How To Avoid Becoming
The Victim of Modeling Scams

Introduction

The bad news about the modeling industry: it's full of scams. The good news: education can keep you from avoiding all of them.

The internet has become a force for both education and revelation. Some sites help you learn what scams look like; while others specifically name which ones are frauds. Once you learn the basics about what modeling scams look like, you don't even have to ask anyone about a modeling agency or school, "Is this a scam?"

This site is a crash course with free advice to help girls hoping to become models avoid the pitfalls that clean out their entire savings or waste their parents' money. There are other websites which have consumer complaints and industry veterans exposing the scams by name.

ModelingScams.org emphasizes modeling scams in the United States, but very similar if not identical schemes are found in Canada, the UK, Australia, other English-speaking countries, as well as virtually every other country that has models.

Thousands of young women are interested in modeling and get scammed every year, but surprisingly few books have been written about modeling scams. In fact, you'd be lucky to find half a dozen books ever written on them in general or about one of them in particular. Some books on modeling talk about the frauds to watch out for almost superficially with a chapter or two. They are neither very deep nor very effective, and usually lack real-world examples.

This site has many articles which provide some of the resources, tips, and methods of discernment needed that you can't find in books to make good decisions while planning a modeling career or trying to figure out, "How do I become a model?"

It includes examples of modeling companies which were prosecuted by the federal government as frauds and some that were sued by other branches of government. These are a good standard to know what is legitimate and what is a scam. Looking at just a handful of cases, indeed, can help you see if an agency you've contacted or considered is legitimate.

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Take some time to learn the history of the modeling industry so you can avoid big mistakes or even small ones.

For those girls or parents who have already been scammed, there are some articles on what you can do to get refunds.