English
Scam test

References

Talks, documentaries, official guides and help services we recommend.

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

Nothing is stored; nobody but you sees your answers, completely anonymous.

  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, and never when you pay.

  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 casting or interview, 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 Is the "job" a party, a dinner, a trip or an exclusive event (hostessing, accompanying, socialising) rather than a casting or a shoot?

    Glamour and easy money with no modelling work in sight: the usual front for recruitment into prostitution.

  8. 8 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.

  9. 9 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.