English
Scam test

Types of scams

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.

The offer sounds like the real thing: a campaign, a well-known brand, good money. The catch is the casting itself: private, urgent, and it requires you to undress, on video, in photos or in person, in front of a stranger. The job does not exist; the casting is the goal.

How to recognise it

  • The brand "cannot be named" (NDA, confidentiality) but the casting is tomorrow.
  • The casting is in a hotel, a flat or a home studio, often in the evening, and you must come alone.
  • Undressing is required to "see how you photograph", sometimes on a video call first.
  • They contacted you, and they are in a hurry.

What to do

  1. Real castings happen in offices and studios during working hours; even swimwear castings do not require nudity in a first meeting.
  2. Bring someone. If that is a problem, it is not a casting.
  3. Do not go. Report the profile, and warn the platform where you met them.

How it sounds

We're scouting for a swimwear campaign. Casting tomorrow at 9 pm, hotel near the airport, room number by text. Come alone, it's a closed casting. Red flag · Alone, or in private
Which brand is it, and which agency are you with? I'd like to call their office first.
The brand is under NDA. There's no time for calls, the client flies out on Thursday. Are you in or not? Red flag · Nothing you can check
Then I'm out. A real casting happens in an office or a studio, and I can always bring someone.
Verdict: scam

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

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

The bogus scout, agency or magazine

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

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 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.