Watch Out For This New Scam

Watch Out For This New Scam

Those of us in the acting and modeling industry know that this can be a hard business. What makes it even harder is when unscrupulous and simply heartless people do and say anything to us in order to steal our money, hopes and dreams.

Don’t Get Fooled By This New Scam

Scammers know how to size us up

I received  an email from someone who
said that he heard my voice over reel (from a
legit web site) and he wants to book me for
a job.

The person did not give any specifics about the job.
I immediately knew it was a scam from the vagueness
of the email.

Instead of deleting the email and moving on with my
life, I decided to play along to learn how the scam
was run and share it with others.

How to Avoid the Scams

Seeing how people scam actors and models
allows me to share this information with others.
I help others from getting ripped off
and having their hearts broken and hardened.

My First Question

I started the investigation process by asking some
specific questions to see how he would respond.
I asked, if is this was a Union job (SAG-AFTRA.) I wanted to not only
hear the response, but more importantly, I knew that the response
I got would tell me right away if it was a scam.

If it were a real SAG-AFTRA booking, he would know all of the
proper rates and the rules/regulations that are required for a
Union bookings.

Of course, he told me that it was a Union job. However, when he
told me how much I would be paid, it was not in line with Union fees.
My feeling of being 99.9 percent sure it was a scam got raised to 100%.

Even if you are not in the Union you can easily find out about rates
by visiting the SAG-AFTRA web site. The rate list is available to anyone.

Here is How We Get Ripped Off

It is easy to be injured by scams.

The guy told me that this voice over job would pay $1,120.
He did not clarify how it was being used (radio, TV, documentary, etc…)
or how long it would be used. He simply gave me a flat fee.

Then he said that the client would pay him half up front, which he would
then forward to me, and then pay me the full amount after the job was
completed.

There was no talk about where the voice over job was going to be recorded
or any details about the job – except for the fee.

Here is How They Get You

In order for this guy to pay me half of my
fee upfront, he needed my banking information.

I thanked him for the offer, but told him that I was too
busy to take on other bookings right now.

Make sure you never give out any banking information to
people. We still receive checks through the mail.

There have been smarter scams that I have witnessed.

Here is a vlog teaching you about another scam I experienced.

Avoid This Acting Scam

If you have ever received information about a scam, please share it here
so others can learn from you.
Aaron

About the Author: Aaron Marcus

Aaron Marcus has been a full-time actor and commercial model for over 36 years. His new book, How to Become a Successful Actor and Model is an Amazon Best Seller. Aaron has given his seminar: "Book the Job" over 800 times spanning 3 continents. He also offers online workshops. Aaron saves 5 days each month to give private on-line coaching sessions. Subscribe to his Acting and Modeling Quick Tips Channel and have free access to 270 + videos <ahttps://www.youtube.com/c/aaronmarcusactingandmodelingquicktips?sub_confirmation=1.