Photo by Tattoo Paradise used with permission.
By Devon Douglas
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Tattoo scammers are taking advantage of the environment created by the months long COVID-19 pandemic with many of them draining hundreds of dollars from customers in the populated, low unemployment areas of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
“COVID-19 has made everything odd and unfortunately scammers are taking advantage of that,” said Conor Akin, manager of Triple Crown Towson Tattoo. “People don’t know any better and their being punished for it.”
Tattoo scamming is an age-old problem nationwide with many cases of fraud reported annually. The problem has worsened with the spread of the coronavirus because online shopping has become a favored activity of millions of Americans forced to shelter in place. And as city and state officials slowly allow businesses to open and increase customer capacity, scammers target tattoo customers as they set up appointments online.
At least 50 customers at Tattoo Paradise D.C, located. in Northwest Washington D.C., have fallen victim to scammers since the business reopened after COVID-19 restrictions eased. Their sister shop Triple Crown Tattoo Towson also has many victims, officials said.
“It’s been a couple months since our reopening and every day we’ve had at least two or three victims,” said Ellen Arantes, a Tattoo Paradise tattooist.
Akin added, “Once one shop hears about something others know within days. Every tattoo shop has experienced this at least once.”
While there are many ways to set up a tattoo appointment, a popular route is through social media. Most tattoo shops and tattooists use social media to promote their businesses and entice customers.
Scammers take advantage of potential clients by using social media to convince them that they are legit tattooists. On social media, they show fake pictures of other tattooists’ work. Once scammers convince the clients that they are legit tattooists, the scammers ask clients to send in down payments through apps like Cash App and Venmo.
After the money is sent, scammers send potential clients an address to a real tattoo shop. When the clients show up at the shop the day of their scheduled “appointment,” the customers realize there is no appointment; they’ve been scammed.
“Established shops don’t operate like that,” said Arantes, noting the misuse of social media.
Unknown tattoo shops or independent tattooists are more likely to conduct business through social media such as Instagram or Facebook, said Arantes.
“Tattooing is unregulated in Maryland,” Akin explained. “In other words, someone could tattoo out of [his or her] house if [he or she] wanted. These kinds of tattooists will gladly do business through social media.”
Getting a tattoo this way is not uncommon, so clients often send direct messages to tattooists in hopes of setting up an appointment.
The best way to prevent being scammed is to research, officials said. Call tattoo shops and research where they’re located. Check official websites and look at their lists to see if there are any references to the tattooists. Potential clients should ask for the portfolios of tattooists and never put money down without having an in-person consultation first, officials said.
“It’s sad that this happens but this issue is more on the end of the victims,” said Akin. “Surprisingly, I’ve had some regular clients fall for this scam and they should know better.”
Arantes said, “Ask as many questions as possible and check tattooists’ portfolios. “Find out the days and hours the tattooist works.”
“Some victims that came in said they lost up to $300,” said Akin. “Any deposit more than $200 should already be a red flag.”
Tattoos can be expensive. For a small tattoo like a short phrase or an animal inked onto a wrist, officials said the price range is $50 to $200, with an average cost of $132. Most tattoo artists charge an hourly rate that varies from $75 to $150 an hour. A more elaborate tattoo like an elephant on the forearm or upper back that takes between two to six hours typically costs $200 to $600 with an average cost of $316.
“People should always send money through bank transactions that way they’ll have the security of wired transfer fraud,” said Arantes.
Arantes and Akin agreed that they are tired of the scams.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Arantes said. “There is already a stigma that tattoo shops are shady and when things like this happen it makes the tattoo community look worse.”
Akins said the scams are frustrating for all tattooists.
“Clients put their trust in you to permanently alter their bodies,” he said. “Now clients will lack trust and that sucks because you really want to help people.”
Some scam victims direct their frustration towards the shops, but most shop owners are more embarrassed than anything. Victims and the tattoo shops try to resolve the situation the best way possible.
“We try our best to accommodate them whether we mark them as a walk-in or schedule them for an appointment another day,” said Arantes.
In response to so many scams occurring, Tattoo Paradise exposed the scammers and posted a statement regarding the scams on their Instagram page:
“This scam is growing fast, and it’s been almost every day this week that someone comes in, thinking they have an appointment…PLEASE do your research! We do have guest artists from all over the world, but local DMV artists that work here will be on our website. Please call any of our locations to confirm the artist works here before sending deposits.”
Instagram page followers expressed their thoughts: “What’s wrong with people,” cried one person.
“They tried to scam me too,” said another.
“This happened in my area too,” replied a third follower.
One customer, Andrew Pinkerton, a Washington, D.C. resident, said he was approached by a fake tattooist in early September. He received a direct message through Instagram from someone who claimed to be a tattooist at Tattoo Paradise D.C. The fake tattooist demanded full payment upfront through Cash App. Pinkerton arrived the day of his “appointment” and was told he’d been scammed.
“I looked at his Instagram page and it seemed legit at the time,” he said. “I’ll be slow to get another tattoo after this.”
Arantes urged clients to understand the full process of getting a tattoo to prevent this from happening again.
“Good tattoos are expensive,” said Arantes. “If it sounds too good to be true, then it is.”