Scams are a common plague in pretty much any industry, and photography is not immune to them.
One popular scam involves an over-eager client who contacts you out of the blue to employ your services and usually for a higher rate than normal.
As PetaPixel points out, there are some other tell-tale signs of this type of client. They usually have very detailed requirements and this is communicated very quickly or sometimes vaguely. The kicker is that, no matter what rate you quote them, you’re going to receive a check from them for a much larger amount.
The scam part of this is that the would-be mark is supposed to cash this overpayment and refund the excess amount back to the new client or on to a third-party “vendor.” The check is eventually rejected by the bank and the person scammed is out of the money they refunded or sent over to the third-party.
It seems this scam is creeping up again because, as many of you are probably aware, photographers are pretty desperate for work right now during the COVID-19 pandemic. This scam preys upon both a photographer’s trust and their eagerness to put some business on the books.
Just remember, if it is suspicious, follow your gut and stay out of it. Don’t cash checks for more than what you charge and definitely don’t refund money to new clients who overpay for no reason.
You can check out our article on how to avoid scams by clicking here.
Have you ever been victim to a photography scam? Was it similar to the one in this story? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to check out our other photography news here on Light Stalking by clicking this link.
