alone go through all that trouble. AND the FedEx lady had assured me that they did ship to Malta, as long as they had a valid address. So I'm calling shenanigans. 

I emailed him back as such:

Hello,

I'm sorry Frano, but I'd have to insist on FedEx. The woman I spoke with on the phone assured me that they do ship to Malta, but that the address you listed before was not valid. I've also used USPS in the past, overseas and especially with the military, and have had no problems. It's a security issue on my part, if you are still interested, I will add the cost of shipping to your overall total, via one of these couriers.

Thank you,
-Joy

Haven't heard back. And, if you're wondering or receive such a thing, his email was: mfrano3325@rocketmail.com  What's rocketmail? I googled that, apparently it's an old email server, pre-hotmail, that was popular back in the 90's, around the time Britney Spears was on her way up. I wonder if art scammers in Malta dig early Britney Spears as much as they dig old email servers? In any case, the other blog with the Malta scam had listed them with a rocketmail address too.

I apologize for this not being a nice shiny post with lots of pictures and such. I wanted to post all of Frano's emails, in case someone else heard from Frano, and especially since they tend to change up the act.  I didn't get taken, and I don't want anyone else to be had too.  According to that other blog, if I had processed that card information for a sale, I would have been on the hook for handling stolen card information. I would have been out the money, and my art would have been delivered to who-knows-where. Great.

And as for those that think pulling scams on the world's artists is okay or cool? Stop it. It's not cool. It pisses us off, and all we want to do is deliver the world our art. You get our hopes up. I'm not going to turn down a legitimate sale, because I really could use that money, so don't jerk me around with this kind of nonsense. If you've got that much time to seek out and try such an elaborate scam on an artist, I'm sure there are better, more productive ways to use your time.

Artists: Make sure you always check out sales, especially online. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but do it cordially, so that you don't offend the buyer, in case they're legit.  But do do your homework, see where your art is going, and make a few phone calls. Protect yourself!

Art Scams = GRRRRRRRRRRR.