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Acting Scams:
Part 2:
Get
Discovered---At the
Holiday Inn???
Part 2 of our series on
acting scams brings us to unlikely
place to get discovered…your local
Holiday Inn! Or Ramada Inn! Or Motel
6! It really doesn’t matter which
hotel it is, the scam remains the
same! Same scam, different hotel.
These scammers do such
a great selling job, it’s hard to tell
they are scammers at all. They look
and appear legitimate, complete with
radio and television ads, professional
“talent agents” in attendance and the
promise of fame for the chosen few.
But, if you look closely, you’ll see
that neither your success or fame is
what they are really after.
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Scam #2:
Calling All Suckers!
Here’s the set-up. You
are driving in your car, when you hear
a commercial from the ________ Model
and Talent Search. They claim to have
launched the careers of many famous
people, even naming names. According
to them, they are in town to scout
talent. Everyone, of course, is
welcome because (they want you to
believe) everyone has a chance to be a
famous model or actor.
Whether you go out of
curiosity or a genuine belief that
this is your chance to realize your
dreams of fame, the point is you go,
along with everyone else in town.
After “evaluating” everyone’s talent,
they announce that they will call
those with whom they have interest.
To your surprise (and
delight), you get a phone call! You've
been selected. They ask you to return
for further evaluation. When you
arrive to the callback, you see some
familiar faces. In fact, they are the
same people you saw on the first go
round. They called practically
everyone back who attended the first
meeting.
Now, they tell you, since
you have so much talent and potential
to be famous, you should go to their
model and talent showcase, which is to
be held in New York or some major
city. You’ll get the chance to
showcase your talents in front of
“casting directors” and “talent
scouts”. Your big break! Cost: Only
$1200—not including your plane ticket,
food and other expenses.
Dead
giveaways:
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Generally speaking,
reputable model and talent agencies
don’t really have to go on a
“national tour” to find talent. The
get stacks of headshots and comp
cards each day and many times have
more talent than they need. Further,
reputable agencies don’t ask for
money up front.
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On the second call
back, you might notice that they
called just about everyone to
return. Why? Because they can make
more money from 1000 people than the
can from ten. The more people they
can convince to come back and spend
money, the more money they can make.
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Anytime someone in
the entertainment business asks for
money to help make you a star, close
your purse and ask questions. There
are many more people who sell dreams
rather than fulfill dreams. As long
as you are eager to become famous,
they know you will do almost
anything, including throwing away
your money on scams like these!
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