Is that modelling offer real? Let's check it together.

Starting out as a model is exciting, and some people take advantage of that. That is why their messages sound like an opportunity: from the fake nude photographer with an irresistible project to the agency offering you a casting from a hotmail address. Before you say yes to anything, check whether it passes the scam test: two minutes, no sign-up.

Take the scam test Read the guide first

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.

Hi! We're a luxury events agency and we're looking for girls with your profile for a private party on a yacht this Saturday. Very important people, very well paid. You just have to look good and act as a hostess. Red flag · The job is a party

Thanks. What is the agency called and what exactly is the job? Do you have a website or an office I can call?

All very discreet, the clients don't want publicity. I'll send you the details on WhatsApp. I need your confirmation today and a few bikini photos so the client can choose. Red flag · Off the platform

That isn't modelling work. With no company name, no contract and no actual job, I'm not interested.

Your loss, I have twenty girls waiting. It's easy money, think about it. Red flag · Pressure

Verdict: scam

"Exclusive" parties with important people and easy money are the usual front for recruitment into prostitution. A real agency has a name, an office, a contract and a concrete job it can describe.

Hi, I'm writing from an international model agency. We're holding castings in your city this week for new faces and your profile fits perfectly. Shall I put you down? Red flag · Nothing you can check

Thanks! What is the agency called? I'd like to see your website and call the office before I come.

We're a boutique agency, we work by referral and don't run a public website. Message me on WhatsApp and I'll send you the casting address, it's in a private space. Red flag · Off the platform

With no website, no office phone and no name I can't check anything. Can you give me the agency's full name and the names of two models you represent?

The models we represent are confidential. Two places left and the casting is tomorrow, so confirm today or I give them to someone else. Red flag · Pressure

Then no. A real agency can be found and called.

Verdict: scam

An agency that cannot be found outside its own messages is no agency. With no checkable name, no office and a rush, the only answer is to stay away.

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

Hello, I'm a fine-art photographer working on a book about the female body. Very tasteful, very artistic. Your face is exactly what I'm looking for. Red flag · Undressing to assess

Thanks. Can I see your portfolio and previous publications?

My work is not online, galleries only. We'd shoot at my home studio, it's more intimate. Come alone, it doesn't work the same with more people. Red flag · Alone, or in private

I always bring a friend to castings and shoots. If that's a problem, we can't work together.

You're clearly not a real artist. Forget it.

Verdict: scam

Legitimate photographers have work you can see and never object to a companion or a proper studio.

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.

Hi, this is the booking team of a well-known agency, you may know our name. We're expanding our new faces board and you caught our eye. Red flag · Nothing you can check

Thank you! I'll call the agency tomorrow to confirm. Who should I ask for?

Please don't call the office, this is a private search and they are not involved yet. Write to my personal email and we'll take it from there. Red flag · Off the platform

If it's your agency's search, the office will know about it. I'll check with them first.

You're overthinking it. Other girls have already said yes. Last chance. Red flag · Pressure

Then it's a no from me.

Verdict: scam

The agency is real; the account is not. Contact the real agency through the details on its own website, never through the ones you were given.

Hey, thanks for the test shoot yesterday, the photos came out great. Send me a few more from home, something more intimate, so I can finish the series. Red flag · Undressing to assess

No, I'm not comfortable with that. Please delete the ones you took.

Careful. I have your photos and I know your family's names. Send the rest tonight or they go online. Red flag · Pressure

I'm not sending anything, and I'm keeping these messages.

Last chance. One more set tonight and I delete everything. Tell anyone and I publish. Red flag · Pressure

I'm not sending anything. I'm reporting this to the police and to the platform.

Verdict: scam

Blackmail with images is a crime. Do not send more, do not pay, keep everything, report it, and use StopNCII.org to keep the images off the main platforms.

Seven things a real professional never does

Any one of these is a reason to pause and check. Two together is a reason to walk away, and that is fine. You do not owe anyone a yes.

Red flag

Asks for nude or underwear photos "to assess you"

Agencies assess new faces with polaroids: plain clothes, natural light, no make-up. Nobody legitimate needs anything else to assess you.

Red flag

Won't give details you can check

No client name, no landline, no office address, no website you can cross-check outside their messages.

Red flag

Wants money before work

Registration fees, "mandatory" portfolios, courses, visa costs. Agencies earn when you earn, and never when you pay.

Red flag

Urgency, secrecy and, if you ask, insults

"The client decides tonight", "don't call the agency, it's confidential", and the moment you ask for details you are "not serious". Pressure is a technique.

Red flag

Objects to a companion or a public place

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

Red flag

Moves you to private channels fast

Off the platform, on to WhatsApp or Telegram, where nothing can be reported.

Red flag

The "job" is a party

Exclusive parties, dinners, yachts, trips with clients, "you just have to be a hostess". Plenty of glamour, plenty of easy money and no modelling work in sight.

The full checklist

The types of scams we see most often

They reinvent themselves, but nearly every case fits one of these patterns.

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 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

A scam usually unfolds in four moves

The details change; the sequence rarely does. Knowing the script is half the defence.

The approach

A message on a modelling site, Instagram or a forum. A fake name, borrowed or poor photos, and a title that sounds right: photographer, scout, casting director, trainer, editor. Sometimes they answer a post of yours; more often they write out of nowhere, and they write to many people at once.

The credibility

They talk like the real thing. Industry words, a website made last week, a logo, screenshots of "clients" and "contracts", the name of a real brand or a real professional. Everything is designed to survive a glance and nothing is designed to survive a phone call.

The offer

A great job, a juicy contract, a well-known magazine, easy money, a career. Exciting enough to hope, vague enough not to check. Often bigger than anything a beginner would realistically be offered.

The pressure

Urgency, flattery, secrecy. Photos "to see how you photograph", a private meeting. Then, if you hesitate or ask questions, insults: you are "not serious", "not professional", "wasting our time".

How scammers operate

If it already happened

It was not your fault. Here is what helps now.

Scammers are professionals at this; you were not. Whatever happened, money, photos, a meeting that went wrong, there are concrete steps that make it better, and people who will help without judging.

What to do, step by step

Keep everything
Messages, profiles, phone numbers, email addresses, payment receipts, the photos they sent you. Screenshots with dates. Do not delete the conversation, however much you want to: it is the evidence every report will need.
Report it where you met them
Every serious modelling site and social network has a report button. Use it, and describe what happened. It protects the next person, it starts a paper trail, and on a well-run platform it gets the scammer removed.
Report it to the police
Fraud, extortion with images and sexual coercion are crimes almost everywhere. Reporting is free, you can bring someone with you, and many police forces have online reporting for cybercrime. Bring your screenshots.
If images were shared, get them taken down
Report the images to the platforms where they appear; most have dedicated forms for intimate images shared without consent. Services such as StopNCII.org help prevent images from being spread further.
Tell someone you trust
A friend, a parent, a partner, a teacher, a helpline. You do not have to carry it alone, and you do not have to have all the answers before you talk. People who care about you will want to help.

Voices worth listening to

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.

Model Alliance

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

All references

Someone you love wants to model?

How to support them without scaring them off, what to check with them before a casting, and how to spot the scams aimed at teenagers.

Guide for parents

Where does this campaign come from?

Stop Model Scams grew out of Litmind, the community for models, photographers and agencies, and out of its commitment to a safe, healthy community backed by strong security measures. What Litmind learned protecting its members is what this campaign teaches.

Visit Litmind

Is that modelling offer real? Let's check it together.

The bogus casting director

The yacht party

The phantom agency casting

The pay-to-play agency

The self-proclaimed nude artist

The private hotel casting

The impersonator

The photo blackmailer

Seven things a real professional never does

Asks for nude or underwear photos "to assess you"

Won't give details you can check

Wants money before work

Urgency, secrecy and, if you ask, insults

Objects to a companion or a public place

Moves you to private channels fast

The "job" is a party

The types of scams we see most often

The self-proclaimed nude "artist"

The bogus scout, agency or magazine

Pay-to-play "agencies"

The nude casting trap

The impersonator

The photo blackmailer (sextortion)

A scam usually unfolds in four moves

The approach

The credibility

The offer

The pressure

It was not your fault. Here is what helps now.

Keep everything

Report it where you met them

Report it to the police

If images were shared, get them taken down

Tell someone you trust

Voices worth listening to

Trudi Tapscott on modelling scams

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

Model Alliance

Someone you love wants to model?

Where does this campaign come from?