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Scam test

References

Talks, documentaries, official guides and help services we recommend. None of them is affiliated with the campaign; we simply think they are worth your time.

Trudi Tapscott on modelling scams

A veteran model scout on how real agencies find talent, and how fake ones exploit hope.

"En el nombre de ellas": the Kote Cabezudo case

The documentary series on how a "photographer" abused hundreds of aspiring models over years, and how it finally came apart.

Nude photography: the manifesto

Where legitimate artistic nude ends and exploitation begins, a clear line for models and photographers.

Modeling scams (US Federal Trade Commission)

The official consumer advice: how real agencies work, what a scam looks like, and where to report it.

StopNCII.org

A free tool that helps stop intimate images from being shared online, run by a specialist helpline.

Model Alliance

A non-profit that works for fair treatment and safety of models in the fashion industry.

The model scam test

Eight quick questions about the offer you received. The verdict follows the six warning signs of a model scam. Nothing is stored; nobody but you sees your answers.

  1. 1 Did they ask for photos in underwear or nude, "to see your body" or "to assess you"?

    Agencies assess new faces with polaroids: plain clothes, natural light, no make-up.

  2. 2 Did they give you details you can check yourself: the client, an agency name, a landline, an office address, a website?

    Facts you can confirm on your own, not screenshots or logos.

  3. 3 Are you being asked to pay anything before working: a registration fee, a book, a course, travel or visa costs?

    Agencies earn when you earn.

  4. 4 Are you being pressured: decide today, keep it confidential, or annoyance and bad manners the moment you ask questions?

    Real professionals expect to be checked and never mind the questions.

  5. 5 Can you bring a friend or a parent to the first meeting, in an office, a studio or a public place?

    Real castings happen in offices and studios, and nobody minds your friend in the waiting room.

  6. 6 Did they ask to move the conversation to WhatsApp, Telegram or a personal email right away?

    Off the platform, nothing can be reported.

  7. 7 Have they threatened to publish or send photos of you if you don't send more, do another shoot or meet them (or pay)?

    That is blackmail, a crime. Do not send more, keep everything, report it.

  8. 8 Have you found the agency or photographer yourself (their own website, their own phone number) and confirmed the offer with them?

    The one step that defeats almost every scam.