Modeling Scam/Fraud Alert

If you receive an email from the Good Venture Modeling Agency of Canada, beware. Many models have received emails from representatives of this fictitious agency offering $2500 for modeling jobs. Within the email, the scammer offers potential victims an opportunity to bring someone along with them to make them feel more comfortable. This is a clever trick by the scammer to try to win the trust of potential victims. But don’t be fooled. These individuals cannot be trusted!

One model admitted to responding to the fake modeling agency. Once she sent them her contact information, she was sent several cashiers checks by mail. The instructions were to cash the check and then send a portion of the money to pay the makeup artist, photographer and stylist who would be participating on the photo shoot. Luckily she learned that it was scam before she had an opportunity to take the checks to the bank. Had she cashed the checks, she would have later discovered that they were fraudulent.

Many other models who received this email did some investigating on their own to find out if the company and the representatives were legitimate. One model called the number that was provided only to learn that the number actually belonged to someone else. Another model noticed that the area code of the phone number and the city in the address provided were approximately 300km away, which was an instant red flag for her. Another model compared the email to other email scams and noticed that they were almost identical. Other models were suspicious because the emails came from Yahoo and Netzero accounts rather than a company email address.

It’s important to carefully examine any emails that you get from agencies offering you large sums of money to avoid being victimized. As you become more resourceful and diligent about investigating possible entertainment scams, the scammers will more than likely go to greater lengths to pull the wool over your eyes. But the good news is that you can continue to count on us to post current information on modeling scams plaguing the Internet.

If you’d like to read the entire email sent by the Good Venture Modeling Agency of Canada, visit www.StarSearchCasting.com and check out our Scam Alert section. You’ll also learn about several other recent scams that we’ve uncovered. Be careful out there!

Beware: Modeling Scam Alert

Whether you’re reading the newspaper, watching television, or having a discussion with friends, you’ve probably heard about the latest wave of internet scams. While the internet can be a useful tool, there are also dangers that we all must be aware of. Culprits prey on the vulnerability and blind ambition of those who are eager to find success in the entertainment industry no matter the cost. These scams can be not only costly, but also very dangerous.

Two of the most recent scams affecting the entertainment industry are the Google UK Modeling Scam and Dolphin Autos/Sharks Motors Scam. If you've logged into your Star Search Casting ( www.StarSearchCasting.com ) account, you've probably read about these scams in the Scam Watch section of our forums. Here’s how the Google UK Modeling scam goes:

“My name is Hilda.I am a Glamour model from the United Kingdom,London precisely.I have done several jobs with agencies,companies and corporations.

Currently,i am under contract with Google UK who are in search of models,who wish to sell the copyright of their photos. They are prepared to pay the sum of 2,500 Pounds Sterling per photo and they are in search of any model, who will sell the copyright of twenty of his/her photos. According to the management of Google UK,this company will buy the copyright of photos sold to them for an unlimited period of time.

If you are interested, you can send your email address to me and i will surely forward it to the company. Hope to hear from you.

Hilda”

And here is the Dolphin Autos scam message:

"Hello,

My name is Adam Spade. Am freelance modeling agent working for Dolphin Autos in Norcross, GA . I saw your profile and pictures while surfing the internet, I appreciate them and I would like us to do some works together. I presently have good offer for you. I want to know if you are interested in modeling because I need pictures of a good looking person who will be on the magazine cover of one of my Auto sales Company.

Please let me know if you are interested in the Job. You stand a chance of making reasonable $750 from this deal to start, and even a noticeable fame. If you are really interested in my offer and I would give you further details email me directly to my personal email address .. adam.spade@yahoo.com .

God Bless
Adam Spade”

Both of these scams are setup to steal your money using fake money orders. For example, in the Dolphin Autos scam they will tell you that they are paying you upfront for the modeling shoot. They will mail you a fake money order for $2900.00 and you are supposed to take $750.00 out for yourself and send the remainder through Western Union or bank wire to the makeup artist and hair stylist. When you deposit the fake money order in your bank account if the bank doesn’t figure out it is fake at that time they will allow you to withdrawal the $2150 cash and you can then send it back to the scammer. A few days later the bank will contact you telling you the money order was fake and bounced and you owe them all of the money back immediately. But because you sent the cash with a bank wire or Western Union you have no way to get the money back from the scammer. So in this scam you loose $2150!

We’ve taken great measures at Star Search Casting to make sure that our members are aware of the latest scams that are lurking on the web. Make sure you log in to your SSC account and check out the Scam Watch section daily so that you know which scams are out there. Stay tuned tomorrow when I’ll go over ways to identify and avoid casting scams.