Help Me Howard: Modeling Scam

Excellent report, Howard!

Regrettably, this is a very common scam. Another twist I've been seeing a lot lately is that after scam artist sends you the stolen or bad check (that's for "too much" money), he/she will ask you to WIRE them the excess funds. Often to a U.S. location. By the time the model or actress realizes that the check has bounced or was fraudulent, it's too late -- the wire transfer has already gone through to the scammer.

Another thing to look out for -- other than these offers usually sounding too good to be true, and the offers tending to be somewhat confusing -- is that these con artists tend to have very bad grammar and email etiquette. And they'll rarely provide you with an office phone number. If they're legit, they should be able to provide a phone number that you can call them back at -- and check to make sure that the name spoken on their voicemail is the same as the (likely fake) name they're given you in their email.

Luke Crowe
National Casting Editor
BACK STAGE
BackStage.com