The modeling industry is filled with impressionable young girls, all hoping for a chance to live a glamorous, well paid, model lifestyle. Unfortunately, the industry has also been infiltrated with scam artists who hope to make money from the naivety of inexperienced models.

Here are just a few of the most common model scams, and how to avoid them.

The Nude Photo Scam
Unless you have intentionally contacted an agency specializing in nude modeling, do not ever send nude photos of yourself to agencies for evaluation. There is no reputable modeling agency on this planet that would request nude photos from potential models. It is merely a ploy to exploit vulnerable girls.

The Unsolicited Email Scam
Beware of inexplicable emails and telephone calls that claim you have won a photo shoot, modeling contract or anything similar. If you didn’t enter then how could you have won? These types of scams are often ploys to take money from you in the form of ‘refundable deposits’ or ‘admin costs’. Common indicators of scam emails can include mistakes in spellings and the use of generic phrases such as ‘Dear Friend’ instead of using your name.

The Web Cam Scam
Reputable agencies do not have the time to conduct web-cam interviews. Young models seeking work, have often been asked during these interviews to remove their clothes for ‘evaluation’ purposes. Worryingly, these web-cam interviews may be used for the scamster’s personal collection or even distributed throughout the web on porn sites.

The Big Job offer that Costs You Money
Models have been ‘booked’ to work overseas and offered huge sums of money. There is of course a catch. Often, they are asked to provide money to pay for visas and work permits up front. More often than not, the agent will disappear, never to be heard of again.

So, how can you be sure that the agency that’s interested in you is a legitimate, well respected business? The answer is, common sense and research. Look on the internet for the most well reputed agencies, never part with any money up front and if it sounds too good to be true... well then it probably is.