I think I was almost scammed??
As the title says, I think I almost got scammed.. I'm looking for some advice or more info regarding scams like this?? I've never seen a scam like this before. I usually get random verification codes sent to me or links, but never something like this. Before I ask the questions I have, I will explain how this whole situation started.
A few days ago I received a message on TikTok from a women saying that she would like to use one of my photos for an art project. Basically, she would paint the photo she chose of mine on to a canvas. At first this seemed believable since I have gotten real messages from people regarding my artwork and
photography and have not had any red flags or issues in the past. I continued the conversation and eventually started getting a bit suspicious, but did not want to judge right away. I was eventually connected to another person who was supposed to handle the payment I'd receive for letting them use my photo. I communicated with this other person, however they were very impatient with my response time even though I stated to them that I was working and my response times will be a bit inconsistent. They discussed the process of how to deposit the check digitally and that's when I started getting more
suspicious. At one point I wasn't able to reply due to being at work and during that time of not replying, I had receive multiple messages from a different person who was threatening to cause serious harm to me and my family. Now, I know the threats are probably not real, but I'm not risking it. Especially with how people have been lately. I feel stupid trying to give people a chance, but I thought someone was genuinely interested in my work...
As of now, I have reported the account to TikTok and it was banned.
I've do have screenshots, but there is so many and I am not able to post them all. I would post what I can, but even when censoring/covering up private info, I have not had luck being able to post. l've never seen a scam like this before which is also why I believed it a bit at first. Thankfully I did not deposit the check and am not missing any money.
Now my question is, should I report this to the police? Some family members have suggested I do so.
Some others have also suggested that I change phone numbers. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.