(This journal was reposted from the account of  AlphaGodith , show them some appreciation for putting this together)

FA doesn't allow call-out posts so tho i have substantial evidence on one particular user here, i cannot mention them by name. however, that doesn't mean i can't make a post about the scam they are pulling, that many others are likely also using or will be using, so you can look out for it.

first, a little background. there is a massive difference in the value of american currency, the dollar, and russian currency, the rubel. this means that many russian artists will charge what to us americans, is a super cheap price, for art that is worth far more to us. that's not the scam, that's just how things go with an insane exchange rate. (1 USD is roughly 74 RUB- i've also learned that it's pretty high for AUD as well, 1 AUD to about 57 RUB, so watch out for that)

the scam is that there are people here, posing as artists and offering commissions, who charge you the american price (say, 100$ for a nice full-rendered fullbody), then throw your description of your order into google translate, and commission a russian artist off-site for your image but at the much cheaper russian price (say, 20$), give you the other artist's work, claiming they made it, and pocket the 80$ difference.

it is very important to note that at no point does this person tell you they are doing this. they avidly claim to have drawn the work themself, and will cut contact if you show them evidence to the contrary. the artists they are abusing are NOT giving permission for their work to be re-sold, and in fact, are told that the characters they are drawing belong to the scammer, not you(tho they likely could also claim it's a gift). these scammers are disgusting liars and thieves.

what to look out for;

-leaves generic 'i love your gallery' shouts on your and many many others' pages
-comes to you offering to sell, rather than posting a public price sheet/examples of their work (the one example i know of is on discord, where they claimed to like the target's gallery, then when asked what they liked about it, requested a link to it, since they had never actually seen it)
-insists on talking outside of furaffinity, such as discord, instead of through notes (this is not just for faster interaction, putting you under pressure, but also so that the conversation cannot be used against them ON furaffinity)
-either has no public gallery at all or has a very young one (all artists have to start sometime, but you should always be cautious of new accounts, ESPECIALLY if they come to YOU with an offer)
-speaks really bad english(tho i'm sure americans will start pulling this scam too, so don't rely on this one to identify them. it's just one we noticed with this particular person. it is easier for russians to find other russian artists to abuse, as well, than for an english-speaking person)
-has nothing they will not draw, and has no preference on content (since they are not the one drawing and can easily find AN artist who's willing to do what you ask for)
-doesn't link their various accounts to eachother (no way to find them on other sites than the one they contact you from) or has zero consistency in their usernames (to evade bans)
-is pushy and impatient (since they are nervous and have to get back to the real artist with what you say)
-has inconsistent pricing or tries to raise the price after you agree to one (they will be open to haggling, since even if it's a lower price they still make a profit)
-has very inconsistent art style (art in their gallery may even still have obvious watermarks/signatures that do not match)
-gets extremely defensive/rude if you question their process, style, or watermark/signature (or just suddenly drops the whole thing, or claims to be busy, after pestering you with almost no breaks)
-does not use invoices, and/or tries to convince you to pay them 'as a friend' to avoid paypal's protection fees. (when in reality it is so you cannot get a refund)

please stay safe and spread this warning around! not only is this horrible for the customers getting scammed out of big bucks, but for the artists who are being abused and not receiving their due payment and exposure/credit.

and artists; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HAVE LEGIBLE SIGNATURES ON ALL YOUR WORK. if you just use a cute symbol, nobody can find you to contact/credit you if your work is stolen! also do not put it on an outer edge, as it can easily be cropped out.