Scammer Beware
Fursuit scamming / scammers have become increasingly popular in the recent years.Scammers used to be rather easy to spot, however, it has been brought to our attention that we have quite a few impersonators of Moonlight Makes. I have gone under-cover contacting many of these to discover their tactics and methods, and I want to admit that some are becoming scarily convincing. I wanted to make this page to show you how to spot and stay clear of scammers.Moonlight Makes is our only business name. All links to our socials are included throughout this site. If you find any profiles that aren't mentioned here, they are NOT affiliated with us!
How do I spot a scammer?
Here are my personal tips on spotting a scammer. Please scroll to the bottom to view images and examples of my conversations with some scammers.
1) Before anything, background check!
My first recommendation would be to Google their username. Even better, reverse image search the fursuits they are advertising/posting. You should be able to find original posts, profiles, and even the owners of the suits rather than the maker. If their name doesn't exist anywhere else, or their "work" is posted by someone with a different name, they are likely a fraud. Many people have found our actual page through this method.
2) New profiles, unusual post dates or inconsistent styles
Some scammers steal multiple makers suits, and others target one specific maker. Check when they made their account. Is it only a few weeks, months or years old? How often do they post? Many scammers post every few days. How are they making fursuits that quickly? If the profile has many fursuits made in different studios, backgrounds or settings, with different fursuit styles, this is a huge red flag too. Their work should show the same environments.
3) Search for external websites, price sheets etc
Most fursuit makers will have a website, other social media, or forms of contact. All of these external sites should have usernames and emails related to their brand. Many of these fursuit scammers like to communicate through Whatsapp or Discord - although some professional businesses do use these methods, this is often a large red flag. Discord is purely a messaging service, and Whatsapp allows them to have your phone number. They can be non-traceable communication methods.
4) Strange communication
Many scammers are quite dry when messaging. They will send short, to the point messages. They may rush to talk about payments. They could refuse to answer certain questions, or avoid/ignore them. They may not go into specific detail about the suit. Another thing to notice is if they message you first! If you follow them, and they think "ooh a potential victim", they could be the ones messaging you first.How do they describe fursuits? Do they call them "mascot costumes", "furheads", "gloves" for example? Furry terminology is important!However, this is not the case for all. I am contacting a very convincing scammer who is extremely polite, professional, patient and reassuring. They are practically communicating the same way that I do with my clients. This is why the background check is so important, and please check all of these other tips below, especially the payment sections.
5) Questions & Inconsistencies
I cannot emphasise this enough - ask so many questions when commissioning someone! Even legit makers - we will never be against answering your questions.
Ask what fur brands they use, what methods they use for specific parts (such as headbase type, the tools they use, what type of tape they use, but do not give them options! Let them answer. You're looking for answers that don't make sense).
Ask where they're from and what the time is at their stated location. I caught a scammer once because the time they provided did not coincide with the location they gave. If they start acting weird or ignoring that, then you have yourself a scammer.
Ask for specific measurements, what measurements you need to provide etc. If they ask you to just check the listing, that likely means they don't remember (maybe because they didn't make the suit!)
6) Images - do they seem AI, are watermarks cut out?
If you are enquiring about a premade, many people ask for a piece of paper with the sellers name and date next to the fursuit. However, AI imagery has made this a little tough. I will provide some images below of AI examples a scammer has used to try to prove that they own the suit (in order of AI, original post, clients page).
Ask for pictures of the lining, close up details, images of their fursuit studio, pictures of furs they have in stock, anything! If they give an unreasonable explanation to why they can't provide these images, or ignore your questions, something may be off. If they provide images but things don't align such as the background or colours, then this is a big sign.
7) Let's talk payment methods
If everything has felt legit so far, this part is often where things get interesting. I will talk about many things here.There is one VERY specific detail that tells you if the person you are talking to is a scammer. If you are paying through PayPal, they will and I guarantee ALWAYS ask you to pay with Friends and Family. Through this method, you cannot claim your money back. You are informing PayPal that you know this person, trust them, and they will not help you get your money back. Always use Goods and Services for commission payments! This is the safe method, especially when sending large sums of money.Note what payment methods they offer. Another way I caught a scammer, was by them claiming to be from the UK - to which they then offered Cashapp and Venmo, which are not available here in the UK!Sometimes scammers even ask for payments through gift cards and Bitcoin, both non-refundable and untraceable payment methods. These are typical and easy to spot scammer tactics. Also, be careful if they offer bank transfer or Wise - we do provide these services ourselves (UK only for bank transfer, Wise is an amazing site that has no fees that we use for international payments). However, getting your money back this way may be a bit trickier depending on your bank. You must absolutely 100% trust the seller if you use one of these!
8) Payment emails and names
Pretty much all scammers will provide an email of a completely random name. PayPal might also tell you the location of the email, so check if this location matches where they state they're from. Does the email include their stated business name? Is it a random company name, or just a regular person's name? This is also a huge hint.
I have experimented with this method with a few scammers by stating that the PayPal they provided isn't working for me - they then went ahead and provided an extra 4 PayPal accounts all with different names! The scammer claimed that they were are friend or family's PayPal account. Legit makers should only have their own single dedicated email.
9) Okay - so how do I know if someone is legit?
Hopefully, you have found the original maker either through a Google search or reverse image search! Or, if you are interested in someone who has commissions open but seems to be a new maker and you're unsure, there are many ways to check that they are real.
Look at their follower count vs when they first started posting. This of course doesn't inherently mean anything, but it could be a clue.
Look for reviews! Most makers will tag their clients (if the client is public about their hobby), and you can check out the clients page. Does the client state who their maker is? We have our own "Reviews" section which you can view on this site, and all of our clients links are tagged! Never be afraid to message clients and question their experience, also to confirm that the suspected profile is definitely the person who crafted their suit!
Are there little tags in their suits with their business name? We have tags in our head-lining and paws to prove we made the suit. Sometimes scammers just don't include these pictures or AI them out. Are there watermarks and logos? Do they have any WIP pics, Instagram highlights, and are generally organised?There may be many factors to why you would or would'nt want to commission or purchase a suit from someone. But I truly hope that this page will help you identify and avoid scammers! Never hesitate to get in touch for any questions you may have. Stay safe out there!
Photos, Evidence and Our Impersonators
Please see the below for full conversations with some scammers I have communicated with. I hope these images will help you know what to look out for.
All of the below have been people stealing our work. These people are NOT affiliated with us. Please see our list of contacts and socials to know if you are communicating with us.
Scammer 1: Pxrple Makes - Facebook
This scammer is particularly interesting because they have stolen the name of my fursuit making partner/boyfriend, Pxrple, and are claiming that this is his profile. They have however stolen our Moonlight Makes logo, Instagram banner, and even sent me this very website!! Their posts do not advertise premades, and do not state that any suits are for sale - replicating exactly my own Instagram posts. It seems that they are looking for commissions instead of claiming that our suits are for sale. This is the furthest that impersonation can go.
Please see the below for the infringing account and our full conversation.
(My partner does NOT have a Facebook and does not arrange commissions anywhere outside of Moonlight Makes / @moonlight_makes.)
Please click below to view their page.
Scammer 2: BettyFurCreations - TikTok
This scammer has been stealing our sales posts and reels and advertising them for sale. They are not trying to claim to be us in any way, just purely advertising our already sold work for scams. They were claiming to be from the US and use dollars. All 5 PayPal accounts that they provided were not located in the US. Please see the below for the infringing pages and our conversation. Please click below to view their page.
Thank you so much for reading through this page. I encourage you to please let me know if you spot any scammers stealing our work! And please make sure you know who you are commissioning. I hope we have provided enough evidence to gain your trust <3 We are so grateful for every single one of our clients. Thank you!
