Yesterday I received the following scam inquiry through my website’s contact form. (I’ll explain why it’s a scam below.) Has anyone else seen this one?
Name: Elizabeth Wolfson
Email: info@throwbrands.store
Message: Hello
I hope this message finds you well.
My name is Elizabeth Wolfson, and I am a Human Resources | Organizational Development at The Row. After reviewing your profile on Behance, We believe your skills and experience align well with our needs for an Digital Art. We are currently seeking a remote (full-time/freelance) creative individual to join our team.
I would like to invite you to an interview via Microsoft Teams to discuss the position further and to get to know you better. At Alexander Wang, We are always looking to grow our team with talented and creative individuals who can help us achieve great things together.
Please let me know if you’re available for an interview. If so, I would be happy to coordinate via Microsoft Teams using the following link:
The work hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. The position offers a competitive salary of $60 – $125.00 per hour, with availability for full-time, part-time, or freelance work. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Wolfson Human Resources Organizational Development At The Row
The first indicator that this is a scam is that I don’t actually have a Behance account. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s just not a social media that I use. So, she very well did NOT see my profile on Behance. However, Karen Jones is not exactly an uncommon name. So, maybe that other children’s illustrator named Karen Jones (yes, there is one) has a Behance profile and she’s got me mixed up with her.
Second, she mentions “At Alexander Wang…” which I assume is a copy/paste error. She has another version of this email set up as if it’s from Alexander Wang, and she swapped it out for The Row. But missed one mention. BTW, The Row is a company started by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Alexander Wang is a completely different, completely unrelated fashion house. So, it’s not like they’re two names for the same family of companies.
Third is just a typo. “We believe your skills and experience align well with our needs for an Digital Art.” Should be “a digital artist” to make sense. On it’s own, not a flag at all. People make typos. But it just looks like a copy/paste error.
Fourth is the domain on her email. She should have stuck with a gmail address, frankly. It would have looked less suspicious. (Still a little suspicious, but not as much as throwbrands.store looks.) So, the actual domain name for The Row is, unsurprisingly, therow.com. Looking closer, Elizabeth’s version is throw brands dot store. Not even the row brands dot store. I went to ICANN and looked up Elizabeth’s throwbrands.store domain. It says the registry was created “2025-09-29 20:11:39 UTC”. As I post this, it’s October 2, 2025. So, she only just recently created the domain. Not what we’d expect from a fashion house founded in 2006.
I am not going to touch those Microsoft Teams links with a ten-foot pole.
So, people. Don’t get caught by this one. Elizabeth Wolfson certainly is a predator, and us artists are her prey.
Message: Good day, How are you today? I trust this email finds you in good health. My name is Anthony Steven, a learning facilitator, and I feel privileged to reach out to you. I discovered your contact details on your website, and I am currently seeking the services of an illustrator, animator, or cartoonist.
Your showcased skill and creativity on your website have intrigued me, and I believe you would be an excellent fit for our upcoming workshop. I’d like to share the specific ideas for illustrations or drawings needed, and I invite you to provide a quote for the work. I look forward to hearing from you soon for more details.
Best Regards, Anthony.
Received 3/7/2024 6:38pm CST
None of this is wrong. The word choice reads a bit AI, but could also be legit corporate-speak. I can’t point to a single definitive red flag. Yet, I am experienced enough to recognize that this is definitely the opening bid of a scammer. This is NOT a legit contact. It’s just not.
Let’s respond and see how this plays out, shall we?
And this is the response which confirms my suspicions:
The project pertains to Montgomery County Schools in Troy, NC.
These illustrations will be utilized for a presentation in an upcoming workshop titled “LEARN ABOUT IT (SAFEGUARD AND AVERTING).” The audience comprises students aged 15-17. I am seeking your services to illustrate the scenarios listed below, presented in a horizontal (landscape) format, digital, cartoon-styled, colored images with a plain background.
The illustrations should be sized to fit a standard letter (8.5 x 11″) and delivered in PDF format. I request exclusive rights/perpetuity to the images, as they will be distributed to participants in printed form during the two-phase workshop.
For Phase One, we require the completion of 3 illustrations within 3 weeks. Subsequently, 3 more illustrations for Phase Two are due for submission 6 weeks before the final event.
Phase One scenarios:
. Road medical rescue scene
. Sick man with an arm sling (clavicle and forearm fracture)
. Doctor’s office (the doctor sitting and talking to two clients)
Phase Two scenarios:
. Scientists in a lab conducting experiments
. Doctor performing an ultrasound scan for a pregnant woman
. A sick female patient on a hospital bed in a hospital setting.
The project deadline is June 22, and my budget is $900 max per piece, totaling $4,800. Kindly confirm if this is acceptable. If not, please provide your price quote. Additionally, what is your preferred mode of payment? I am suggesting a bank draft, cashier’s check, or bank-certified check considering the amount involved. I eagerly await your response.
Warm regards,
Anthony
Received 3/8/2024 2:58pm CST
How does this confirm my suspicions?
First, it’s rare that I get a cold contact coming in through my contact form who is quite this well-organized. It feels like AI to me because, although it’s quite detailed, it isn’t actually telling me the sort of information that an actual human client typically does. Like explaining his history or connection to this type of work or his vision for the project. He’s not telling me why he thinks it’s important or exciting. He’s not mentioning any challenges we might need to work around or asking me about parts of the process he is unsure of.
However, it’s not glaring. It could be an Art Director type with all his ducks in a row. Those types of clients usually come in through my Art Rep, not my contact form, but it could be one of those that found me on instagram or something. That can happen. If I hadn’t seen these sorts of scams before, I might fall for it.
It looks pretty plausible all the way down to that last paragraph. That’s when he comes in with a budget already. A budget that’s significantly higher than it should be for the amount of work he’s asking about. Especially if he’s supposed to be working for a public school. And, finally, as the definitive red flag, he suggests payment by any of three different (supposedly secure) forms of check.
Yeah, definitely a scam.
To avoid all the numerous fake check scams floating around out on the internet (most of which involve a bank draft, cashier’s check, or bank-certified check) I do not take payment by check for private commissions. I mean, if I personally know the person or if someone I trust has vouched for them, maybe. But not from random internet strangers. That’s a firm boundary.
Just to see what happens, I’m going to tell him I only take payment through PayPal. Let’s see if he ghosts me.
I’m sorry. I only take payment through PayPal for private commissions.
First, let me say that I absolutely welcome potential clients, or anyone else who has a question for me, to use my website’s contact form. I have received many worthwhile correspondences from that form, including many that turned into perfectly good private commissions or other professional contacts. I always get a little thrill when a new contact comes into my email from that form. So, please, contact me if you want. I promise not to be too suspicious of you until after you insist on paying me way too much money immediately by echeck without a contract.
Anyway…
My contact form also brings in scammers.
A few days ago I received this from my website’s contact form:
Hope this email finds you well? I would love to make an inquiry regarding our Invitation Card Design.
We would love to illustrate and incorporate a picture from our wedding event on our ready made Wedding Anniversary Invitation card design. Please let me know if you are free to take on a project such as this, so I can keep you updated with the necessary information.
Thanks. Regards
Robert
I suspected this was a scam. Why?
They gave my form the name Jason and signed with the name Robert. The email address contains both names, but this seems off.
Although I can absolutely do an illustration for a wedding anniversary invitation, it’s not typical for me. I’m primarily a children’s illustrator. It’s a little odd that someone would request this from me. Not absolutely unbelievable, though. I do get the occasional legit off-genre illustration requests. I created an illustration for the cover of a rap album once, for example. Odd is not necessarily a scam. But it is a concern. It is a sign that this potential client may not have looked through my portfolio and isn’t actually familiar with any of my work.
“…so I can keep you updated with the necessary information.” ??? Keep me updated? Weird way to phrase that. How about just sending me the details? Does that seem off to you?
I’m skeptical, but it could be legit. I do tend to get cynical real fast, but it’s best not to let that tendency scare off what could still very well be a perfectly good client. It’s happened before, someone who seemed super suspicious turning out to be a great client. So, I sent a polite response:
Hello Jason,
Thank you for contacting me. Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary.
Yes, I have time available to do an illustration for you. What sort of image were you looking for? You say you want it based on a wedding photo. Are you looking for a caricature based on the photo or are you wanting me to do layout work, positioning pretty text and decorative elements to frame the photo?
I decided not to include my FULL contact info at this point. If it’s legit, the website will be sufficient for now, and I’ll send more info later. If it’s not, no need to tell the scammer my street address and phone number.
Robert/Jason responded with:
Hello Karen,
Thanks for getting back to me regarding this project. As mentioned earlier, we already have a lovely design of an IV card made for us by a Graphic Designer, but we thought of illustrating the image of the hands in a black and white style, as it brings back great memories.
I’ve attached some pictures in the email, and a PDF file of the IV Card. I believe you will be able to create something nice based on your level of creativity as an Illustrator.
If you don’t mind, I’d love the delivery date/deadline for the submission of the designs to be no later than 10th of March, 2024. Also, I’ve already made an arrangement with a printing company to handle the finished work and have them delivered to me.
Do let me know if this project is doable for you within the above stated deadline?, and my budget for this project is $800.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Cheers.
Robert
He attached the following two images. Since I don’t know who actually owns these images, I’m not uploading them at full size and I’m superimposing a watermark to spoil them. These are NOT my images.
So, he didn’t entirely answer my question. I guess he wants me to make a line drawing out of this photo to go on the back of this “lovely” invitation he had a Graphic Designer make for them? But he didn’t actually say. For all I know he just wants me to apply a nice black and white photo filter to the photo.
Notice the invitation says Jason and Rita Robert? I’m not sure if him signing correspondences with his last name is suspicious or not. I have known people who went by their last names among friends, but I don’t think they signed emails that way. But maybe I’m being picky?
You’ll note the address. I looked that up on Google Maps. This is a real address, but I find it unlikely that they intend to have their anniversary party at CDL Scrap & Metal. (I have no reason to think they’re anything other than a perfectly reputable metal recycling company, and I’m not implying they have anything whatsoever to do with our Jason Robert.)
Also, the date. If the party is going to be held on Feb. 17, 2024, then a due date of March 10, 2024 doesn’t make any sense. But perhaps it was an invitation template without the final details on it. But if they customized it enough to have the right couple’s names, you’d think they’d put in the correct info for the rest of it? I don’t know. Suspicious, but not definitive.
The hands photo looks… fine. Looks like a stock photo, but it could be a real wedding photo of him and his wife. I did a google image search and didn’t find the image, but that doesn’t prove anything one way or the other.
He plans to handle the printing himself. That’s fine.
The real red flag is that he has volunteered a budget of $800. That’s 90% of why I’m comfortable calling this a scam. He didn’t ask me what I’d charge him, he just came to me with a price. And a high price at that. Whether he’s looking for a black and white filter or a custom line drawing, neither should cost $800. Not in any style I have ever posted to my blog or portfolio, anyway.
He’s hoping I’m greedy enough leap at the prospect of getting $800 to do very little work, but without being at all suspicious of someone offering me $800 for doing very little work.
Hmmm… Let’s give him just a little more rope.
Hello Robert,
The deadline would be fine.
To be clear, you want me to make a line drawing of the hands pictured? In a style that would go with the custom invitation you already had designed?
Karen B. Jones
And he responded:
Hello Karen,
I must say it’s my pleasure to work with you on this project.
For better Clarifications, below is the deliverables the printer is looking forward to;
5×7 Inch 300 DPI
Silver Color Palette
AI or Source file / PDF
Send with Bleed
Moving forward, I would appreciate it if you proceed to the project as soon as possible. I’m okay with a deposit payment of $400 to kick start the project, and the balance once the project is completed.
At this time, the easiest way for me to do that is via E-check. I can easily prepare the check on my Tab and have the PDF file sent to your email. All you need do is to open the file and deposit via your mobile banking app by taking a picture of the check.
Let me know if that is doable for you, and please provide your full name or payable name to proceed with the payment.
Thanks. Regards
Robert
I must say, he still hasn’t verified what, exactly, he wants me to do. A line drawing, I assume, but he has yet to say. I do know the size and color he wants. But… that’s not quite what I asked, was it?
I will say that it’s odd that he’s asking for 300 dpi for an AI file. AI. Adobe Illustrator. Vector graphics. Almost as if he doesn’t know the difference between pixel and vector art. Now, not all potential clients that come to me would know this. That’s fine. If I still thought this might be a legitimate client, this is where I’d be happy to explain the terms and the pros and cons of each. But I don’t really want to take the time for that since he’s clearly a scammer.
Funny he hasn’t asked about a bid or contract, while being very specific about the payment method he wants. And exactly how to do it. Kudos to him for refraining from asking for my bank account information yet. He’s also considered that throwing the full amount at me right off the bat is going to look suspicious. (No real client is going to pay me the full amount upfront, before any work has even started.) So, he’s offering half. For a project that size, it really should be half after the sketches are complete, not up front, but he’s trying to look normal. I’ll give him that.
Let’s see what happens if I tell him, like I would any real client, that I don’t accept echecks.
Robert,
I’m sorry. I only accept payment through PayPal for most private commissions. It’s safer for both parties that way.
Thank you for sending the specifications on the size and file format. However, you haven’t confirmed that you’re looking for a line drawing of the holding hands image.
Karen
So, I’ve waited several days now, and I have not received any further responses. Sad. I guess he decided I wasn’t going to fall for it and cut his losses. Too bad. I kinda wanted to read how he tried to wiggle out of paying me with PayPal.
Anyone else receive a similar scam email? What did they tell you? How did you respond? I hope no one lost anything but time.
Today I received a message in my email from my website’s comment form. Now, I do absolutely get cold contacts through this form that are absolutely legit and lead to perfectly good projects. Some of my favorite projects have come from cold contacts from that form. However, it’s the internet. Not everything on the internet is safe or true. Just for self-preservation, I’m always just a little suspicious of new inquiries that come to me this way.
The message I received today read:
Name: Joan Email:joanfallk@gmail.com Message: Hello, I am Joan. I got your contact details online. Can you work on an illustration project and get it ready before the due date? I have prepared the scenarios to be illustrated. I just need an illustrator or cartoonist to draw the images. . Please get back to me for more details. I prefer email and text correspondence for record purposes.
208-505-8842
Warm regards.
Joan
Now, this message isn’t glaringly wrong but just seems a little off to me.
She got my contact details online? Well, sure. She contacted me through my website’s contact form. That seems a little odd to mention.
Can I work on an illustration project and get it ready before the due date? An unspecified due date. Again, seems a little obvious. Of course, if I take a project, It’ll be done by the due date. I won’t take a project if I don’t believe I can meet the due date. It’s surprising she’d mention that because it’s just a part of the job.
Saying she’s prepared the scenarios to be illustrated is fine, but an awkward way to state it.
At this point I’m pretty sure this is a scam, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Maybe I’m overreacting. It could be legit. I figure I can spare a couple more minutes to respond just to verify one way or another. So, I said:
Hi Joan,
Thank you for contacting me. Depending on the details on the illustration project, I can probably help.
Can you tell me more about your project?
Thank you,
Karen B. Jones Illustrator
She responded fairly quickly with:
Hello Karen, Thank you for your interest in this project. The illustrations/images are to be used for a presentation in a Workshop coming up soon. The title of the workshop is FAMILY – THE NUCLEUS OF THE SOCIETY. We have broken it down into Phase 1 and Phase 2.This is Phase 1. The attendees are students between the ages of 17 and 25. I require your service to illustrate the under-listed scenarios. Please make it a horizontal (Landscape) presentation, Cartoon styled (2D images),full illustration ( head to toe), colored (CMYK) but a plain white background. The illustrations should fit on a standard letter size – (8.5 x 11″) and be delivered in PDF format. I want 1 year exclusive right to the images. Also, note that these illustrations will be handed out to the participants in printed form. I just want the illustrations to paint a vivid picture of the theme of the workshop. The delivery date for the images is January 27, 2024. This is the outline of the scenarios to illustrate:
* A Caucasian Family : Father, Mother and their 2 teenage children (any gender) all standing and clothed. * A Black Family : Father, Mother and their 3 teenage children ( any gender) all standing and clothed. * A group (not more than 5) of young and middle aged guys with the caption ‘Uncles’ * A group (not more than 5) of young and mid aged ladies with the caption ” Aunts” * An elderly woman and an elderly man standing by side with a caption “Grandparents”
My budget for the job is $700 per piece( Total is $3500 for the first phase). Let me know if that’s fine. If it’s not please get back to me with the price quote and what would be your preferred mode of payment? I’m proposing a certified bank draft, a cashier’s check or bank certified check considering the amount involved. I look forward to reading from you soon.
Warm regards.
Joan
So, this client sounds rather corporate (AI generated?) compared to the typical legit client that contacts me through my contact form. Usually corporate-sounding clients come in through my art rep and the contact form brings in mostly self-publishing authors. So, right off I’m skeptical.
However, she wants head-to-toe cartoon figures drawn isolated on white. Lately I have been posting art samples of just such images. Maybe that’s why she contacted me. It’s certainly something I could do. So that’s a point in her favor. Maybe she’s for real.
She already knows exactly how much she wants to pay without feeling me out at all on how much I’d want to charge. To be fair, I do have clients come to me with a set budget, but they’re generally publisher clients coming in through my art rep. Also, without getting into my pricing structure, this is suspiciously high for what she’s asking for.
Her target audience are people aged 17-25. She wants cartoon art from a children’s illustrator for an audience of young adults? That doesn’t seem to fit. Now, I will happily illustrate for all ages, but cartoons showing simple happy families just don’t seem to match the audience.
However, nothing for sure. Any of those details might be absolutely fine.
To me, the big red flag is that she’s really quick to suggest a certified bank draft, a cashier’s check, or bank certified check. This indicates it’s probably a fake check scam. More on that here. Usually, I use Paypal when accepting payments from clients that cold contact me through the internet. It’s safer for both parties that way.
She also hasn’t told me anything at all about who she is or who her organization is, or even very much about the purpose of this family values themed workshop.
So, I decided to bait her one last time. I considered just telling her to contact my art rep, but I don’t really want to make Janet deal with her. That seems mean. So, instead I asked her:
What organization do you represent? Is this a church workshop?
Thank you,
Karen B. Jones
Her response was:
Hello Karen, I am an independent academic consultant. I work part-time as a researcher and I also teach music on the side. That is how I earn my living. From time to time I organize seminars and workshops to educate the younger generation on chosen subject matter and hire professionals to give speeches at these seminars. This is absolutely free at no cost whatsoever to the participants of the workshop. I approach well-meaning individuals, organizations and large corporations for sponsorship of these programs and present proposals to them. As a giveback initiative, most sponsors want to be part of it. I do not source clients from any online platform. I organize, get a sponsor and meet deadlines. Below is my contact information:
Joan Falken 1210 E McKinley St Boise, ID 83712 208-505-8842
The illustrations will be used in a slide lecture and the sole aim of the workshop is to enlighten the younger generations on the importance of the family as the single most crucial foundation of every society. To teach them family values and impact them with adequate knowledge about family and the role of the family in the society.
We cannot over-emphasize the need to teach the younger generation the importance of the protection of the family, themselves and appropriate social interaction.
Warm regards.
Joan Falken
Hey, lookey there! We’ve got an Academic Event Organizer! Ding-ding-ding! That cinches it.
Did you notice her email was joanfalk@gmail.com but she finally signed her full name there at the end as Joan Falken, not Falk. I’m not sure if that means anything, but given the rest, I don’t like it.
Oh, and I looked up her address on google. Now, this isn’t definitive, but in today’s world, google can pretty much always find an address, if it’s a real address. In this case, it found a crossroads, but none of the buildings around it have that house number. So, I’m pretty sure the address doesn’t exist.
Did you notice she’s supposedly a freelancer, but didn’t link to a website for her freelance business? She’s also not on linkedIn.
And then the whole emphasis on traditional family values for young adults bothers me. I don’t want to get too political on this blog, but the phrase is so often a dog whistle. Even if it’s not a scam, I don’t want to do a project for a seminar that’s going to turn out to be some sort of anti-LGBTQ, purity culture event.
My name is Lee Osbourne, I am an academic event organizer and I’m hearing impaired, i hope you treat me like any of your other customers and my disability doesn’t affect our dealings. I got your contact details online, I need the service of an artist or illustrator/cartoonist to work on a project for an upcoming workshop, I’ll give the idea of what I need to be illustrated/drawn and you can get back to me with the price to get it done, I’ll pay your fees up front if you want. Please get back to me for more details.
Warm regards.
Lee Osbourne.
Earlier this year I got this one, also from my contact form:
Message: My name is Flores I am an academic event organizer and an Apraxia patient. I got your contact details online. I need the service of an artist or illustrator/cartoonist to work on a project for an upcoming workshop. I will give the idea of what I need to be illustrated/drawn and you can get back to me with the price to get it done. I will pay your fees up front if you want.
Warm regards
And this one a few months earlier, as an email rather than a contact form submission.
My name is Childers Larry, I am an academic event organizer and an Apraxia patient. I got your contact details online. I need the service of an artist or illustrator/cartoonist to work on a project for an upcoming workshop. I will give the idea of what I need to be illustrated/drawn and you can get back to me with the price to get it done. I will pay your fees up front if you want. Please get back to me for more details.
Warm regards
602-804-5336
You notice the similarities, right? A lot of it is word-for-word.
Very fishy.
So, what’s the deal?
I’m not the first to bet targeted with this scam. The SCBWI has posted about it here. Apparently, if you respond, they string you around with details until they finally send you a payment. But then something goes wrong, and they ask for or demand a refund. You, being a reasonable and ethical artist, refund their money. Only, then the original payment disappears from your account as well. What the hell?
I think what happens is it’s a money transfer scam. They’re paying you with a stolen account and it’s actually the rightful owner’s bank who is rightfully taking back the fraudulent payment. But the upshot is that you’re out the amount of the refund.
So, be careful out there. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Okay, I usually don’t do posts about technical computer stuff, but I want to make sure to spread the word about this one because it’s REALLY, REALLY sneaky. It almost got me.
It’s called XP Security 2012.
It gets onto your computer and installs itself without permission, then it shuts down all virus-check programs and runs itself at start up. It looks like a Microsoft Anti-Virus program. REALLY looks like it. No broken English, all the right icons, appropriate fake websites, everything. It’s scam is that it runs a “scan” on your computer and tells you that you’re infected with a bunch of viruses. Then it has a button for removing the viruses, which redirects you to a page where you are asked to purchase a copy of the “virus protection” software. So, that way they get your credit card number. If you click, “Remind me later” it will nag you to remove the problems or “continue unprotected”. Very heavy-handed virus protection, huh? Then, whenever a program tries to use the internet, it blocks it (giving you a “helpful” message alerting you to this and claiming that the program is infected). Often it will block the program from running entirely. Everything except a browser, of course, which it needs to keep working so you’ll finally give up and give it your credit card number.
I have this one on my laptop. Man, it almost got me too. I only didn’t give in because I was pissed at the idea of having to spend a bunch of money AGAIN to get the stupid computer clean. Well, I do need to spend more money, but not with that program. I talked to ComputerMan in Olathe (the shop I always take my computers to) and they said that they’re getting A LOT of these and it’s takes about 4 hours to get it cleaned off. It’s really convincing and they’ve had a bunch of customers admit that they gave the thing their credit card number, not realizing it wasn’t legitimate. I came VERY close to doing the same thing.
Karen B. Jones - Illustrator 