Ever want to be the subject of an art piece? Scammers are using that in an attempt to obtain money by false pretenses.

On October 21st at approximately 3:47 p.m. Deputy J.E. Cordes responded to a scam report. The victim advised he was contacted by someone on Facebook named “Lovely.” This lovely lady advised she had a client that would like to purchase rights to use the victim’s likeness in art portfolios and licensed work. As the conversation progressed, the victim was offered $1,000 for his image to be used. As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

The scammer would issue the victim a “digital check” that was determined to be a bad check. The scammer would then request the money back. Since the check was bad, if the victim sent money to the scammer, it would come directly from his account. When the victim did not comply with the scam, the scammer advised he was actually an assassin with the cartel. The scamming assassin threatened to harm the victim if the victim did not comply. The victim ceased contact with the scammer and reported the incident.

Scams like these use fear tactics to get the victim to act quickly or face consequences. Assassins are not posing as artists to obtain money. If you receive messages like these through social media, do not comply and report the account.