How to handle being scammed

[screebs]

I'm new to this site, so i apologize if this is posted in the wrong place.

but how are you supposed to handle being scammed by an artist also from this site?
Let's say you've commissioned an artist from here and the amount you paid was well-over in the hundreds, a good little chunk, but then they just take it and run?

How do you report this, and is there a way to get your money back?

[fleet]

I'm sorry you were scammed.
Getting your money back probably depends on how you paid. If you paid thru paypal, you can lodge a dispute.
Here's a link that describes something very similar. You might find it helpful.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=46283

[Imperf3kt]

I don't think they've been scammed yet, I think this is general paranoia that comes from lack of experience. Before going through an unfamiliar process, the OP is gathering all the information they can to protect themselves.
A wise move in my opinion.


I personally, have never commissioned anybody in this way, so my advice here may not be applicable, but what I would to to minimise potential issues is I'd make sure to use communications which can be used as evidence in a court of law. For instance, email exchanges where the email host does backups (so tampering with the message contents can be proven / disproven)
For added security, I'd ensure the terms of the agreement are FULLY documented and agreed to by both parties. That would include:
- how communication is to be handled, including how often.
- when to expect approximate delivery of the work
- when and how to pay (half now, half upon delivery?)
- what to do in the event of either party breaching the agreement. - lets say the artist has to go to hospital for an extended time and your work is not completed, nor are you contacted.

Among other things.

[morinoir]

May I ask how long have you been waiting since the last time the artist sent you an update? If you commissioned them for quite an amount, it may take two weeks or more for them to worked on it. If they still reply your email, that means they're still working on your order.

Being accused of scam can damage your relationship with the artist, and if it turns out to be false accusation, chances are they will drop the project halfway (either after finishing the commission or by refund you). But if it turns out to be true, I think it's better to reveal who the artist is as a warning so people will stay away from commissioning them.

[screebs]

May I ask how long have you been waiting since the last time the artist sent you an update? If you commissioned them for quite an amount, it may take two weeks or more for them to worked on it. If they still reply your email, that means they're still working on your order.

Being accused of scam can damage your relationship with the artist, and if it turns out to be false accusation, chances are they will drop the project halfway (either after finishing the commission or by refund you). But if it turns out to be true, I think it's better to reveal who the artist is as a warning so people will stay away from commissioning them.

its been about 4 months and right after they were paid, they just vanished.
Wont reply to any emails or facebook messages or anything.

[screebs]

I don't think they've been scammed yet, I think this is general paranoia that comes from lack of experience. Before going through an unfamiliar process, the OP is gathering all the information they can to protect themselves.
A wise move in my opinion.


I personally, have never commissioned anybody in this way, so my advice here may not be applicable, but what I would to to minimise potential issues is I'd make sure to use communications which can be used as evidence in a court of law. For instance, email exchanges where the email host does backups (so tampering with the message contents can be proven / disproven)
For added security, I'd ensure the terms of the agreement are FULLY documented and agreed to by both parties. That would include:
- how communication is to be handled, including how often.
- when to expect approximate delivery of the work
- when and how to pay (half now, half upon delivery?)
- what to do in the event of either party breaching the agreement. - lets say the artist has to go to hospital for an extended time and your work is not completed, nor are you contacted.

Among other things.

I was scammed from this site, actually.
An artist claiming to do CG art took almost 300 dollars from me for commission work towards a visual novel and wont reply to me anymore.
They got their payment and dipped.

Do you think i should reveal the artist so others are aware?

[Imperf3kt]

If its been four months with no contact despite you reaching out then yes!

Whether intentionally malicious or not, knowing the identity may help:
- Find out what happened to them (they may indeed be hospitalised, incarcerated or other)
- Warn others of a potential scam / warn others of an unresponsive artist for w.e reason

I would advise giving some leeway with time before revealing, but I believe three months w/out contact is where I would draw the line. Possibly reaching out publically at about 2 months.

[morinoir]

I'm really sorry to hear that. But yes, you should reveal their identity at this point to prevent same case happen to other people. Hopefully the artist will contact you after you called them out in public and reveal what they've done to you. Keep in mind that you might have to post your emails with them in chronological order as proof. And please try to handle this matter professionally. I don't know if lodging paypal dispute is possible at this point, but you can always contact their customer service to ask about it.

[Inksword]

I agree with the above posters, it'd be a good idea to mention their name here, but more importantly, post your experience in their commissions thread, where other people will be looking and considering them. Not everyone is going to read the forums thoroughly, so posting on the thread itself will let other people see the artist's past behavior right where they look.

[screebs]

I'm gonna give them a couple more days before I post who it is, just to give them time to reply to my newest messages!

[Helyees]

Important topic! It is important that this dev community tries to protect itself fromm scamming. Mentioning names (you dont find names here, usually just aliases hiding true identities) would definetly help everyone.

[Taleweaver]

Important topic! It is important that this dev community tries to protect itself fromm scamming. Mentioning names (you dont find names here, usually just aliases hiding true identities) would definetly help everyone.

Hold yer horses. At least to some extent.

While we as a dev community have an interest in not getting scammed, the Lemmasoft forums are not a place for publicly exposing scammers. There will be no "pillory thread" for people to report the perceived wrongdoing of others here.

What you can (and should) do if you feel you've been scammed: sue. Give them bad reviews for their professional conduct in the places where they advertise their services. If they have a thread up promoting what they do here on our forums, use these threads to tell the story of what happened to you. This will
a) make others who want to hire them see what you have to say and
b) give them the opportunity to respond.

The administration of this forum will not take sides in "I said / they said" situations. We will give both sides the chance to explain themselves as long as discussion remains civil. (So far, this thread, for example, has been very civil in tone.)

[fleet]

As I said before, I'm sorry you were scammed.
If you paid through paypal, and you made the purchase within 180 days, go ahead and lodge a dispute. Paypal will contact the seller. If the seller doesn't respond, paypal will debit the seller's account and credit yours.

[rayminator]

here is some advice for everyone it best to pay half now then pay the rest when the project is done

example:
so if it's 300.00 only pay 150.00 or 75.00 per month for four months

you shouldn't pay in full for something like this

you should've contacted paypal as stated above

that what I do so hope my advice helps you for the next time you have to get something like this again