A new social media scam seeks to trick young people into depositing fake checks in exchange for paintings of the victims, according to a new Federal Trade Commission alert.
The scam begins with a direct message on social media from an “artist” saying they like the victim’s photo and want to pay the person thousands of dollars to use his or her likeness in a painting. The victims are then sent a check, told to deposit it and to take out money to send to the artist for the art supplies. By the time the person realizes the check was fake, “you’ll be out the money you sent the scammer and owe the bank any money you withdrew,” according to the agency.
“If someone you don’t know sends you a check and asks you to send money back to them or to someone else, it’s a scam,” the FTC said. “It’s best to only deposit checks from people you know and trust.”