English
Scam test

Types of scams

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.

You have been "selected". To activate your profile, access exclusive castings or be presented to clients you must first pay: a registration fee, a professional book with their photographer, a course, a subscription. The job never comes, or comes in the form of another fee.

How to recognise it

  • Any payment before any work: registration, activation, book, course, travel or visa advance.
  • Payment by transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, often with a deadline.
  • "Our clients are confidential" when you ask who they work for.
  • A cheque or transfer they send you and ask you to partly forward: it will bounce after you have paid.

What to do

  1. Never pay to be represented and never forward money you received. Agencies earn a commission when you work.
  2. If a book is genuinely needed, choose the photographer yourself; no agency may impose theirs.
  3. If you already paid, keep every receipt and report it: consumer authorities take these cases.

How it sounds

Congratulations! You have been selected from hundreds of applicants. To activate your profile and access our exclusive castings we need the registration fee for your professional book. Red flag · Pay to be represented
Do you have clients I could ask about? And an office where I could come by?
Our clients are confidential. Places are limited and the offer expires on Friday. Payment by transfer to the account below. Red flag · Pressure
Real agencies earn a commission when I work. I won't pay to be represented.
Then we cannot help you. Good luck without us.
Verdict: scam

Agencies earn when you earn. Fees for books, courses or "activation" are the whole business, and the modelling work never comes.

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

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.