DrawWithMike.net

from: Marta Lajoso <artists-update@wearesingulart.com>
to: mike@sibleyfineart.com

So, who are they? Well, their SINGULART.com domain name was created in 2004, and they are, as they claim, based in France. Browse through their website and I've no doubt they sell art. But then cracks start to show...

They know my email address and should be able to deduce it contains the name of my website. They're writing to Mike@SibleyFineArt, but think my first name is Sibley.

EMAIL #1

Hi Sibley,
I'm Marta Lajoso with Singulart's Artist Relations team, the leading online art gallery for collectors globally. One of our long-term collectors has shown real interest in your work.
Could you please share the best number to contact you for a quick call to discuss the potential sale?

Why? My phone number is on my Contact page. They've never been to my website, so where have they seen my work that they're so interested in?

EMAIL #2

One of our long-term collectors has been captivated by your work and would like to move forward with the purchase this week. But without your reply, we're unable to present your piece to them.
Could you send your best contact number so someone from our team can call you directly?

Captivated!!!? And we've narrowed it down to a single "piece". But the "long-term collector" never thought to search and find my website. Again, where have any of them seen this "piece"?

EMAIL #3

Hi Sibley,
Our collector is looking to make a decision by tomorrow. If we don't hear back, we won't be able to move forward with the sale.
To avoid missing this opportunity, could you please provide your best contact number so we can arrange a quick call?
If a call isn't convenient, I'd be more than willing to continue the conversation by email, whichever works best for you.

In four days, we've gone from "Discuss a potential sale" to "Urgent". And here's why.... As you might know, I'm quite comfortable with coding, and this is the final section of the FIRST email's source code: So now we know:
Subject: singulart-artists-subscription-3003cc
Marketing Campaign ID: 3116
Email sequence: Step 1 (of 3, as we now know)
The BOT thinks my FIRST NAME is: SIBLEY.
And the Link goes to the Artist Subscription page.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I'd have to become a "member" for the sale to proceed - that link above permits you to "skip the line as an invited artist" - and the three annual subscription rates are $300, $700 and $1500. This is just a guess, but once I'm signed up there's a good possibility that "sale" will be withdrawn.

If true, it all makes sense!

I suspect they're a bona fide art dealership, but with an unethical recruitment method that preys on potentially hungry artists. So BEWARE of SINGULART.com.

Thanks for the heads up Mike. Some of these are so obviously false, it’s laughable, but some like this one can be deceiving.