Don't Take That Job: How Scammers Are Targeting Freelance Creatives
Freelance creatives are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated scams, and the inquiries showing up in your inbox are getting harder to distinguish from real clients. Fake project requests, fraudulent payments, and impersonation schemes are costing designers, illustrators, and photographers real money. In this session, Guild President Yanique DaCosta breaks down exactly how these scams operate, using real examples from inside the industry, including attempts to impersonate Guild leadership. You'll walk away knowing how to:

• Identify a fake inquiry within the first few seconds of reading it
• Recognize the most common red flags, including the "payment trap"
• Understand why creatives are being targeted right now and how AI is making these scams harder to spot
• Build simple systems to protect your time, your money, and your business
• Respond effectively when a scam lands in your inbox

Join Yanique and learn how to scammers are targeting creatives!

About Yanique

Yanique DaCosta is the President of the Graphic Artists Guild and the founder of YKMD, a brand development agency serving boutique hotels, event producers, and the service providers behind unforgettable travel experiences. In her role leading one of the longest-standing creative professional organizations in the United States, she has become a frequent target of impersonation schemes, with scammers using her name and title to solicit money from Guild members and contacts. She has also been personally targeted by an increasing number of professional solicitation scams, many now enhanced by AI tools that make fraudulent outreach harder to detect. That firsthand experience, combined with reports from members across the Guild's network, is what drives this session. Her work across both organizations sits at the intersection of creative leadership and business protection, making sure the people who power this industry can do their work without being exploited.