Art Buyers Beware! Fraudulent Artwork Abounds in Online Auctions

NEW YORK, NY… July 11, 2005...

If you have ever browsed an online auction service, you've probably scrolled past dozens, perhaps hundreds of fraudulent actions, hawking everything from pirated computer software to counterfeit jewelry. Large websites like eBay, despite the best efforts by administrators, are often rife with swindlers seeking an easy profit. And if you have ever searched for artwork on an auction site, particularly for a piece by a famous artist, the chances of clicking on a crooked auction increase drastically. In fact, the sale of fake artwork remains one of the most prolific frauds on the Internet, and it's been duping innocent buyers for years.

Artwork scams rely solely on the element of believability. As such, the vast majority of fake art auctions don't purport to be original oil-on-canvas masterpieces, rather, they tend to include "limited edition" prints that are supposedly hand-signed by the artist. To many buyers, it seems perfectly plausible that an artist, even those long since deceased, would have signed a mountain of prints that would eventually find their way to an internet auction in the 21st century. Of course, what they don't realize is that genuine signed prints are usually few and far between, and that the bulk of "authentic signed lithographs" are nothing more than pages cut out of a coffee table book with a forged signature.

So how can a common print encased in a five-buck frame sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars? First, most online outlaws find a replicated piece of famous art, often by modern masters like Chagall, Picasso or Dali, and carefully apply a phony signature, often with pencil or crayon. A signature, especially one with a Certificate of Authenticity (usually just a hastily-created document with a phony art dealer name printed on certificate paper), can add great value to any piece, even a cheap reproduction.

Once art has been fraudulently signed and framed, the real deception begins. Experienced grifters know that the auction item description is the very crux of their scam, so special consideration is given to creating a misrepresentation that seems authentic and warrants a hefty price tag. The key is crafting a credible (but indistinct) story that the buyer won't bother to question. For example, a seller might use a sentence like, "This magnificent limited edition lithograph was personally signed by Marc Chagall and distributed by an esteemed art gallery in Lyon in the late 1960's, and has since been part of the private collection of a New York investment banker." There is no way to verify any of the information, yet to many, it sounds convincing enough. Then, the seller adds a little extra embellishment with terms such as "museum quality" or "expertly framed to gallery standards" before listing the bogus item online. For many fraudsters, it's only a matter of time before the fish start biting.

Kessler International, a global brand protection company headquartered in New York, has witnessed this fraud taking place time and time again despite attempts by auction sites to put a stop to it. As a public service, the firm has released a number of helpful tips to help ensure that the artwork you purchase online isn't a sham:

• Keep the artist's name in mind. The more popular the artist, the more likely someone will try to profit off their name. Artists that lived and died in the past century, such as Matisse, Renoir, Chagall, Miró and Picasso, are the most common.
• Also note that most famous artists rarely sign prints that were pulled from books and catalogues raisonne, and genuine signed prints are very hard to come by, particularly at the low prices many list for.
• Watch out for ambiguous phrases that don't name the specific source of the piece, the exact date it was signed and verifiable information regarding its history.
• A Certificate of Authenticity is often the least authentic part of the action, complete with the signature of an impressive-sounding, but fictional art appraiser. Make sure to check any COA for valid contact information, then do some research before making any decisions.
• Examine dates carefully. Some con artists get careless and attempt to sell hand-signed prints that are dated years after the artist's death!
• Beware of pieces with a large number of bids, especially if most of those bids are placed by the same few users. Fake artwork often is benefited by "shill bids" to artificially inflate the price, as well as give the auction a false sense of legitimacy.
• Disclaimers practically scream fraud. Usually they are tucked away in a large block of otherwise dull text or on a totally separate page discreetly linked to the auction. Terms like "sale is final upon payment" or "attributed to the artist" help scammers skirt around fraud laws and cover their end if a transaction is disputed.
• If the auction requires payment in cash, by check or by wire transfer, it's almost a sure sign that you're dealing with a crook that has no intention of offering a money back guarantee. Stick with merchants that accept credit cards or other traceable forms of payment.
• Skip the entire bidding process and buy your artwork from a respected dealer.

With these tips in mind, art buffs should be able to browse the online auction galleries a bit more confidently, and hopefully, this type of blatant fraud will become a thing of the modern past.

For more information about Kessler International or about how to avoid auction fraud, contact Michael Kessler at 1-800-932-2221 or visit the Kessler International website at www.investigation.com.