1340art Reports & Reviews (2)
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SCAMPULSE
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SCAMPULSE
If you know any contact information for 1340art, help other victims by adding it!
Type of a scam Phishing
For the past several months I've been trying to approach these pages with no luck. My thoughts went in two directions: 1) These pages were dealing with their thousands of other followers and I was on the bottom of the list OR 2)My art sucks. Whatever the reason for not reaching back to me, my thoughts were geared towards the latter.
Then something occurred to me: there's thousands of other artists out there who have or were in the same situation. So I thought I'm going to start my own art sharing page.
I went onto YouTube to see how to gain followers, and I started to gain followers for this page. It was amazing. I worked so long and hard to gain my followers for my own art page, and this was fast!
About a week and a half into my art sharing page, I posted my own artwork a little nervous.
That's when the scam was starting to take place.
One of my followers claimed to be an art curator for a magazine, and was looking for new talent. If I wanted to I could submit my own work to the website. I did't think I had anything to lose, so I thought why not? The worse that could happen is I get rejected.
I should have noticed this as unusual, but on the page I was submitting my work, there was a warning sign, staying to keep safe. If someone approaches you, claiming to belong to the site, not to respond, bring it up with them. The only way someone would approach me was through Instagram or direct mail, anything else, would not be authentic. Also, there was a sense that this was something exclusive, something I shouldn't mention to anyone else. But if this was so exclusive, why was there an "Artists Call" tab at the top of the page? Pretty much anyone could access the page, or enter their art.
A couple of days passed, and I received an e-mail saying my work passed the initial round. They'd love to see more of my work, and if it passed this final round, it'd be featured in their magazine.
I was so excited! I was sharing on social media my good news, calling family, and once I got done talking to my grandparents, something in the back of my mind was thinking, "Is this a scam?"
Sure enough, I go onto Google, search the publication, and right under the sites listing there were people on threads asking the same question. I looked on those sites, and yep, it's a scam.
I asked friends and family for help, what their opinions were. I went onto my Facebook groups and asked for second opinions, if they had any familiarity with this publication or art scams. Yep, they got the same exact message.
I felt a little embarrassed and naive. I thought I was finally getting my big break after all of my hard work I had been putting into my art page. I'm glad I listened to that little voice in my head and did extra research!
Looking back there were a couple of other tell-tale signs this was a scam.
For starters, it was that little voice inside my head, that intuition, instincts. After I was done telling my grandparents, something was like, "Is this a scam?"
For being an INTERNATIONAL magazine, there was no phone number to reach them. What if someone needed to call? If you check out the major publications, there's a phone number you can call. And speaking of major publications, I've never heard of 1340art as an art magazine. Compare to well-known major publications. Which seems more trusting?
If you look at major publications, how many of them make a claim to keep safe on social media, if someone approaches you claiming to be from the magazine, to be watchful? For me, it made me feel like I could trust them, because they were concerned about me. But after investigation, this was just a twisted way to instill a fake sense of trust.
There were different locations. I could have swore the lady that approached me on Instagram had a location set up in Italy, then could not find that location anywhere. On the page, they gave a location of the Netherlands.
Things just didn't add up. The curator that approached me, I didn't realize until later, wasn't on the list of editors, something I didn't pay attention to. But the lady who approached me via e-mail, was on the list of editors, and continued the conversation right where the first curator left off. They could not keep their story straight.
The part that made it difficult to discern if it was a scam was the website and payment. The website looked legit. Normally, if the website doesn't have good graphics, or if there are spelling errors, or just not well constructed, that's a red flag. Nope, this website looked real. And I understand paying for being in a competition or a feature on a magazine. On Instagram, you can pay to have a feature on an art sharing page. It did not seem that far of a stretch or demand. Another thing that did not add up: on the website one of their opportunities was YouTube, but if you click on their channel, there's no content.
And ultimately the offer was too good to be true: essentially a golden opportunity for international fame. I'm sorry but nobody can guarantee this.
Scammers are can be skilled in deception. They know who they are targeting, and how to play on your emotions. They know how to guilt trip you, and pressure you into something you are not sure you want to do. They know how to instill a fake sense of trust. They know how to create chaos, keep you in the dark, and create roundabout ways instead of answering directly.
The best thing you can do for yourself is do some extra research, whether it's going onto Google, asking around, or checking it out on ScamPulse.com itself, it could make the difference. Then if you find out it is a scam, take action. Report it on social media, report to Google (if they have a website), and of course, report it on here. Again, I'm glad I listened to the little voice in my head instead of committing to this deal! I could have been telling a more upsetting and disappointing story!
Scammer's address De Ruijterkade 6 1013 AA,
Scammer's email [email protected]
Type of a scam Sweepstakes/Lottery/Prizes
Scam link: https://1340art.formstack.com/forms/competitionq4b3