An Actors Minute May 31 2018 - Scams

We have all had the issue of being scammed for something... it is not any different for actors. It does not matter if it is from a website where you submit for a role or an e-mail you have received. I have had them and if you have not yet you will!

We are not immune to those that want to take advantage of you... I have a few examples that I have encountered. The first one was for a casting as the role of a Scorned Investor. I received a request... shot this video:

I felt pretty good about how I did (lighting was messed up though... LOL) so I submitted the video to who I thought was a legitimate casting director. I received the following response:

I get really good about this... then I started doing a little research on the person and found out that they were impersonating a Casting Director. I waited to hear more and nothing happened. I was hurt and disappointed but, I moved on and learned.

Another situation was through a request via another reputable website. My wife and I drove for a shoot early on a Sunday morning. It was pretty much the middle of no where... the closest small town was Glenrose, Texas. When we arrived it was all quiet... cars were parked but no one was out and about. Deer were walking through the yard so no one was up and about! I walked up to the door and knocked... no answer. So we decided to leave and returned around 15 minutes later. Still nothing... I attempted to contact the person with out any further response.

I have also received several e-mails stating they will pay me top dollar to shoot a video and will even come to me! Here is an example of one of those letters:

After receiving other scams previously I realized I needed to be more cautious. So I did a little research on my own... I looked up the website owner. The website was only a few days old. Yet, they showed big name companies as being there clients. I also looked up the name of the person both on Google and IMDB. Nothing could be found accept for the information on the website. So I thought... let me make sure so I presented it to my acting coach... she simply replied "SCAM!!!". I also submitted it to my agent... she was also suspicious. The long and short of it was I did not take any action because it was a scam. A few weeks later I heard of someone else experiencing the same issue. Turns out the scam is that they send you a check that you cash... it is invalid and they want you to send them a check to free up their account. Whew... I dodged that one! :)

Their are plenty of honest and trust worth Casting Directors in the industry! When you are suspicious turn to others you know to help you verify they are legitimate. Until next week... Break a leg!

My name is Paul Caraway... More Power To you!