09/15/2008 08:33:41

I also recieved a solicitation, and like artchain, I replyed asking for referances. If they are not legitimate that usually turns them off.And just tell them you suspect they are trying to scam you and you want to verify that they are legitimate,if they are legit. they will be happy to supply information.We just have to be very careful in today's world and not be intimidated.

Best, Alston

09/13/2008 22:59:21

Hi Rebecca,

I think you are right to be suspicious of the solicitation.  He's asking for a lot of personal information.  Looks typical of some of the spam mail requests I've received on one of my personal email accounts that was harvested off of my website.

I wouldn't respond, by any means.

Take care.  Kathleen

09/13/2008 20:19:39

One more thing -- 

These kinds of scams have been around for quite a while, and the scammers also target art galleries and dealers.  Thus, legitimate galleries and dealers are aware of these types of scams, and they would not send such a vague and suspicious message to an artist.  A legitimate dealer researches an artist, contacts them personally (and by name), and tells the artist exactly what their business is and what they want from the artist. 

I too, have sent an email to the administrators about this user.  It's the weekend (and I think some of them have lives outside of work), so they might not respond right away.  Thanks for posting your alert, with so many users on this site, the only way to keep on top of stuff like this is when members like you bring attention to it. 

ta ta,

Annie

09/13/2008 19:32:38

Hi Rebecca,

The offer looks like a scam.  He doesn't address you by name, or even your scuttlebutt user name.  He also doesn't reference any of your specific artworks, or your media, style, etc.  The grammar and spelling is ok, yet the way his writing is composed makes me believe that he is not fully skilled in english language written communications.  Also, from the paragraph and line breaks in his message, it appears that he copied and pasted the message from another source - probably from a standard bulk mail message.  He also offers no verifiable information about his business such as a name, address, website, clients, etc. I would ignore his request.

ta ta,

Annie

09/13/2008 12:26:47

I just visited fellow member "Artchain" and he/she has written a blog on avoiding scams.  It always seems like an obvious scam when it is.  But, go read his blog if you haven't.