As with just about anything else out there in the world, some chump has decided that the acting world and entertainment world is not safe either and you may just find yourself on the other end of an acting scam. How do you identify an acting scam and what steps can you take to avoid them as a beginning actor or even a veteran actor in the Houston area.
There is a treasure trove of scam artists in the entertainment industry, especially with so many actors and performers looking for work and these scam artists are good at what they do too and have an easy time at taking advantage of someone that is decent and just looking for a job. They tend to target those that are just graduating acting school a good portion of the time due to the fact that they are easy prey due to the lack of experience under their belt. That is why it is important for an actor that is just starting out to know how to spot these types of cons so they have no reason to worry about their professional life as an actor.
Some of the most common frauds are:
Manager Scams: There are swindlers out there that are actually pretending to be legit managers in the film industry. They will commonly ask the up and coming actor to pay for a “submission fee” in order to get submitted for auditions in the area. They actually have the actor convinced that they need to fund the submission for acting roles and that they need to cover the cost themselves to find work. The “manager” con artist is not out to get you started in your career only to gain your money. You should know that an honest manager will never ask you to pay them anything unless it is a cut from the jobs they get you with is usually only 10 to 20 percent that they can earn from you as they are promoting you.
Talent Agent Scams: While very similar to the manager scam, they will introduce themselves as talent agents and promise big things and give false hope to an aspiring actor about their talents and marketability. They will claim to have found many superstars and promise that you too will be another super star that they have found and helped rise. An actor should be leery when the offers and promises seem too good to be true when trying to find a legitimate talent agent in Houston.
Professionals of this nature will hand out their contact information to potential victims and promise fame and fortune. When the actor calls these agents for more information they then are asked to pay some sort of additional fee for services or random fees that were never mentioned before when they first encountered the agent. If you come across this sort of scenario; walk the other way for sure as this is a red flag that you should notice right away before it is too late.
Online Scams: Setting up a fake acting and modeling website is super easy anymore and everyone is online now trying to find casting calls and agents. It has never been easier for a scammer to have a fake website and social media account set up under someone else's name. In fact many scammers have taken their fraudulent activities online. There are platforms out there that charge performers to post their headshots and in the end the actor is just out of cash and no job in hand. To help protect yourself from online fraud; you should only visit well-known and legitimate websites and stay away from any service that is requiring you to pay a fee up front before working with you.
Contract Scams: Popular with many shady agents is contract fraud; this can happen to new actors and even the more seasoned actors too. You should always read everything when you are signing official documents and should also seek legal counsel before signing anything. After all that fine print will get you if you are not careful. You can never be too certain even if you think you are working with a legitimate talent agent or manager. You would not believe how easy it is to get trapped by the fine print in a contract that is produced by a scammer; you may just end up signing your rights away to a scammer. So for your peace of mind, even if it costs a bit to do so you should have some legal counsel to go over your contract before you sign.
If you are working with an honest profession in the Houston area, there should be no issue or insult to be had if you ask for a couple of days to read over a document and get someone in a legal arena to look at that document. A good agent or manager will be well aware of the frauds that can occur and should be flexible with your requests and questions. If there is an insistence on a contract being signed right away this should be your red flag and its time to move on before you bite off more than you can chew.
As you go through your career in the entertainment industry and the Houston area you will be able to tell when something is not quite right in any situation. Though no matter how seasoned you are, you should always exercise caution and be sure and confident of who you are working with and happy with the contract that you have been presented with. It is better to be safe, don’t let promises of fame make you a sucker.
