Discord and X (formerly Twitter) are starting to become populated with scam artists requesting people to commission artwork for them.
While similar scams have been reported since 2020, the new wave of "artists" spamming messages on Discord and X also began targeting accounts with notable followers.
In some cases, if a person's social media is linked to their Steam account. Commission requests from these accounts can be expected.
Here are some ways to identify and avoid being scammed by these accounts online.
How to Spot a Scam Artist
Actual online artists often open their commissions via public posts on their social media, not via private messages.
If you see one directly soliciting for a commission, there is a high chance that the "artist" intends to scam you out of your money.
Oftentimes, these accounts get blasted on social media by other artists, making it easier to spot those who are running scam commissions.
It is recommended to block or cease interactions with the account immediately to avoid being spammed by messages.
Beware of AI
In some cases, scammers will show their potential victims an art portfolio as proof of legitimacy.
It is recommended to carefully inspect the sample art provided. Either use reverse-image search tools or AI detectors to confirm whether the images provided are originally from the one advertising it.
Scam artists often use stolen art or AI-generated images to fool other people into purchasing their "service," usually resulting in the client-victim ghosted, given a traced art, or much worse another AI-generated imitation.
How to Report Scam Artists
Both Discord and X have strict guidelines against online scams and fraudulent services.
If there is enough proof, users can report these accounts to let moderators ban or suspend their accounts.
For Discord, these can be done by clicking the three dots at the right corner when the mouse cursor is hovering above the message. This can be done on the phone by holding the finger over the message.
Select "Report Message" at the bottom of the menu, then press the "Spam" option to submit the report.
As for X, a post or account can be reported by finding the Report option at the three dots at the corner of the post and account page.
Select "Spam" to proceed with the report. Users can also choose to mute or block the account after reporting.
