a scam?

[mag]

Hi!
Couple of days ago I've been contacted by some person via Instagram and asked to do an illustration of their pet dog.
They said they love my art, I've posted quite a lot of animal illustrations recently so it makes sense. They offered $300 for the picture.
But it seems... fishy. Even though I asked for a bunch of info, they didn't respond (like dimensions of finished art, etc) They sent a photo of the dog.
I told them I could have the illustration ready for them in 3 days and they asked me if they could pay me right now because they don't want to use the money for something else accidentally?? They want to pay via PayPal.
It looks really suspicious to me... Is it possible this is a scam of some sort?
The Instagram account was created recently and the person has only like 3 images of him and his dog, he looks like a normal elderly man...
Does anyone have some experience with this?
Thank you!

[lpetiti]

@mag yeah that’s suspicious of avoid it. Odds are they will “accidentally “ send you too much money

[von_Nimmermehr]

@mag i have heard of similar stories. don't fall for it. maybe just block him.

[mag]

@von_Nimmermehr
@lpetiti
thank you for your advice!
I just feel sorry for that guy, if he's real and just wants a picture of his cute dog (the dog is cute). I don't need to do this, it's just something I might have fun drawing... But it all seems so weird...

[Mia Clarke]

@mag It's a scam. I've gotten heaps of them. Unfortunately, the man with the dog is a bot. ️ Block and report.

[mag]

@Mia-Clarke Thank you! This is almost exactly the same thing! Thanks, he's blocked now

[NessIllustration]

@mag I got something similar a few days ago, it was for a commission for their son's birthday but the wording is the same, $300 offered for it with no context on size, timeline or materials, and the same unnecessary "lol" added in the middle on the DM.

[mag]

@NessIllustration I just don't understand why target the artists? We mostly don't have any money... It's so weird.
But - I will do a picture of this dog anyways, it was a really cute puppy!

[NessIllustration]

@mag I think because there's this misconception that us artists are desperate for the gigs, so we would jump for joy and rush into this without questioning it. The assumption pisses me off too, so I told that scammer "sorry, I'm fully booked" even though that's not the case lol

[AngelinaKizz]

There's a guy in my city who posts his conversations with scammers asking for him to do artwork and ready to prepay $3-500. His responses to them just kill me.

[danielerossi]

@AngelinaKizz I’d love to see those replies Any chance you can share what his account is?

[kirsten-mcg]

@mag every single personal commission I've done In the past has started with the person asking me how much I would charge for said portrait. Every single scam I’ve run into in the past has began with them making me an offer like this. That's a red flag for sure. If you want to be double sure though you can always play along for a bit. Just don't give out any personal info. You'll know when they "accidentally" overpay you and ask you to refund the extra money that it's for sure a scam.

[AngelinaKizz]

@danielerossi he shares them in his stories so they don't last longer than 24 hours. But his Instagram is Winnipeg Waldo. He paints Waldo and hides them all over the city like a scavenger hunt. It's great fun in the summer.

[danielerossi]

@AngelinaKizz what a cool idea!

[Jeremy Ross]

Sounds like a great YouTube video @NessIllustration

[NessIllustration]

@Jeremy-Ross What a great idea!!