A New Acting and Modeling Scam
By Aaron Marcus

Just the other day I received an e-mail from someone wanting to hire me for a modeling project. Since I have been making my living as an actor and commercial model since 1986, it is not unusual for someone to have visited my web site and want to book me for a job. Having my photos, acting reel, and voice over jobs there, my web site has been a great tool for me to get work as an actor and commercial model.

The person who contacted me said he was based in England. In his E-mail, he told me that he just visited my web site, loved my work and thought that I was perfect for an ad campaign he was working on. He mentioned that I would be paid $1,000 up-front and my image would be used in the catalog for the product as well as billboards and posters throughout Europe.

I mentioned to him that in order to have my image used in a high exposure format (billboards, posters etc...), I would need to discuss additional fees for those types of usages. The reason for getting additional fees for high exposure formats is to help compensate the model for possible loss of work. If a model is on a billboard for a local bank, no other local bank will hire the model because the model will be so closely connected with a competitor. Sometimes models can get overexposed in a market by being in a high exposure format. That is the reason models should always ask for additional fees for being in a high exposure format. Since I assumed the photo session would take place in England, I also asked him about travel fees to the UK.

He told me that the photographer and makeup artist would come to me for the shoot.

I was also told that he would send me a check for the $1,000 modeling fee as well as the money for the photographer and makeup artist. I was being asked to pay them directly with the additional money that will be in the check.

I have heard of scams where people are sent too much money for services and then asked to return the overpayment. The honest person sends the overpayment back to the "company" and then a few days later finds out that the original check which he cashed has bounced. The bank will ask for the entire amount to be returned, plus a fee for the bounced check.

I can't say for sure, but I figured that is what these people were doing. I told the person that I would gladly accept the $1,000 check, but would not pay the photographer and makeup artist. I never heard from him again. Be careful.