This comes to us from CagleCartoonist Bob Englehart. There’s a scam going around targeting cartoonists!

A person (In my case she was “Juliet Simon”) will contact you, the cartoonist, and offer you a freelance assignment. The fee they’ll pay is about three times the usual; they want all rights. They’ll tell you the project is in two phases.

Then, they’ll send you a check for twice what you thought. They’ll pay you in advance. After you cash the check, they’ll tell you Phase Two has been cancelled and you have to return half of the fee. That’s the sting. There’s no project.

I got a check from a heating and air conditioning company in California, so I went online to get their information and the owner of the company said he’s gotten about 10 calls from cartoonists. He explained his checking account was hacked and the check is no good. I had drawn four cartoons when the smell of a rat was too strong, so I did my investigative reporting, talked to my banker and called the company in California.

The cartoons I drew are included here so help yourself if you want to use them. I got the inquiry through the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, so that gave it legitimacy. The old adage still stands: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instincts. I should’ve investigated before I started drawing, but at least I’m not out of any money. So, my fellow cartoonists, enjoy the cartoons and beware!

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