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| {{Short description|Confidence trick}} | |||
| Across the world there have been numerous reports of people who identify themselves as '''Israeli art students''' fraudulently selling fake paintings to unsuspecting collectors. The scam is closely related to a number of high-profile espionage allegations against ] during the 2001-2002 period in the ]. | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} | |||
| The '''art student scam''' is a ] in which cheap, ] paintings or prints are misrepresented as original works of art, often by young people pretending to be art students trying to raise money for art supplies or tuition fees.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scam art ripples Peninsula "Students" up-sell cheap, mass-produced works door-to-door|newspaper=Peace Arch News |location=The (White Rock, British Columbia, Canada) |date= 10 August 2004 |page=1 |quote=An Israeli art scam with suggested links to espionage and fundamentalist fundraisers may have turned up on the Semiahmoo Peninsula. At least half a dozen locals—probably more—were likely duped by the hoax, which has for years puzzled North American authorities. Young Israelis posing as art students travel door-to-door hocking mass-produced art as their own. The works are worth little, but still sell for hundreds of dollars to naive customers.}}</ref><ref>Wilton, Suzanne, "Art-sales-scam ringleaders ordered to leave Canada", '']'', Vancouver, B.C.: 7 August 2004. pg. A.8.</ref><ref name="Seattle">{{cite news |url=http://komonews.com/archive/information-on-an-israeli-art-scam |title=Information on an Israeli Art Scam |publisher=] |date=30 August 2006 |access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=moyes/> The sellers mostly represented themselves as French art students, but the scam has recently been copied internationally, with instances of Israeli, Chinese, Chilean, Nigerian and other nationalities {{citation needed|date=May 2012}} posing as art students or dealers in Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States since around 2000.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} The art is often sold in exhibition sites or art galleries.<ref name=moyes/><ref name="ABCAustralia">{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/18/2220627.htm |title=Foreign students caught up in fake art scam |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=18 April 2008}}</ref><ref name="Canada">{{cite news |url=http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/08/19/10523156.html |title=Israeli art scam preying on people's kindness |work=Calgary Sun |date=19 August 2009 |first=Renato |last=Gandia |access-date=2 March 2010 |archive-date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315071204/http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/08/19/10523156.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Australia">{{cite news |url=http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/oil-painting-scam-hits-the-border/1494344.aspx |title=Oil painting scam hits the Border |work=Border Mail |date=22 April 2009}}</ref><ref name=NZ>{{cite news|work=The New Zealand Herald |date=4 February 2004 |last=Dye |first=Stuart |title=Brush with law reveals art scam |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3547311 }}<br />{{cite news|publisher=] |date=18 January 2006 |first=Narelle |last=Coulter |url=http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/8437 |title=Door slammed on 'original' art scam |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906025152/http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/8437 |archive-date=6 September 2008 }}<br />{{cite news|work=Waikato Times |date=19 January 2010 |first=Belinda |last=Feek |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/3241358/Warnings-out-over-art-scam |title=Warnings out over art scam }}</ref> Many scammers operate alongside and at the long-run expense of genuine art students who show their yearly work in festivals during the summer vacation. | |||
| == The scam == | |||
| ==Mass-produced paintings== | |||
| The "Israeli art student scam" is a well-known ] in which scammers, claiming to be travelling ] art students, approach people in their homes or on the street and attempt to sell them ] and frames for excessive prices. The paintings are represented as original and valuable art by up-and-coming talents but are in fact cheap, mass-produced works bought wholesale from ]. The scammers explain that they are directly approaching people with offers because properly exhibiting the work in an ] would be prohibitively expensive. <ref name="Canada">{{cite news |url=http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/08/19/10523156.html |title="Israeli art scam" preying on people's kindness |publisher=] |date=2009-08-19}} |first=Renato |last=Gandia</ref><ref name="Australia">{{cite news |url=http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/oil-painting-scam-hits-the-border/1494344.aspx |title=Oil painting scam hits the Border |publisher=] |date=2009-04-22}}</ref><ref name="Seattle">{{cite news |url=http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4007381.html |title=Information On An Israeli Art Scam |publisher=] |date=2006-08-30}}</ref> Framing is often provided at a later date by mobile vans in order to obtain the phone numbers of willing "marks" and extract as much money as possible. | |||
| Most mass-produced prints and paintings originate in Asia.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} These are essentially posters, sometimes referred to as "Hong Kong horrors," printed on rough paper, making the absence of brush strokes less apparent. There is a confusion between "mass-produced paintings" which are actually prints. These are being sold over the internet described as real oil paintings, taking advantage of the difficulty of spotting the scam behind the screen. Sometimes a few brush strokes are added to the prints to give them a more authentic oil-painting look. | |||
| ==Australia and New Zealand== | |||
| The scam has been reported in ] <ref name="Canada"/>, ]<ref name="Australia"/>, ] <ref>{{cite news |publisher=] |date=2006-01-18 |first=Narelle |last=Coulter |url=http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/8437 |title=Door slammed on ‘original’ art scam}}</ref> and ] <ref name="Seattle"/>. | |||
| People posing as art students were reported in Australia and New Zealand from as early as 2003.<ref name=moyes>{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/east-bays-courier/3403169/Warning-on-art-scam|title=Warning on art scam|last=Moyes|first=Sarah|author2=Michelle Robinson|date=5 March 2010|work=East And Bays Courier|access-date=29 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.designfederation.net/general/beware-of-door-to-door-art-scams/|title=Beware of 'Israeli' door-to-door art scams!|last=Rogers|first=Sy|date=2 March 2009|work=Design Federation|access-date=29 July 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100719053941/http://www.designfederation.net/general/beware-of-door-to-door-art-scams/| archive-date= 19 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> The paintings, worth around ]5, were passed off as being worth hundreds of dollars.<ref name="ABCAustralia"/> Three backpackers—an Israeli and two Chileans—were taken to court in ] for the scam in 2003 but were discharged as the judge said that they were "minnows" in the organisation. They reportedly made ]15,000 in three weeks from the scam. The ] suspected that an Auckland man was the organiser of the operation.<ref name="NZ"/> A 23-year-old man was arrested in New South Wales, Australia, for operating the scam and 50 oil paintings were found in his car.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/13/2445638.htm?site=idx-nsw|title=Police arrest 23yo over alleged art scam|date=13 December 2008|work=ABC News|access-date=29 July 2010|location=Australia}}</ref> An adviser for the New Zealand ] said: "All around the world, students from various countries are doing this." She suggested that the scam's organiser may place advertisements in backpackers' lodges to recruit students.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/3399549/Door-to-door-art-scam|title=Door-to-door art scam|last=Robinson|first=Michelle|date=4 March 2010|work=North Shore Times|access-date=29 July 2010}}</ref> The scammers have also claimed to be Greek, Argentinian, and French.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/local/news/bogus-student-touting-art-fakes-around-clive/3912395/|title=Bogus student touting art fakes around Clive|last=Thomson|first=Alister|date=12 April 2010|work=Hawke's Bay Today|access-date=29 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717055600/http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/local/news/bogus-student-touting-art-fakes-around-clive/3912395/|archive-date=17 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/art-sellers-painting-a-suspect-picture/3912676/|title=Art sellers painting a suspect picture|date=18 April 2010|work=The Northern Advocate|access-date=29 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719003113/http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/art-sellers-painting-a-suspect-picture/3912676/|archive-date=19 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
| ==Canada== | |||
| The Australian ] police have released a warning about the scheme. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nt.gov.au/pfes/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewMediaRelease&pID=5664&y=2006&mo=11 |date=2006-11-22 |publisher=] |title=Police warn against art scam }}</ref> | |||
| In 2004, a group of Russians said to have been selling mass-produced paintings as their own work, for hundreds of dollars each, were deported from Canada for working in violation of their visas. The scam recurred in 2009 in ] and in ]. Eight people claiming to be students from Israel, Russia, Germany, and France were arrested, and 100 paintings were seized by the ] and Border Services.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstalk980.com/story/20090904/21900 |title=Scam 'Artists' in Warman |last=Slobodian |first=Erin |date=4 September 2009 |work=News Talk 980 |access-date=29 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909184329/http://www.newstalk980.com/story/20090904/21900 |archive-date=9 September 2009 }}</ref> | |||
| ==China== | |||
| == 2001–2002 Israeli art student spying scandal == | |||
| In China, scammers approach tourists at popular attractions such as the ] and ].<ref>"The famous art show ripoff in Tiananmen Square was recently cleaned up for the Olympics. This was a pretty funny one, where English-speaking 'art students' would strike up conversation with overseas visitors and tell them they happen to be in town for an art show across the street. The show was closing today when I first heard the spiel in 2006, it was closing today when I returned to Beijing in 2007, but the pre-Olympics cleanup really seems to have closed the collection of knockoff art." . See also {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620234355/http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Beijing_Shi/Beijing-1024960/Tourist_Traps-Beijing-Art_Students-BR-1.html |date=20 June 2009 }}.</ref> The scammer speaks English well enough to get into a conversation with the foreigner and then claims to be an art student whose works are on display at a nearby exhibition, which is part of the scam and sells mass-produced art reproductions at exorbitant prices. There are warnings about this scam in tourist guides.<ref name="ZH">''Frommer's China'', New York: Wiley, 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-470-52658-3}}, p. 140. "You should also be leery of any English-speaking youngsters who claim to be 'art students' and offer to take you to a special exhibit of their work.... The art, which you will be pressured to buy, almost always consists of assembly-line reproductions of famous (or not-so-famous) paintings offered at prices several dozen times higher than their actual value."</ref><ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703045129/http://www.chinaprimer.com/china-travel-tips/china-tourism-scams.html |date=3 July 2010 }}</ref> | |||
| ==United States== | |||
| During the 2001–2002 period in the United States there were official reports of hundreds of young Israelis posing as art students spying on federal buildings and employees. | |||
| From the summer of 2000, news outlets in the ] reported that young people were posing as art students selling mass-produced oil paintings, both copies and originals, for US$780–$2000 each. The so-called art students were said to be selling in exhibitions and galleries, primarily targeting local businesses. They claimed to be Israeli citizens studying at art schools in Europe and to be in the United States selling works by talented fellow artists to raise money for art supplies or school fees.<ref name="Seattle"/> | |||
| Through the early 2000s, some 13 separate incidents of "art student" encounters were reported across the United States.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} | |||
| In January 2001 ] (DEA) field offices around the country reported that the "art students" had been attempting to penetrate offices for over a year, as well as other law enforcement and Department of Defence agencies. They had also visited the homes of many DEA officers and senior federal officials and attempted to sell art. Suspicious agents observed that when the "art students" departed they did not approach their neighbours. DEA Agents reported on 130 incidents involving "art students". Some "art students" were caught diagramming the architecture of federal buildings. Some were found to have photographed federal officials. <ref name="Salon">{{cite news |url=http://mobile.salon.com/news/feature/2002/05/07/students/index.html |title=The Israeli "art student" mystery |first=Christopher |last= Ketcham |date=2002-05-07 |publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| According to ], in 2002 FBI officials claimed that the "art students" were "running a major eavesdropping operation that had penetrated into the highest echelons of the US administration".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020321021731/http://real-info.1accesshost.com/janes1.html |title=Allies and Espionage |date=2002-03-15 |publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | {{reflist}} | ||
| {{Scams and confidence tricks}} | |||
| === Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive warning === | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Art student scam}} | |||
| In March 2001, the US ] (NCIX) issued a warning about people identifying themselves as "Israeli art students" attempting to bypass security and gain entry to federal buildings, and even to the private residences of senior federal officials under the guise of selling art.<ref name="NCIX">{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070124104741/http://www.ncix.gov/archives/nacic/news/2001/mar01.html |title=Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive: Suspicious Visitors to Federal Facilities (archived at Internet Archive}}</ref> Subsequent to the NCIX bulletin, officials raised other red flags, including an ] alert, a ] alert, an ] security alert and a request that the ] investigate a specific case. The "art students" were subsequently treated with more caution by officials. <ref name="Salon"/> | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| === Leaked Drug Enforcement Agency report === | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| A leaked 60-page DEA report in 2002 revealed that up to 200 young Israelis had been arrested in America in the past year, of which about 140 were arrested before the ]. The other 60 were arrested on October 31, 2002 by the ] and Immigration and Naturalization Service in ], ], ], ] and ]. Rather than selling art, these Israelis were working in kiosks in shopping centres across America selling toys. The FBI was investigating the kiosks as a front operation for espionage activities. The report said that most of the Israelis interrogated by Americans reported having served in the ] in military intelligence, electronic signals interception and explosive ordnance units. One of the detainees was an Israeli general's son, another was a former bodyguard to the chief of the IDF, and another had operated Patriot missiles.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/03/07/wspy07.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/03/07/ixworld.html |title=Telegraph.co.uk: US arrests 200 young Israelis in spying investigation}}</ref><ref name="Sunday Herald">{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060423065411/http://ww1.sundayherald.com/37707|title=Sunday Herald (UK) via Internet Archive: Were they part of a massive spy ring which shadowed the 9/11 hijackers and knew that al-Qaeda planned a devastating terrorist attack on the USA?}}</ref> In 2002 several officials dismissed reports of a spy ring and said the allegations were made by a Drug Enforcement Agency who was angry his theories had been dismissed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020307&slug=notspies07 |title=U.S. officials dismiss report of Israeli spies |last=Mintz |first=John |coauthors=Dan Eggen |date=March 7, 2002 |publisher=] |accessdate=October 18, 2008}}</ref> | |||
| The DEA report also claims that Israeli companies that had provided telephony services for U.S. businesses and U.S. federal organizations were connected to the "art students" and advised that Israeli telephony companies should be investigated. It raised the possibility that "back doors" had been installed in communications equipment to assist Israeli espionage. <ref name="Haaretz">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=162902&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=162902 |title=Spies, or students? Were the Israelis just trying to sell their paintings, or agents in a massive espionage ring? |first=Nathan |last=Guttman |date=2002-05-07 |publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| === September 11 allegations === | |||
| It has been suggested that operatives in this "art student spy ring" were tracking the 9/11 hijackers and knew that the attacks were going to take place, although the ] memo was primarily concerned with the students' efforts to foil investigations into unrelated Israeli organized crime.<ref>. '']'' (Paris) March 5, 2002. Retrieved 2010-01-12.</ref> | |||
| German weekly ] published two articles regarding the September 11 controversy, one of which, titled "Next Door to Mohammed Atta" concerned allegations that Israeli intelligence had been tailing the 911 hijackers before the attack. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usefulwork.com/shark/deadlymistakes.html |title=Deadly Mistakes |publisher=] |date=2002-10-02}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usefulwork.com/shark/mossad911.html |title=Next Door to Mohammed Atta |publisher=] |dete=2002-10-02}}</ref> | |||
| Some of the Israeli "art students" lived for a period of time in ], the same small city where ] and fellow terrorists had lived before September 11. <ref name="Salon"/> ] in his book ''Crossing the Rubicon'' claimed that the ring had "heavy operations in some areas connected with 9/11". Ruppert and ] have also argued that there was disproportionate media silence about the issue<ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing the Rubicon|first1=Michael E.|last1=Ruppert|publisher=New Society Publishers|year=2004|ISBN=0865715408, 9780865715400|edition=illustrated|page=263}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book |title=The Politics of Anti-Semitism |first1=Alexander|last1=Cockburn|first2=Jeffrey|last2=St Clair|publisher=AK Press |page=124 |isbn=1902593774, 9781902593777}}</ref>. | |||
| === Canadian espionage rumors === | |||
| In August 2004, a number of Israeli "art students" in ], ], ], ] and ] were deported from Canada for working in the country illegally. The ] wrote that the deportations "raised the specter of international espionage". However, claims that a spy ring was operating in Canada that were raised by newspapers were dismissed by Canadian officials. Officials noted that the Canadian art scammers did not target government officials or offices but instead focused on wealthy neighbourhoods <ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.forward.com/articles/5250/ |title=Espionage Ruled Out in Case of Bad Art |publisher=] |first=Seamus |last=McGraw}}</ref> | |||
| === Denial of spy ring by officials === | |||
| In 2002 several officials dismissed reports of a spy ring and said the allegations were made by a Drug Enforcement Agency who was angry his theories had been dismissed. ] spokeswoman Susan Dryden describe the claims as an "urban myth" <ref>{{cite news |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020307&slug=notspies07 |title=U.S. officials dismiss report of Israeli spies |last=Mintz |first=John |coauthors=Dan Eggen |date=March 7, 2002 |publisher=] |accessdate=October 18, 2008}}</ref> | |||
| Israeli newspaper ] also published an article on the spying allegations, noting that most of the allegations were based upon a single internal report from the DEA. It also noted that the U.S. administration was "desperate to keep the affair quiet" <ref name="Haaretz"/>. | |||
| === Official Israeli response === | |||
| The Israeli government has denied the espionage allegations, calling them nonsense. <ref name="Haaretz"/> | |||
| ==The Great Arab Refugee Scam== | |||
| The story of the Arabs who left the coastal areas of Palestine in the spring of 1948 encapsulates one of the great international frauds of the 20th century. <ref></ref>The Arabs are the only declared "refugees" who became refugees by the initiative of their own leaders. The concoction of the monstrous charge that it was the Jews who had driven out the Arabs of Palestine was a strategic decision made by the leaders of the Arab League months after the Arabs' flight.<ref></ref> | |||
| The Arab "refugees" were not driven out by anyone. The vast majority left at the order or exhortation of their leaders - always with the same reassurance - that it would help the Arab states in the war they were about to launch to destroy the State of Israel.<ref></ref> | |||
| The fabrication can most easily be detected by the simple circumstance that at the time the alleged expulsion of the Arabs by Zionists was in progress, nobody noticed it. Foreign newspapermen abounded in the country, in daily contact with all sides - and they did, in fact, write about the flight of the Arabs, but even those most hostile to the Jews saw nothing to suggest that the flight was not voluntary. | |||
| In the three months that the major part of the flight took place, the ] published 11 leading articles on the situation in Palestine, in addition to extensive news reports. In none was there even a remote hint that the Zionists were driving Arabs from their homes. | |||
| ===Official Arab response=== | |||
| The Arabs deny the allegations, calling them nonsense. | |||
| ==Palestinian population scam on US taxpayers== | |||
| Palestinian leaders in the West Bank have built luxury mansions for their personal use which were paid for by American tax dollars. <ref></ref> | |||
| A demographic study has revealed that the actual population of Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza is actually 50% lower than that reported by the Palestinian Authorities. The study found that only 2.5 million Palestinian Arabs reside in Gaza and the West Bank, not the 3.8 million claimed by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). The numbers were fabricated in order to inflate aid requests. Palestinians living abroad in foreign countries who are not refugees were counted as residents within the Palestinian Authority. 210,.000 Palestinian Arabs who reside in Jerusalem were counted as citizens of the Palestinian Authority. <ref></ref> | |||
| ===Official Palestinian response=== | |||
| "Oh Muslims! The Jews are the Jews. The Jews are the Jews. Even if donkeys would cease to bray, dogs cease to bark, wolves cease to howl and snakes to bite, the Jews would not cease to harbor hatred towards Muslims. The Prophet said that if two Jews would be alone with a Muslim, they would think only of killing him. Oh Muslims! This land will be liberated, these holy places and these mosques will be liberated, only by means of a return to the Quran and when all Muslims will be willing to be Jihad Fighters for the sake of Allah and for the sake of supporting Palestine, the Palestinian people, the Palestinian land, and the holy places in Palestine. The Prophet says: 'You shall fight the Jews and kill them..."<ref></ref> | |||
| ⚫ | == |
||
| ⚫ | {{reflist}} | ||
Latest revision as of 14:41, 1 September 2024
Confidence trick
The art student scam is a confidence trick in which cheap, mass-produced paintings or prints are misrepresented as original works of art, often by young people pretending to be art students trying to raise money for art supplies or tuition fees. The sellers mostly represented themselves as French art students, but the scam has recently been copied internationally, with instances of Israeli, Chinese, Chilean, Nigerian and other nationalities posing as art students or dealers in Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States since around 2000. The art is often sold in exhibition sites or art galleries. Many scammers operate alongside and at the long-run expense of genuine art students who show their yearly work in festivals during the summer vacation.
Mass-produced paintings
Most mass-produced prints and paintings originate in Asia. These are essentially posters, sometimes referred to as "Hong Kong horrors," printed on rough paper, making the absence of brush strokes less apparent. There is a confusion between "mass-produced paintings" which are actually prints. These are being sold over the internet described as real oil paintings, taking advantage of the difficulty of spotting the scam behind the screen. Sometimes a few brush strokes are added to the prints to give them a more authentic oil-painting look.
Australia and New Zealand
People posing as art students were reported in Australia and New Zealand from as early as 2003. The paintings, worth around A$5, were passed off as being worth hundreds of dollars. Three backpackers—an Israeli and two Chileans—were taken to court in Dunedin for the scam in 2003 but were discharged as the judge said that they were "minnows" in the organisation. They reportedly made NZ$15,000 in three weeks from the scam. The Consumers' Institute of New Zealand suspected that an Auckland man was the organiser of the operation. A 23-year-old man was arrested in New South Wales, Australia, for operating the scam and 50 oil paintings were found in his car. An adviser for the New Zealand Consumer Affairs Ministry said: "All around the world, students from various countries are doing this." She suggested that the scam's organiser may place advertisements in backpackers' lodges to recruit students. The scammers have also claimed to be Greek, Argentinian, and French.
Canada
In 2004, a group of Russians said to have been selling mass-produced paintings as their own work, for hundreds of dollars each, were deported from Canada for working in violation of their visas. The scam recurred in 2009 in Calgary and in Warman, Saskatchewan. Eight people claiming to be students from Israel, Russia, Germany, and France were arrested, and 100 paintings were seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Border Services.
China
In China, scammers approach tourists at popular attractions such as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The scammer speaks English well enough to get into a conversation with the foreigner and then claims to be an art student whose works are on display at a nearby exhibition, which is part of the scam and sells mass-produced art reproductions at exorbitant prices. There are warnings about this scam in tourist guides.
United States
From the summer of 2000, news outlets in the Pacific Northwest reported that young people were posing as art students selling mass-produced oil paintings, both copies and originals, for US$780–$2000 each. The so-called art students were said to be selling in exhibitions and galleries, primarily targeting local businesses. They claimed to be Israeli citizens studying at art schools in Europe and to be in the United States selling works by talented fellow artists to raise money for art supplies or school fees.
Through the early 2000s, some 13 separate incidents of "art student" encounters were reported across the United States.
References
- "Scam art ripples Peninsula "Students" up-sell cheap, mass-produced works door-to-door". Peace Arch News. The (White Rock, British Columbia, Canada). 10 August 2004. p. 1.
An Israeli art scam with suggested links to espionage and fundamentalist fundraisers may have turned up on the Semiahmoo Peninsula. At least half a dozen locals—probably more—were likely duped by the hoax, which has for years puzzled North American authorities. Young Israelis posing as art students travel door-to-door hocking mass-produced art as their own. The works are worth little, but still sell for hundreds of dollars to naive customers.
- Wilton, Suzanne, "Art-sales-scam ringleaders ordered to leave Canada", Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, B.C.: 7 August 2004. pg. A.8.
- ^ "Information on an Israeli Art Scam". Komo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
- ^ Moyes, Sarah; Michelle Robinson (5 March 2010). "Warning on art scam". East And Bays Courier. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ "Foreign students caught up in fake art scam". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 April 2008.
- Gandia, Renato (19 August 2009). "Israeli art scam preying on people's kindness". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- "Oil painting scam hits the Border". Border Mail. 22 April 2009.
- ^ Dye, Stuart (4 February 2004). "Brush with law reveals art scam". The New Zealand Herald.
Coulter, Narelle (18 January 2006). "Door slammed on 'original' art scam". Star News Group. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008.
Feek, Belinda (19 January 2010). "Warnings out over art scam". Waikato Times. - Rogers, Sy (2 March 2009). "Beware of 'Israeli' door-to-door art scams!". Design Federation. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- "Police arrest 23yo over alleged art scam". ABC News. Australia. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- Robinson, Michelle (4 March 2010). "Door-to-door art scam". North Shore Times. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- Thomson, Alister (12 April 2010). "Bogus student touting art fakes around Clive". Hawke's Bay Today. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- "Art sellers painting a suspect picture". The Northern Advocate. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- Slobodian, Erin (4 September 2009). "Scam 'Artists' in Warman". News Talk 980. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- "The famous art show ripoff in Tiananmen Square was recently cleaned up for the Olympics. This was a pretty funny one, where English-speaking 'art students' would strike up conversation with overseas visitors and tell them they happen to be in town for an art show across the street. The show was closing today when I first heard the spiel in 2006, it was closing today when I returned to Beijing in 2007, but the pre-Olympics cleanup really seems to have closed the collection of knockoff art." . See also Archived 20 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- Frommer's China, New York: Wiley, 2010 ISBN 978-0-470-52658-3, p. 140. "You should also be leery of any English-speaking youngsters who claim to be 'art students' and offer to take you to a special exhibit of their work.... The art, which you will be pressured to buy, almost always consists of assembly-line reproductions of famous (or not-so-famous) paintings offered at prices several dozen times higher than their actual value."
- China Tourism Scams Archived 3 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine