WARNING! Artist Job Scam! Too good to be true? Yes.

Coreyartus

Thanks so much for sharing this info, Lisa! I bet you're saving a lot of people from potential disaster. I anticipate we'll see more and more of this as the pandemic goes on. For some reason, artists seem to be square in the sights for many scamsters. Thanks for sharing!!

NessIllustration

@burvantill This happened to my boyfriend last year, in another industry When they asked him to go buy equipment and they'd need his bank information to "reimburse him", he got suspicious and researched the company a bit more. They did have a real website and everything! But their listed business address, upon looking on Google Maps, turned up a shack in the middle of nowhere...

Pamela Fraley

Thank you for posting!! The interesting thing about these scammers is that they seem to put out as much work as an actual legitimate job would require. Why not just be legit instead? That was a very long and detailed email. We’ve been getting tons of scams lately claiming to be banks or the government needing more information on our Covid relief grants for my husbands business. Not sure if freelance artists are dealing with the same thing. We also got a phone call that was pretty hilarious claiming to be google. (My husband had fun with that one. )I literally don’t trust anything anymore. Asking for bank account information is a pretty good sign of shadiness, though. Especially from people claiming to run a company or people who just “want to send you money.” It’s not as simple as, “we’ll get that right out to you.” If people are running a business, there HAS to be proper record keeping for audit reasons. Bookkeepers who want to put you on autopay will have forms for you to fill out, but there will be other paperwork first. And the Interviewer will not be the ones asking you for that information. Besides all of that, if you’re working with a person, these days all you need is an email to send someone money.

NessIllustration

@Pamela-Fraley Recently I keep getting these automated Chinese calls... I wish I knew what they were trying to scam me about haha!

Michael Angelo Go

@NessIllustration I always find it weird when non-Asian people get Chinese robocalls. These scams are targeted towards people of Chinese descent or Chinese last names trying to trick illegal Chinese immigrants into giving them money by claiming to be part of the government or claiming something about checking their records to make sure they are legal. I guess they're just targeting anyone at this point...?

Unfortunately, because of my ancestor who left China at the beginning of 20th century, I have his Chinese last name and I keep getting these robo-calls despite being Filipino-Born American because of that. I did however get a scam call from a real person who wanted to talk to me in Mandarin, and I immediately hung up after I told them they had the wrong number.

NessIllustration

@Michael-Angelo-Go Not sure! I didn't know they were targeting Chinese immigrants, that's the most info I've ever learned on this haha. My partner is an immigrant (just recently got his permanent residence!) so maybe we're on their list because of that. He's Bulgarian though, just absolutely nowhere near any part of China. It's just weird!

Michael Angelo Go

@NessIllustration Maybe your residency was previously owned by someone with an Asian-sounding name on record or his last name sound Asian? Just a guess...

NessIllustration

@Michael-Angelo-Go Stoilov doesn't sound super Asian to me, so it must be the other thing haha
Anywho, happy new year man!

burvantill

@NessIllustration GRRRR. It makes me so mad!

burvantill

@Pamela-Fraley When I figured it out that it was a scam I did tell them, “well I thought we would take care of all that after we fill out the employment documents.” Thats when they repeated, “please send your direct deposit information.” GRRR

carlianne

@NessIllustration I get those too! My husband had one of our friends translate the call and it was something about the Chinese embassy being after you

xin li

@NessIllustration I was harassed by the so-called Chinese embassy call several times during a day at one point (I am a Chinese in Norway). The first time I was stressed out. It took me 5mins to realize what was going on.

@burvantill it is weird these people took so much effort to go after artists and illustrators with scams. We are a group that is known to be not wealthy. Have these people not heard the term "the starving artist". I thought we are famous for being poor.

NessIllustration

@xin-li That sounds like it would be really stressful!!

burvantill

Well, they got me. I've been spending the last 4 days erasing, updating, confirming and panicking. They got my phone number & contacts for sure. So if any of my art friends here have my burvantill email or phone number, delete or block it/them. I would hate if you got scammed because you thought it was me.

burvantill

ANOTHER ART SCAM.
Just got this email.

"Art dreamwork Online Job Opportunity

Christopher Mettin
To
burvantill@xxx.xxx
Apr 9 at 9:26 AM
Company Name: Art dreamwork..
Hours: 20-40hrs per week
Job Location: Remote.
Pay: $75/hour

About Art dreamwork
Art dreamwork, Inc. is an American independent video game developer located in Austin, Texas. It was founded
in 2006 by late Andy O'Neil, previously part of the Metroid Prime series engineering team.
Originally starting out with their own original properties and games, the company has since shifted to a strong
focus on modernizing old games.

About the Job:
We are looking for a talented 3D & 4D artist who will work closely with our concept, environment and design teams to create levels that are visually stunning. You can also apply if you don't have any experience as we provide some online training if desired.

Responsibilities:

Draw and sculpt 3D and 4D digital models to design requirements.
Illustrate and develop concepts (sketch, drawing, etc.) to support production.
Create in-game 3D assets, following the art style and technical constraints.
Model, UV & texture 4D assets and integrate meshes in game.
Interpret concept art, understand art direction and work within the overall game style.
Collaborate with other artists, programmers and designers.
Provide accurate time estimates for tasks and meet production deadlines.

Experience and Qualifications:

A positive attitude and a commitment to bringing fresh ideas to the team and the game.
1-2 years of experience in the gaming industry.
Ability to work in a variety of styles
Expert knowledge of Photoshop.
Knowledge of 3DS Max
Knowledge of animation (3D or 4D) is a plus.
Background in Traditional and Digital Art.

Benefits:

Employee discount.
Full health care coverage.
Dental and vision coverage.
401k Match.
Flexible Schedule.
For Immediate consideration please follow the steps below to apply:
We saw your portfolio on Artstation.com and we would like you to email us to discuss this job offer with you.

Christopher Mettin,
Human Resource Department.
Art dreamwork.. "

It's VERY similar to the email I received at the end of December. Just a few changes.
The bastards. Don't fall for it!

Jacy13

@burvantill I had basically the same email except it was supposed to be from Gamefly Inc. Yikes!

braden H

@burvantill said in WARNING! Artist Job Scam! Too good to be true? Yes.:

3D and 4D digital models

What the heck is a "4D" model?

burvantill

@Jacy13 Yep. Don't fall for it! They got me good in December.

burvantill

@Braden-Hallett LOL! I know right?! Just for giggles I looked up 4d art and it does have a slight relevance but I think that the idiots are trying to sound sophisticated and legit. And falling short.

Michael Angelo Go

@burvantill Emails offering a job, that details the company's name, hours, location and pay like that without even addressing your name is always sus. I got an email a few weeks ago offering a job with Valve games, but that they also wanted to talk with me through an app called Telegram... anyways thanks for letting us know!