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Scam test

Types of scams

The bogus scout, agency or magazine

A company that exists only in messages. Pornography and prostitution recruitment often hide behind this front.

A scout, an agency, a casting director, a magazine, a production company: a title that sounds right, sometimes a slick website, always a great opportunity. Behind it there is nobody you can call and no office you can visit. In the worst cases the "agency" is recruiting for pornography or prostitution.

How to recognise it

  • No landline, no office address, no company you can find outside their own website and messages.
  • The client and the job are "confidential until you're booked".
  • They want to continue on WhatsApp or Telegram right away.
  • Big promises, big numbers, and a deadline.

What to do

  1. Search for the agency yourself and call the number you find, not the one they gave you. Ask them to confirm the offer.
  2. Ask for the client's name and the names of two models they represent; check both.
  3. If nothing checks out, walk away and report the profile.

How it sounds

Hi! I'm a casting director for a big fashion magazine. We loved your profile. We have a paid editorial next week, very well paid. Interested? Red flag · Nothing you can check
Thanks! Which magazine, and where is the shoot? Is there a phone number I can call?
Let's move to WhatsApp, it's easier. The client is confidential until you're booked. Send me a couple of photos in underwear so I can see your body. Red flag · Off the platform
I'd rather keep talking here. My polaroids are on my profile.
The client decides tonight, I need them now. If you're not serious about your career, don't waste my time. Red flag · Pressure
No, thank you. I'll pass.
Verdict: scam

Two red flags in the first three messages. Right answer: keep it on the platform, ask for verifiable details, walk away when they refuse.

The other types of scams

The self-proclaimed nude "artist"

Not a photographer, but works hard to look like one. What they want is to meet you and see you undressed; the photos are beside the point.

How to recognise it

Pay-to-play "agencies"

Fees for registration, books, courses or exclusive castings. Real agencies make money by getting you work, not by getting you to pay.

How to recognise it

The nude casting trap

A well-paid job for a great client, as long as the "casting" involves undressing for someone you know nothing about.

How to recognise it

The impersonator

Uses a real photographer's or agency's name, logo and stolen photos. The person writing to you is not the person you look up.

How to recognise it

The photo blackmailer (sextortion)

Someone who obtained intimate photos of you, or claims to have them, threatens to publish them or send them to your family, school or agencies unless you send more photos, agree to another shoot or meet them. Sometimes they ask for money too.

How to recognise it

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.