We want our clients to buy with confidence, which is why we continue to add new galleries in the real world as well as growing our online presence. Whilst there’s no substitute for seeing our artworks in the flesh, we aim to make buying online as smooth and simple process as can be.
That said, it’s a fact of contemporary life that from time to time we are all targeted by online criminals seeking to defraud and otherwise cause havoc. This, unfortunately, includes when buying art.
One of the most common forms of online fraud is that of imitation, where the criminal attempts to engage in a conversation pretending to be a business you’re familiar with and offering you a great deal. You trust the business and, because you’ve been in contact before, your guards are down. Before you know, it you’ve sent them money without realising that the email address doesn’t look quite right, and the bank account was different than the one you’ve used before.
We don’t want this to happen to you, so we would like to suggest you consider the following actions when paying for your purchases or otherwise engaging online.
Check your invoice.
We will never ask for payment from you without first issuing an invoice. The invoice will come from firstname@hiddengallery – check the address carefully as bad actors often attempt to intercept with very similar email addresses.
Check the bank details.
Take a second to check the banking details are correct. Please call any of our galleries to corroborate our banking info before paying. All our gallery phone numbers can be found on our website at https://hiddengallery.co.uk/about/
Criminals have been known to intercept invoices and substitute false bank details.
Watch how you pay.
We only accept payment by bank transfer or by debit/credit card (in the case of debit/credit card either in person or by calling one of our gallery landline phones). Hidden will never ask for payment to any account other than Hidden Rare Ltd and only ever in £ sterling.
Be savvy.
Should you receive an email out of the blue offering you a once in a lifetime, massively discounted, not to be missed deal, it’s almost certainly not from us!
If you are ever in any doubt about any aspect of buying from Hidden, please just give us a call - we’re always happy to talk.
Any questions? We are happy to help. Call: 0117 279 6402 or send us a message now.
Written by Chris Kendall (Hidden Gallery Owner & Director)