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International Modeling Scams Fraud - Movies, Music, Fashion, Sports - Posted: 9th Feb, 2015 - 2:17am
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International Modeling - Scams & Fraud
International Modeling - Scams & Fraud
Since the inception of the internet it seems that every criminally minded cyber wolf has tried to prey on lost sheep better known as web surfing hopefuls. 'Work at home', 'Get rich quick', 'Become a Super Model' and other phrases seem to coax unsuspecting persons to sink into their pockets on a 'whim and a prayer'.
There are many good info sites that can help you recognize the truth from the lies, such sites are listed on our links page. However, you should make sure that any online business is registered, certified in what they do and have strong testimonials to back what they say.
How do I check them out? A good start is your local Better Business Bureau. However, many countries like the one we operate in do not have a recognized institution for this online so then what do you do?
Check the people they do business with and get feedback to see if they are all they appear to be. Every upstanding business should have a testimonial or portfolio and a way to get in touch with the people listed in that portfolio or testimonial. Beware of suitcase offices. (People who seem to be always on the move with no real base for their business).
Crimes of Persuasion, by Les Henderson, one of the top books out there and available for you to educate yourself in order to be shielded from con artists, thieves, fraud and scams. We are also featured on this site.
Crimes of Persuasion Here is an excerpt from their mission statement available on their site:
QUOTE "Our Mission To inform the public, along with law enforcement personnel, justice officials and victim support groups on the workings and scope of telemarketing and investment fraud so that efforts can effectively be taken to minimize the impact on its victims and ensure that adequate penalties are in place to deter the perpetrators."
Another thing you can do is do a WHOIS search. Take the domain name and compare ownership of the domain with the web site that is extending you the offer. Compare the dates to see if it is a fly by night site or if they have been well established. Sometimes domains may be recently acquired so try doing a normal search in any popular search engine using the names of the owners, the business name and other keywords that would lead you to unbiased information about your prospective agent, manager or designer.'
A very good search engine is www.google.com because they not only pickup the entrance page of a web site, but every word on every page!
Communication is key! Are you able to contact the business easy? Do they have real people with which you can call and chat or is everything automated and untimely?
Strain your eyes a bit and read the fine print. Make sure that there is a contract, agreement or disclaimer involved. Whether it is unilateral or bilateral make sure it sounds good to you.
If an agency, person or other business tells you that only they can provide you with a photographer, web site and work then run fast! You have every right to find your own photographer, web designer, and work! You also can decide which work you will do and not do. The only exception to this is if you signed a contract that specifically says you will only do 'A', 'B' and 'C', etc. Obviously you will need to BE CAREFUL what you sign!
The real proof that it is you! The only sure way someone online can know if 'you' are 'you' is by password / email verification / credit card info. You cannot be charged for simply visiting a site like many scam artists are doing these days. Imagine if after your visit here we sent you an email that stated you owe us money for visiting our site! Crazy huh? Well, we have actually come across those that would do this! Money can only be exchanged when there is a contract in place.
Email verification is difficult but note: Anyone could send you an email with a reply in the header that stated that it came from let's say, 'model_site - model_domain.com', but the only way to know for sure would be to send an email to 'model_site = model_domain.com' and ask if an email was sent via them. You could also view full headers which would show through which mail server the email was sent but this is not the best way for verification unless you are very familiar with reading IP numbers.
Other Related Topics of Discussion:
* Have you ever fallen for a Scam?
* How fast can you detect a Scam?
* The Anti-Spam Bill
Not Necessarily About Scams:
* The way you look
* The worst experience
* The weirdest in the industry
Sponsored Links:
Fraud and Scams Modeling International
Fight Against Internet Crime!
Well I have two stories I can share, one involves a customer and the other involves a solicitation for a review.
QUOTE The customer: I received an email from a distraught mother claiming she had purchased more than a hundred dollars worth of makeup from my company for her daughter's birthday and had not received a shipment. The email was very friendly explaining that she had bought a few items previously and was excited about our line of cosmetics and though money was tight she still wanted to purchase more items for the gift. She claimed that she did not have a credit card so she had sent a money order then verified the money order had been cashed and because she had received a shipment from our company before she threw the receipt for the money order away. She then listed the items that were ordered, her address and asked when she could expect reshipment because she needed them ASAP to make it in time for the birthday surprise.
I had only been in business for a few months and my customer base was probably not more than 40 or so at the time, so I hadn't had many orders and I didn't recall her name. I searched through my records and didn't find anything resembling her name or address so I wrote back and told her that I didn't have record of her being a previous customer, could she verify some things such as address, shipping name etc.. She wrote back to me and was very accusatory claiming she expected more from my company since her first experience had been good and stated that she couldn't afford anything more so I was ruining her child's birthday and so on. So I considered reshipment until it hit me, I had completely overlooked the obvious- my address wasn't listed anywhere on my website, how could a customer send me a money order if I didn't even have my address publicly available?
I wrote back and asked her to confirm the address she sent it to and I never heard from her again. Apparently she realized there was no way to get around the fact that she didn't know where my office was, so she gave up. Now that I've been in business for a few years it's easier to spot people trying to get free makeup or samples by making me feel like my company has made a mistake somehow, I just wish I had saved myself the worry and realized sooner that she was trying a scam.
The reviewer: I received an email from a website asking for to do a review of my line. The girl said she'd like to try a few things and write up a review that would be posted on their site. I was still very new to the web and thought this would be a great opportunity to get some exposure so I wrote back and asked some questions about her coloring and her shipping information. She wrote back with a list of a few things she wanted. A few weeks went by and she wrote back telling me that she had received everything and was doing some "Field testing" And would like a few other items, she proceeded to list several pieces with a retail value of well over $100.00. I started to get suspicious because reviewers usually just review a few pieces unless there's been prior arrangements. I went to the website and found that anyone could sign up for an email address with their site. I was a concerned so I wrote to the editor and asked if she had a staff writer by the girl's name, if she was in charge of reviews and so on. The editor wrote back and said she didn't know who the woman was, but she was sure it was probably just a mistake, maybe she uses that address but reports for another site. It basically sounded like the editor didn't want to be held responsible for any problems that would come up over the situation. I had no intention of holding her responsible for a mistake I had made in not doing a background check in the first place, but I thought it was ridiculous that she brushed me off in such a manner. After the email from the editor arrived I forwarded it to the original and told her I would not be sending anything else to her unless she was a paying customer and of course I never heard from her again. Too bad I didn't think ahead, I now do background checks every time. So that's both of my stories.
There's been other little things that happen, but these are the two that I didn't see coming so I didn't think them through well enough because I was still new at the game. Thank for the opportunity to share my stories.
-- Amy
I had only been in business for a few months and my customer base was probably not more than 40 or so at the time, so I hadn't had many orders and I didn't recall her name. I searched through my records and didn't find anything resembling her name or address so I wrote back and told her that I didn't have record of her being a previous customer, could she verify some things such as address, shipping name etc.. She wrote back to me and was very accusatory claiming she expected more from my company since her first experience had been good and stated that she couldn't afford anything more so I was ruining her child's birthday and so on. So I considered reshipment until it hit me, I had completely overlooked the obvious- my address wasn't listed anywhere on my website, how could a customer send me a money order if I didn't even have my address publicly available?
I wrote back and asked her to confirm the address she sent it to and I never heard from her again. Apparently she realized there was no way to get around the fact that she didn't know where my office was, so she gave up. Now that I've been in business for a few years it's easier to spot people trying to get free makeup or samples by making me feel like my company has made a mistake somehow, I just wish I had saved myself the worry and realized sooner that she was trying a scam.
The reviewer: I received an email from a website asking for to do a review of my line. The girl said she'd like to try a few things and write up a review that would be posted on their site. I was still very new to the web and thought this would be a great opportunity to get some exposure so I wrote back and asked some questions about her coloring and her shipping information. She wrote back with a list of a few things she wanted. A few weeks went by and she wrote back telling me that she had received everything and was doing some "Field testing" And would like a few other items, she proceeded to list several pieces with a retail value of well over $100.00. I started to get suspicious because reviewers usually just review a few pieces unless there's been prior arrangements. I went to the website and found that anyone could sign up for an email address with their site. I was a concerned so I wrote to the editor and asked if she had a staff writer by the girl's name, if she was in charge of reviews and so on. The editor wrote back and said she didn't know who the woman was, but she was sure it was probably just a mistake, maybe she uses that address but reports for another site. It basically sounded like the editor didn't want to be held responsible for any problems that would come up over the situation. I had no intention of holding her responsible for a mistake I had made in not doing a background check in the first place, but I thought it was ridiculous that she brushed me off in such a manner. After the email from the editor arrived I forwarded it to the original and told her I would not be sending anything else to her unless she was a paying customer and of course I never heard from her again. Too bad I didn't think ahead, I now do background checks every time. So that's both of my stories.
There's been other little things that happen, but these are the two that I didn't see coming so I didn't think them through well enough because I was still new at the game. Thank for the opportunity to share my stories.
-- Amy
International Modeling - Scams & Fraud Sports & Fashion Music Movies
There are crooks everywhere and the ones involved in the fashion industry know that the women and some men are willing to do anything to get their photo plastered online or on a magazine. They take full advantage of that rather than just concentrate on mutual business.
TOPIC: International Modeling - Scams & Fraud