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Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 6, 2026
Answered

My Adobe Stock account was de-activated after a suspicious contact

  • March 6, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 319 views

I have been contributing to Adobe Stock for over a year and a half, and yesterday my account was deactivated for a Terms Violation. I believe I may have been the victim of a scam.

On February 23, I was contacted on Behance by someone claiming to own a small Christian company with a limited budget. The website looked somewhat generic, but still believable for an early-stage project.

This person wanted to hire me to create a loop video of Jesus walking on water, based on a video I have on Adobe Stock. I ended up giving them the original video from my Adobe Stock portfolio for free through Behance messages. After that, the person never thanked me and stopped responding.

On March 5, my Adobe Stock portfolio was suddenly blocked without any prior warning. A few hours later, the website of that Christian company went offline. I have some screenshots of the website and the full conversation on Behance.

The situation becomes even more concerning when I recall that there were other contributors with larger portfolios producing content very similar to mine — especially biblical content, ironically.

I’m currently trying every possible way to contact Adobe to understand the reason for the suspension. It could also be related to some ancient nude statues I uploaded (they were artistic and not obscene).

I also want to make it clear that I am fully willing to provide complete transparency and any information necessary to help with the investigation. 

I'd like to know if any contributors have experienced something similar. My portfolio is important to me as a hobby rather than for financial reasons, and I would really like to continue contributing.

Correct answer Nancy OShea

I assume you’re creating content with AI. 

 

I think that your engagement on Behance is unrelated to what happened on Stock, and the timing was purely coincidental.  

 

Re-read the Submission Guidelines, TERMS of AGREEMENT and updated policy statement on use of NAMES in titles, keywords & prompts. It’s possible you overlooked something that triggered a violation.

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/submission-guidelines.html

https://www.adobe.com/go/contributorterms (PDF)

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/updated-artist-name-guidelines.html

 

Hope that helps.

 

5 replies

Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 11, 2026

Hey, do you think submitting photos with this level of difference would be considered spam? 

 

 

daniellei4510
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 11, 2026

Yep. Beside, the buyer can make such subtle changes on their own.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.
Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 11, 2026

So… I’ll put ‘spam’ at the top of the list of possible causes for the suspension. Thanks everyone for the replies.

Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 9, 2026

Ok, things have become strange again. While checking my account settings, I noticed there is an active session that I do not recognize, started on February 23 — the same day I received the message on Behance.

The login shows as coming from Linux, which I have never used. It also indicates the Chrome browser, which I normally don’t use either. On the other hand, the location listed is the same city where I live.

Should I deactivate this session immediately, or should I contact support first? I believe this could be relevant evidence.

Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 9, 2026

Ah, sorry about that. I just found out that access from an Android phone can be identified as a Linux device, so it was probably my own login from my phone.

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Nancy OSheaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
March 7, 2026

I assume you’re creating content with AI. 

 

I think that your engagement on Behance is unrelated to what happened on Stock, and the timing was purely coincidental.  

 

Re-read the Submission Guidelines, TERMS of AGREEMENT and updated policy statement on use of NAMES in titles, keywords & prompts. It’s possible you overlooked something that triggered a violation.

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/submission-guidelines.html

https://www.adobe.com/go/contributorterms (PDF)

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/updated-artist-name-guidelines.html

 

Hope that helps.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 7, 2026

Yes, my entire portfolio is made with AI. I did use some titles like “Anne Bonny and Mary Read on the pirate ship,” assuming that since they are historical figures, there wouldn’t be any issue. If the problem is related to those titles or tags, I believe I can resolve it. If that’s the case, I hope Adobe will give me the opportunity to correct the titles of those assets. Thank you for your response.

Jill_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 6, 2026

There never is any warning when Adobe is about to suspend an account. They suspend, then investigate, then restore if no issues are found. It’s your decision to give away your assets, even if they  are on Adobe Stock, and that not a reason for suspension since Adobe does not claim exclusivity.

Jill C., Forum Volunteer
Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 7, 2026

The person’s account was banned from Behance after I reported it. I’m wondering if this person deliberately used the video I donated to them to somehow sabotage my account. Is that possible? My Adobe Stock portfolio is still blocked. I will post updates as new information becomes available.

Jill_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 7, 2026

I suppose it’s possible that they submitted a claim to Adobe that the video you gave them is actually there’s and was created by them…

Jill C., Forum Volunteer
daniellei4510
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 6, 2026

We are contributors like yourself her and we can not be of any assistance. I assume you used the “Contact us” link you were met with when you attempted to access your Dashboard. You may also file an appeal here: https://survey.adobe.com/jfe/form/SV_74fM1z4DvUPyPlk

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.
Cosmic Studio
Known Participant
March 6, 2026

Yeah, I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced something similar, and also share my concern and frustration.