As a followup to my rant about set safety and escorts, this little piece is about how to spot scams on the Internet.

Scams are all over but models still fall for them every day. Whether they are 419 scams, Craigslist scams or talent agency scams, models waste tens of thousands of dollars every day hoping to work and make a living though these dead ends. Throughout this post, remember one thing: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. In other words, if it has the smell of scam, it’s a scam. No need to investigate further, just laugh, delete and move on.

 

419 Scams.

419 Scams are advance fee scams where an entity sends you money for a future job. Also known as Advance Fee Fraud, this is named for section 419 of the Nigerian penal code which makes this kind of fraud illegal there.

ANY of these elements screams fraud and if you fall for it, you will lose money. Period. The job is not real. Examples include:

  • Is someone really interested in sending you money for a future shoot?
  • Is someone expecting you to forward some of the money to someone else?
  • Is someone going to pay you extra for shipping?
  • Is someone going to expect you to put up your own money for any reason?
  • Is the spelling, grammar or punctuation bad?
  • Is it a rush job and things need to be done immediately?
  • Are you young and new to modeling?
  • Does the email or message start out with an impersonal greeting like “Dear Model”?
  • Are things like “your location” mentioned instead of your actual city?

 

There are many more signs that scream scam and scammers are always refining their sales pitch. Remember: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If you have a “HUH???” moment, it’s a scam!

 

Craigslist or other Internet Scams.

Craigslist has become a cesspool and scammers are posting more than real, honest people it seems. A while back, Craigslist made the unbelievable decision to seriously cripple the flagging abilities of users to flag off bad ads. This means that bad ads stay up and models reply to them thinking they are legitimate offers for work. Spotting scam ads on Craigslist is harder than spotting 419 scams, but not impossible.

Models typically go through the Talent Gigs section to look for work. Models can pre-screen the ads and pass up at least half of the scams right off. Typical pre-screening signs of a Craigslist scam are:

  • The ad contains a male hiring a female job seeker. How do know it’s a male? Because the male describes himself! If it says “Good looking young photographer looking for petite model for lingerie or less photoshoot” you know it is not only a scam, but the guy is not a photographer!
  • The ad goes on and on claiming the shoot is not for sex.
  • The ad is looking for a model and or personal assistant.
  • You are asked to do anything other than modeling.
  • You are required to send nude photos with your reply.
  • The ad says anyone can apply, any body type is fine.
  • The details for the shoot don’t make sense.
  • The modeling is for an Internet site that has no local presence or relevance to you.
  • The ad has a Gmail, AIM, AOL, Yahoo or other free email address.
  • The ad offers way too much money for the shoot.
  • The ad is a contest of some sort.
  • In order to be considered, you need to register on a web site.
  • Bad spelling, grammar, punctuation etc…
  • The person placing the ad is from out of town and wants to do the shoot at his hotel.
  • Goes on endlessly about how great they are and how lucky you are to shoot with them.

 

AS BEFORE- There are many more signs that scream scam and scammers are always refining their sales pitch. Remember: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If you have a “HUH???” moment, it’s a scam!

 

So now you are ready to answer the ad. Make sure you have a throw away email address. NOT the one you use in daily life. Some ads on Craigslist are spammers just collecting email addresses. So, as soon as you reply to an ad with your real email, you get buried in spam. If you use a throw away, you just never check it again and get another one. What about after you reply and get a response? Re-read the points above. What kind of email address did they write from? Legitimate companies, photographers and agencies reply from name@company, not name@throwaway. If you want to, click on “full headers” in their email to you and copy paste the IP addresses into an IP address search like Geoplugin to see if the email originated in China or Nigeria, or at least if they seem to be local.

If everything still seems reasonable still, get a phone number, Google that too, and talk about the shoot. This is doing your due diligence. Remember those girls that got killed by the guy claiming to be a photographer but he really wasn’t? If those girls had done the above, they would still be alive today.

 

Talent Agency Scams.

Talent Agencies can be set up and gone in minutes these days. After they have your money. Spotting a legitimate Talent Agency might be difficult depending on how savvy the scammer is in making it appear he is a real business getting real work for real models. Again with the due diligence, check them out. Get references. Ask who they place talent with. Call those companies and ask them if that is true. Call your state or local licensing agency. Do they have a license to be a talent agency? Do a Google search. What comes up? Do they have a permanent office with a long term lease and their name on the signage?

Some warning signs that a talent agency is not real:

  • Renting space by the day in an office complex.
  • No license
  • You have to pay up front for photos.
  • They are excited about signing your ugly, fat friend too.
  • They put you off balance making you think you might not be good enough unless you pay for classes.
  • They need you for television but have never seen you.
  • They say you would be perfect for a runway show and you are 5′3″ tall.
  • The main place they get models from is Craigslist.
  • Their email addresses are throw aways.
  • Their web site is under construction or crap.
  • Their web site is new. Check at Whois Search
  • They have “models” in their waiting room eager to tell you how much money they make.
  • Their name is the same or similar to a recognized agency in another state. But, when you call that other, recognized agency, you get odd confused comments or disclaimers.
  • They want you to work for free to get established.
  • There is a contest involved.
  • They operate from a cell or temporary phone.
  • Their main business is selling photography, books and classes to you.

 

AS BEFORE- There are many more signs that scream scam and scammers are always refining their sales pitch. Remember: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If you have a “HUH???” moment, it’s a scam!

 

Now, go to the audition. Do you need to pay for classes or get photography services only with them? Do you have to pay a retainer? Do they want you to do an interview unclothed? Speaking of which, a big scam right now is Skype interviews where you interview for the agency via Skype. This is ALWAYS a scam and they will want you to undress during the interview. It is ALWAYS a scam if there is no interview in person and they are more interested in your personal information rather than in your look and personality.

 

So there you have it. My incomplete take on scams in 2010. Hope you enjoyed the wall of text. :)

Do you have anything to add? Post a comment!