06/29/2026
Ahhh we love a scammer. These are the things you have to deal with as a business owner🙄
🚩All my friends that have photographer friends & all my photographers on here. Share this to make sure everyone is protecting themselves from scams.🚩
This is why I am strict on how I do transactions/payments. I knew this person was a scammer from the start. I confirmed it was a scammer when I put the phone number in google & the first thing to pop up was a post from a photographer page calling this scammer out. There were MULTIPLE photographers on there that had gotten messages from this email/number/person. They will “send” money through an app, then send a fake confirmation screenshot. When the photographer doesn’t get said money, they will “send” more money. When the photographer still doesn’t get the money they try to convince (& sometimes successfully convinces) the photographer to send the money “back”. This is why I NEVER take payments on Zelle, Venmo, Cashapp, or anything like them. I ONLY take payments through my website, as that is more safe for not only me but my real clients as well. I always try to tell other photographers especially new ones not to take payment through these apps as they are not on your side. Booking through a legit booking website is so much more safe for all parties involved.
Things to look out for in a scammer:
🚩 very pushy about booking asap (they want to keep the conversation going fast & not give you a lot of time to think)
🚩 will not want to do any “official” booking (they know this will make it harder for them to get you to send money)
🚩 will make up some kind of lie as to why they “can’t” book through your website.
🚩 some will try to send you over what you quoted so you can send another “vendor” their payment. (NEVER take payment for another vendor. They will try to make an excuse as to why they couldn’t do it, but don’t fall for it)
🚩 they will give vague details like saying they are “local”(when asked where they are located they will say whatever city is on your public page. When asked more details they will avoid giving them.)
🚩 they will offer to pay in full. (I have had real clients pay in full but very rarely & usually it’s returning clients.)
🚩 grammatical errors/ inconsistencies in details