There has recently been a huge increase in scammers on social media targeting tattoo clients. These scammers will attempt to trick people into sending them money to cover a tattoo deposit for a tattoo that will never happen. They will sometimes claim to be mobile and other times claim to work in one of the local shops.
We believe in the importance of keeping our customers safe and the tattoo community holding itself to a high standard. With this in mind we have compiled the following advice to avoid tattoo scams.
Some things to look out for when identifying a tattoo scam, not all of these things straight away mean that someone is a scammer, but they are red flags to be wary of:
Scammers will rip tattoos from other artists profiles to use, they usually don’t pay attention to keeping the work looking consistant. If some of it looks amazing and some of it looks bad, it’s a red flag.
If the furniture, flooring and walls look different in every photo, and they were clearly all done in different places. Probably not by the same artist.
Nobody is doing a sleeve for $100, unless they are running a crazy discount or they are wanting it for a portfolio piece.
Large numbers of different tattoos posted on their profile on the same day, instead of a steady stream of consistent work.
What shop do they work in? How long have they worked there? Often scammers will tell you they are “mobile” or offer vague answers to avoid questions.
You can also try to reverse image search some of their tattoo photos to see if they have been posted in other places by the original artist. You can use google lens or www.tineye.com for this.
As with most things in life, Tattooing is not a one size fits all decision. There are many shops in town that offer many different tattoo experiences, and many different artists who specialize in their own styles. What is a good fit for one person, may not be a good fit for another.
The best way to keep yourself safe when looking for your next tattoo is to look around and check portfolios.
- Go into shops directly, talk to artists there or browse their portfolios to get an idea of the work they do.
- Ask friends, family, or people you see around for advice on who they get their tattoos from if you like the tattoo work they have.
- Avoid asking on social media as you are just asking for a ton of opinions from people who you have no idea if their work or advice is good. You’re also inviting scammers to take advantage of you.
- Google local tattoo shops, check out their contact details, go to their websites and social media pages to see who their artists are and what kind of work they produce. (Avoid calling, we work in a visual medium, it is super rare that we can provide you with any details about price etc over the phone, we need to SEE what you want)
From Tony, Olivia and all of the team at Acid Ink Tattoos, we wish you luck finding an awesome artist that works for you!
if you need any further advice you can always contact us on Facebook!
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