FBI Art Theft Program

Did you know that art and cultural property crime is a looming criminal enterprise? This includes theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines -- has estimated losses running as high as $6 billion annually!

To help solve and deter criminals, the FBI has a dedicated Art Crime Team of 12 special agents to recover precious pieces. To review the theft notices and recoveries to submiting a tip online, one go straight to their site:

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/arttheft.htm

Protecting Yourself
Additionally, to protect yourself and your artwork, completely destroy anything you don't want resold. Just as you would shread credit card statements, shred flat files (prints, photos, illustrations) that won't ruin your mechanism's blades, and crush or burn anything else 3-D. Also wait until trash day to take it out to the curb or take it personally to the dump.

It has been reported by friends that neighbors have watched and confiscated artist's trash only to re-sell at the local flea market. Don't let this happen to you. If you value your brand and believe that an item isn't good enough for you to sell, don't allow others to do it for you.