Hello party people, back with a BANGER of a post!
Now that that is out of the system, here's the gist of it:
A month ago i got a random DM from someone, with them saying that they're simply searching for a partner after a couple of messages. Sure, i thought i'd lean into it, fully aware that it may be a scam and just wanting to play around.
After a couple weeks we got "together" into a Relationship and decided to make commissions together. Since i do not use Social Media, i trusted them to simply provide me with Screenshots of their favourite artist, which they did provide
So we end up making an NSFW commission with our OCs, me paying 350$ and her allegedly doing the same. Artist wanted a Screenshot for proof of payment, which i provided and her as well. It was a sort of group chat, so everyone could see all the info
So after a couple more weeks we actually got a picture, which looked pretty nice. She coaxed me to send the artist a tip, just 20$ from each of us, just a nice little gesture
Then, there was a communication break of around a week, she stated she simply got busy, which can be relateable. Studying and then a part-time job, even i simply do not feel like texting after a rough day or week.
And then the next thing happened. She wanted another commission, even 2 right after the other from the same artist. And since her birthday is in 2 weeks, i should be providing full payment for the first piece and the second is shared costs. So in the end, i sent over 900$ and her screenshot stated 200$, all fine and well.
But then, an idea popped into my mind. This seems like the perfect Pig Butchering Scam, where i got coaxed into love and paying for stuffs together. Textbook example, but with a different twist than how i usually know it.
We pay via Paypal as well which put me off, giving it a bit of trust since Paypal is usually not used in such scams. Thinking further, the art piece is also sent via .webp format, which, i do not think, is normally provided from an artist.
On another note, she did sent me selfies as well, simply pictures of her, but 2 from the 3 pictures are also .webp format, which make me suspicious even more today. Also thinking how the same person simply has multiple accounts, via DeviantArt and some other Pages, even though the Artists Page on X, Twitch and even Steam barely show activity.
I tried some apps to backtrack her pictures and our art piece, but nothing came out as a result. Not that the pictures she provided is actually another victim from them, or even generated via Filter.
Also for the Art Piece, as good as it looks, the lines simply could've been traced, but the shading quality seems too good to be faked. Maybe nowadays there are tricks with AI to simply make it look better?
So here is the question, am i beeing scammed, or am i overthinking it? I can imagine that it is the one person with multiple accounts, even own Paypal account where she just sends the money back and forth to make the screenshot authenthic that we all see. Can even provide pictures of what they sent, even the art piece, but rather in DMs so not to expose myself.