Kim Kardashian -- I'm Being Scammed By Warhol

The artist who says she’s Andy Warhol’s cousin and claims Kanye West hired her to paint Kim Kardashian ... may be trying to have her own 15 minutes of fame … because Kim says she has no clue who the woman is.

Monica Warhol – a Tucson artist whose style is similar to Andy’s – tells TMZ Kanye’s people contacted her two weeks ago … and gave her a pic of Kim and asked her to create a screen painting of the photo.

Warhol says she’s already created 9 different Kim paintings ... and says her pieces generally sell for $20K to $70K apiece.

But sources close to Kim tell TMZ … she’s never heard of the woman … and thinks the whole thing may be a scam or a way for Warhol to get publicity – her 15 minutes of fame.

When we called Warhol back, she gave us an explanation for why she's being rebuffed by Kim & Kanye ... she thinks the painting may have been intended as a surprise gift ... and now that the surprise has been ruined ... K&K don't want it.