Mall Modeling Scams

Just when you thought it was safe to answer your phone. Yesterday I got a call from a group called Industry Models in Edgewater, NJ. They said they spotted my daughter at the mall recently and the scouting agent was so impressed with her that they would like for us to come down and meet with one of their directors. My daughter has the look, they said. Okay I am not going to lie. My daughter is gorgeous, she is 14, she is 5'10 but unfortunately she is a little overweight. Now I know that there are plus size models out there but they are far and few. So I let the guy do his speil. I asked him for the address and he gave me detailed directions. The problem with the directions is that it was the longest route to get there from my house. Sounded like dude was reading directions from Mapquest, which always give you the longest directions to get somewhere. The alarm went off when the caller kept putting me on hold and the hold recording didn't sound to right. That and the caller informed me that they would be able to meet with me on only Monday and Tuesday of this week. Why is that? If you are legit entity you should be able to schedule appointments around a person's schedule regardless. So all this combined with the fact that when he didn't put me on hold the background noise sounded like they were in a room with kids playing on the Wii. I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow (01/06) at 8:00 p.m. but I did my research and I would be a fool to go!!!! First stop, I checked the BBB database -- Why doesn't it surprise me that have multiple names and multiple complaints. Second stop, googled the name online -- Why doesn't is surprise me that there are complaints against this entity all over the place and even some lawsuits. Third and final step -- Went to rip-off reports and of course there are stories about this scam there. Oh I forgot to mention the scam -- They get you to come to their headquarters under the guise that you are going to be meeting with a talent scout, when you get there it is just one of their flunkies who is nothing more than an office assistant. They tell you to bring 3 pictures of your child, and ID (Specifically your driver's license and a credit card). Then the lackey attempts to pressure you into signing up for a photoshoot -- $599.00 minimum from what I read in the complaints. If you go for that then they will keep adding on different sorts of fees, until like with the Loan Scams, you say "enough is enough"

I actually went through their so-called website and how familiar were they to CedarBrook Lending, down to the testimonials. However with this group the majority of them have worked on Law and Order.

This is priceless.

Welcome cagedbird714,

I'm glad you did some checking and saved yourself hundreds of dollars and some potential heartache. This type of business has been around for a very long time--I actually remember being approached in a mall by a very implausible "scout" for one of these places almost 20 years ago! When it comes to modeling/talent scouts, rip-offs are probably more common than the real thing. As you noted, a google on the business name brings up numerous complaints from unhappy customers.

From their own website:

INDUSTRY is not a modeling agency or a modeling school. INDUSTRY scouts potential new models and talent, develops them by providing them with the necessary marketing tools, and uses those tools to market them to industry professionals such as modeling agencies, managers, and casting agents in order to get them the exposure they need to pursue the entertainment industry.

So they aren't actually an agency--they will just charge you for services to market yourself to an agency. It is also significant to note that they reference both Gigacomps.com and NIJAH productions as affiliates. Both companies are also affiliated with New Faces, which was cited and fined in New York in 2006 for "making deceptive, and exaggerated claims about the services it provided to aspiring models and actors."

For more in-depth information about common modeling scams, I would recommend checking out http://www.modelingscams.org/.\

Welcome cagedbird714,

I'm glad you did some checking and saved yourself hundreds of dollars and some potential heartache. This type of business has been around for a very long time--I actually remember being approached in a mall by a very implausible "scout" for one of these places almost 20 years ago! When it comes to modeling/talent scouts, rip-offs are probably more common than the real thing. As you noted, a google on the business name brings up numerous complaints from unhappy customers.

From their own website:

INDUSTRY is not a modeling agency or a modeling school. INDUSTRY scouts potential new models and talent, develops them by providing them with the necessary marketing tools, and uses those tools to market them to industry professionals such as modeling agencies, managers, and casting agents in order to get them the exposure they need to pursue the entertainment industry.

So they aren't actually an agency--they will just charge you for services to market yourself to an agency. It is also significant to note that they reference both Gigacomps.com and NIJAH productions as affiliates. Both companies are also affiliated with New Faces, which was cited and fined in New York in 2006 for "making deceptive, and exaggerated claims about the services it provided to aspiring models and actors."

For more in-depth information about common modeling scams, I would recommend checking out http://www.modelingscams.org/.\

Thanks Dotti,

Would you believe they had the audacity to call me last night to confirm the appointment? I told them I wasn't going to be able to make it. My daughter plays basketball and she has a game tonight and there is no way I am going to pull her out of an activity where she definitely has a shot at advancing herself for a whim. Now this was a woman who called last night, the person I spoke to on Sunday was named Omar. She sounded so disappointed and asked me if she could call me today to see if there is a chance that we could make it. Sure call me, is what I was thinking so I can really read you. I checked the BBB and they have been in business since 2004 and they have hundreds of complaints.

Believe me Dotti I know how to do my research now, thanks to Sinn (fullauto) and some other people here. I was one of the first victims of the loan scams in October 2008 and I refuse to be taken again.