Saturday, June 10, 2006

Modeling Scam

I received a letter in the mail from “Ad Kids,” a personal management firm that claims it can help my son find work in print ads and television commercials. I was all set to try this (‘cause he’s really cute), but I decided to Google them and find out if they’re legit.

They’re not, of course.

I found major dirt on them at easybackgroundcheck.com. It turns out that Ad Kids is connected to Kids.com, another agency notorious for scams. Ad Kids will interview the parents, ask for $595 upfront to sign the child to a five-year contract, then they never get a call back. I found other complaints about the company at scam.com and modelingscams.com. I now know that I should never pay upfront for an agent, photos, etc.

Oh, by the way, a child abuser is somehow connected to Ad Kids. Great.

Thank God for Google!

4 comments:

carmilevy said...

Good call on the so-called modelling agency. Any place that asks for huge dollar amounts up-front is always a scam.

Of course, beyond the crooked agencies, I have issues with parents whoring their kids out in the hope of a big payoff. If the child wants to pursue acting, he/she can do it in so many more constructive ways - youth theatre troupes, school plays, etc.

This way seems to slimey. Thanks for the very timely warning.

kenju said...

It is so good that you checked on them. My daughter almost fell for a scheme about kids being used for print ads, and when she checked it out, she found that she would have had to pay a LOT of $$ to set up a portfolio for them, which still did not guarantee that they would be hired.

Some parents get caught up in something like that because it is ego-boosting for them. I am glad you didn't fall for it!

Michele sent me.

Jardena said...

creepy :(

Michelle Pessoa said...

Yeah, it's ugly how they rip people off. I'm thinking about taking him to Ford Models because it might be a fun thing to do. They had an open call last week, but it was for older children.

At the very least I should get some good pictures out of it that I don't pay $595 for!