Found a hidden watermark scam in a digital art portfolio last week

I was browsing a new artist's showcase on DeviantArt and noticed their high-res pieces had tiny watermarks from three different stock image sites hidden in the corners. Turns out they were tracing over paid assets and selling the edits as original work. Has anyone else caught people pulling this trick in their own communities?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_garcia1mo ago

Nah "weak evidence" is wild because those watermarks are literally proof they stole the assets.

violar351mo ago

Mild scam, but watermark tracing is pretty weak evidence honestly.

parkerbrown1mo ago

vio says "weak evidence" but come on, it's literally a watermark. That's pretty solid proof they didn't make that part themselves. But honestly, who cares that much? It's DeviantArt, not a gallery at the Louvre. People trace and reuse assets all the time. The real scam is paying for art online in the first place. If you're that worried about originality, just don't buy from random people on the internet.