From time to time we hear about incidents in the entertainment community where "casting directors" try soliciting people, offering them not only paid acting jobs but also to cover travel and accommodation expenses, by paying significant amounts of money upfront, only to later discover that the check is fraudulent.
Unfortunately, sometimes scams happen and the only way to prevent such adverse experiences from occurring is to educate yourself. So here's everything you need to know to stay safe.
How To Spot A Casting Scam?
When browsing through casting calls, or if you ever receive a message from casting people you haven't worked with before, please keep an eye out for the following red flags:
- Weak Grammar. The majority of scams usually come from foreigners with a poor English knowledge and almost non-existent entertainment industry lingo.
- Prepayment. A real project will never offer to pay you upfront before you've done any work for them. Scammers, however, will frequently offer to pay up front to try and gain your trust. Don't ever send them any money if they ask, and they usually do ask. A typical fraud scenario goes like this: They send you a check for, say, $1000-$2000 and ask for you to deposit it and send them a couple of hundreds back - for various expenses: make-up artists, insurance, etc. The check will bounce of course within a few days after you deposit it and you lose the money.
- Identity theft. Scammers sometimes use the names of real people and real companies. They even send links to legitimate websites of the people they're pretending to be. Be sure to check the email addresses they're using - if they don't match with the company they're "representing," you can be sure it's a scam. Use Google to research the company or person that you are auditioning for, check what other people are saying.
- You get cast without auditioning. This is a serious red flag moment. Although real projects on a rare occasion do cast models or actors online without meeting them first, it's more common among scammers to claim they want to hire you without even meeting you first.
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Couple More Tips on How to Protect Yourself
- Check carefully what they require of you before attending an audition.
- Check the audition location. If it's in a hotel or bar, or at someone's house, we suggest avoiding it.
- Take someone you trust with you to the audition.
- Don't hesitate to say 'no' to anything that you aren't comfortable doing.
- Check what other members of the entertainment community are saying - the thorough the research, the better the outcome.
If you think you might be dealing with a con artist, or you've already been conned, please contact us at support@allcasting.com or talk to your local authorities.
