Possible scammer?

[artcee_vibes]

Hi, I actually posted about the another scammer situation and just didn't fall for it by declining.(No order was created) But I'm going through another one that seems oddly similar. A buyer inboxed me today about illustration for patreon. Within the first few minutes they asked me if I had a model. I was confused by what they meant because out of all the art commissions I've had nobody ever mentioned a model before. I asked what they meant and they sent me an email to somebody and wanted me to hire "her". I told them I don't do use models. I simply just draw based off any references and what the client described so they would have to go about a model on their own. They then said they will hire "her" "for you". Which sounded so weird to me. So I said the project the sounded fun but I have to decline because I am not the artist for it but good luck. They proceeded to bombard me with texts about just doing one drawing then deciding then called me complicated in the last one. I just restated, "I decline. We're not a good fit."  Then they said, "you are not fit to be here at all, waste of time and disinformation false representation. I will report you."  I ended it with "do what you feel. Good luck on your patreon project." The person left off with, "Thank you for understanding my decision to report you. It is nothing personal." Then this person blocked me.  I'm new to fiverr and only had one actual order that was splendid. Client was great and they loved the finish drawing. So I don't know how to navigate this since I never did anything and this person never made an order. I heard its hard dealing with a report and even my account can be lost. Any advice? 

[shalock]

Hi,

I think you did good. The first red flag was to ask you to contact someone outside Fiverr and that's against the TOS, so doing that could have you banned.

I'm also an illustrator and I understand perfectly your situation, if they wanted to use a model, they should have taken the pictures and then send them to you, your work isn't to deal with the model.

I think you followed your guts and it was fishy, also, this kind of insistence and then threatening is a classic intimidation tactic used by scammers.

I don't think they'll "report you". In any case, if they do, the only thing you did was to reject their work, a thing that as a freelancer you have all the right to do.

Good luck with your next projects!

Edited October 6, 2022 by shalock
Grammar

[nika_3dartist]

There are often people (generally newbies) who ask you to contact them outside Fiverr. Sometimes I get contacted by random clients telling me to reach them out on Discord or Instagram and after declining their request, it seems like they are banned.

As soon as someone tries to bring you away from the platform, it is always good to say no. They agree to the TOS, but don't really read them and expect to hire people for their projects and use their preferred platform for communication. It's pretty common and also very harmful to sellers should they agree to it.

In other words, you did good. Keep rejecting these requests as they can be dangerous for your account, it is only a matter of time before they get reported (you could also do the report yourself) and Fiverr takes action. Only accept to be hired by serious buyers who stick to the rules and use the platform correctly.

[all_asmoule]

Good luck with your next projects!

[webdev_mokhles]

Best of luck