Since I began this blog series on scams in the film industry, I started a folder on my desktop whenever I found a questionable job so I could put it in the next entry on the topic.
But… I couldn’t keep up. There’s too many. And the same names will pop up again and again, but new ones do too. There’s no way to truly catalogue them, so the best I can do is show you some examples from time to time, list the red flags, and hope to keep you from being taken advantage of in the future.
Google the E-mail
Scammers are a bit lazy too sometimes. You’ll see the same e-mail used by many different screennames. I’ve been chasing this mikebeebee email since at least July this year, having saved examples of this scam from different Facebook groups. I’m mentioning it now because it’s one of the recent ones to plague a group I manage.
This scam email was also used in July, when I saved these screenshots:
As you can see, it’s multiple names and “jobs” but the same scam email. I did blank out most of the names that posted because it’s likely they are hacked accounts and innocent of this posting. Or they could be completely fake profiles. Either way the most important thing is understanding the details of the scam.
Most recently, this one was posted:
Now, what happens if you apply to the fake job? You’ll likely get this email, with the name changed depending on the fake person you’re communicating with. Email screenshot attached with annotations explained below:
In Yellow: Generally bad grammar and grasp of the English language, so it’s likely an overseas scammer.
In Blue: If you are a professional, you do not need an explanation of how to do your job. This is a complete misunderstanding of how professionals are hired for a film set.
In Green: They use “kindly” which a lot of scammers use for some reason, and they’re also asking for all this identifying information. Probably for identity theft or to further sell your information to future scammers.
In Red: This part is where you know it’s a scam. The guy claims he will pay you $2000 before the job. Never, ever accept payment before a job is done. This is a check phishing scam. They are just trying to steal Your money, which they will do once you see the second part of the red section: “This covers your $1500 upfront payment and the talents'(sic) fee ($4,000) payable to their manager.“
This is how the check phishing scam works. They issue you a fake check, and before your bank notices the check is fraudulent, you’ll be issuing a check from your own balance to pay the “talent” who is actually the scammer. You are out at least $4,000 at the end of this scam.
According to the FTC, “Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered and untangled. By that time, the scammer has any money you sent, and you’re stuck paying the money back to the bank.”
Production Assistant Scams
This latest one was brought to my attention by a community member on a page I moderate. I’d had my suspicions about the job when it was posted, but I didn’t have enough info to delete and ban the poster until I received further info.
Here’s why this job looks suspicious at first glance and why I didn’t delete it immediately.
- Casting call – for a production assistant? You only do casting calls for actors. Crew calls for film crew. I chalked this up to someone green in the industry.
- Grammar “Seeking for.”
- 3 days, 4 hours of work for a lump sum payment of $700. Again, I thought this was an inexperienced person who doesn’t know how day rates work. But 4 hours a day is suspicious even for a short film.
- The poster turned off comments. Scammers do this because they know people will start calling them out in the comments. But insecure people also do this.
I couldn’t annotate this one because as soon as I started, I realized I was underlining the entire thing in red. Let’s look at those emails!
Red Flags:
- Giant block of text. Most gigs will email at best like two sentences to see if you’re available.
- Atrocious grammar and spelling. They don’t even spell their email correctly.
- Wishing you good health. This is America, we don’t have that.
- Apologizing. For some reason a lot of scam communications start with apologizing for being so busy. Maybe the intent is to make them look like they are in high demand or something.
- Audition – for a production assistant? Oh no honey. But this detail confirms my suspicion that this was also a copy & pasted scam for an actor as well. Remember how the job post was a “Casting Call”? I bet this same scam showed up elsewhere targeting actors or models.
- I laughed at “Camera Man.” The term is camera operator. But they probably meant Director of Photography.
Let’s look at the next email!
Red flags:
- Scammer asking where you live (including the state).
- Audition and PA again.
- “Is that rate cool with you?” No. Because it’s fake.
- Are you available the dates we already established?
- Why are they asking what you’re currently working on? This is none of their business.
- Asking for years of experience for an entry level position.
And here is the grand finale:
Red flags:
- Advance payment – It’s a check phishing scam!
- Also… sponsors? Wth.
Thanks to the community member who sent the screenshots and reached out with questions about identifying scams.
Sources:
Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Advice: How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams
Bridget LaMonica 