emodel.com, Options Talent Group
To Whom It May Concern:
Thank you, thank you!
I had an interview scheduled for tomorrow with Options
Talent Group. I found the job posting through
monster.com in my quest for a real job. I wondered
why they would want someone with no experience
in scouting.
I still shake with anger when I remember "cattle
calls" at the shopping malls I would take my children
to when they were younger. Then the enthusiastic "Oh,
you're children are just what
we're looking for...." Then the pitch to pay several
hundreds of dollars to get listed, get a portfolio, etc.,
etc.
My feeling (which has been substantiated upon further
research) was that if someone wanted my children to model, they would
pay for the privilege, not me.
I cannot do that to someone else and be able to look
at myself in the mirror with any respect.
I cancelled the interview. I'm not wasting the gas money.
K.K.
K.,
Apparently emodel.com (now Options Talent) was banned
from posting at monster.com because emodel had a bad
reputation. However, they tried to beat the system, posting
advertisements for emodel without using the name emodel
in their advertising.
It is not surprising to find a scam company coming up
with derivative scams.
Last year a usenet
forum discussion about emodel (before
it was called options talent) pointed
out the corruption at the company:
- October 23, 2001
-
- Since Rodan keeps posting about how wonderful eModel
is supposed to be, I'd strongly recommend anyone thinking
about doing any business with them to do a little research.
-
- For example, the following
article explains how they scam "models" for
$400 a pop, that the guy behind it has been jailed
*twice* for fraud and much, much more.
-
- Google groups has many
stories of people as short as 5'1" being
approached, and because their name is mud at Monster.com,
you'll see no mention of "emodel" on
any of their many, many ads.
-
- Just do a search for "Model Scout" http://jobsearch.monster.com/=model+scout .
. . then select one of the many listings and click "apply."
-
- That takes you to an unnamed server:- http://161.58.188.60/jobapp/
[screen
capture]
-
- And still no mention of eModel.
-
- If they're such an honest, up and up company, what's
with the secrecy?
emodel.com used the same scheme (numbers instead of
letters for the internet address) in its fraudulent advertising
when it tried to recruit aspiring models by showing them
pictures of supermodels who
were supposedly in the emodel network.
The failure of emodel to use their company name in their
advertising at monster.com supports the claim that emodel.com
changed its name to Options Talent because it had a bad
reputation for modeling scouting fraud.
Two of the alleged principals of emodel.com were investigated
by and charged with fraud by the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). They reached a settlement, but simply moved to
another state (from Virginia to Florida).
But the internet is so much more convenient. You don't
have to move anywhere. You only need to change your internet
address. That can cost as little as $15/yr. The whole
change takes little time, little effort, and little expense.
You could set up an office in Orlando, Florida, for
example, and call yourself emodel.com. Then if you committed
fraud and got a bad reputation, you could change your
name to Options Talent, but you could still keep your
office in Orlando, Florida.
The same
search string cited by the usenet poster
in 2001 was checked several months later, in 2002,
after emodel.com became optionstalent.com. It showed
they were still doing the same thing.
The exact same search yielded "many, many ads," page
after page of job advertisements for Options Talent Group "model
scouts," a total of 327 listings on Monster.com.
The job title Options Talent gave was "Dream Job." Clicking
on the "Dream Job" link would take you to a
page that said: "Options Talent Group is recognized
as the world's largest and most respected scouting company."
Just the opposite. Options Talent Group is the least
respected scouting company. Read all the complaints by
people in the modeling industry (modeling agencies, models,
photographers), those interested in the modeling industry
(former models, aspiring models, parents of models) to
see why Options Talent Group is the least respected scouting
company.
For example, if Options Talent Group is the "most
respected scouting company," why did a leader (Bill
Ford) of the most respected modeling agency (Ford Models)
have
such
little respect for emodel.com?
Bill Ford also said, "They're
not reputable people."
You may want to email or phone Monster.com and tell
them emodel.com is now listing and in fact swamping their
website with job advertisements. If they were banned
before, for the integrity of their website and corporate
image, Monster.com is going to ban Options Talent Group
from posting any more job advertisements on their website.
Explain there is absolutely no indication optionstalent.com
is conducting its business any differently from how emodel.com
conducted its business, it's just the same practices
under a different name.
You could recommend reading letters, complaints, and
research on Modeling Scams for further information.
One of the complaints people have about emodel.com/Options
Talent using monster.com is they made it look as if they
were offering real jobs. But they were actually looking
for independent contractors.
In their model scout ad on Monster.com, Options Talent
Group said the Position Type they wanted was "Full-Time." The
full text read:
- Options Talent Group is recognized as the world’s
largest and most respected scouting company. We currently
have over 60 offices and a staff of over 3,000 around
the world. We are currently seeking Models Scouts to
identify and evaluate potential models and actors around
the world.
-
- We offer the following professional benefits:
-
- • Model Scouts work a flexible schedule and
can earn $40,000 - $75,000 per year in salary, incentives
and bonuses.
-
- • Model Scouts have a Fortune 500 benefit plan
that includes insurance, vacation and stock options.
-
- • Model Scouts work in a fun, professional
work environment.
-
- • Model Scouts do NO direct sales.
-
- • Model Scouts are offered rapid advancement
opportunities
-
- In order to be a Model Scout you must be able to
meet the following requirements:
-
- - You must be bright, energetic, motivated and dedicated.
- - You must be extremely reliable
- - You must adhere to the highest ethical standards
in your work
- - You must want to excel at what you do wanting to
be recognized for achievement
There is no mention of any commission. Why? One woman
(see related below) was under the impression the monster.com
ad she saw was offering a job. As in 9-5. As in regular
paycheck. As in salary. As in benefits.
As it turned out, they started all scouts on a commission,
and many people never make it to a salary, because they
set the demands so high. They messed around with her,
and she did not get paid.
emodel.com used the same scheme to recruit modeling
scouts as they used to recruit aspiring models. It is
a common modeling scam. They pretended they were being
selective when in fact they were accepting just about
anyone and everyone.
Because the emodel.com scheme had all the new modeling
scouts working as "independent contractors," emodel.com
had a lot of liberty and few obligations with respect
to labor laws. They were in fact able to get free labor.
And free recruits. A double deal.
It was like, 'You worked for us for nothing but you
successfully recruited women who paid us, but we are
sending you home without a paycheck, so bye.'
Does it remind you of the famous song, "Money for
Nothing and Your Chicks for Free?"
If the company called Options Talent Group operates
in the same way as emodel.com did, offering independent
contracts, not jobs, should monster.com continue to allow
them to post job advertisements on their website?
If you feel Options Talent Group (previously emodel.com)
misled led you, or is abusing the Monster.com job advertisement
service, phone them with your complaint:
1-800-MONSTER
One person familiar with emodel.com and its use of monster.com
wrote:
- Last time I complained to Monster about eModel, I
reached them through their tollfree number, 1-800-MONSTER.
They were not surprised to hear yet another complaint
about those crooks, who were then hiding behind "Sinai
Consulting" and "Chicago Entertains."
Changing names or hiding behind other names is consistent
with the schemes of the alleged principals of emodel.com,
which became Options Talent.
Does Options Talent Group have bogus advertisements
for bogus interviews for bogus jobs? If they offer bogus
jobs you'd think they would offer bogus interviews after
bogus advertising.
Related:
Modeling Scams received a letter
of complaint from a woman who
responded to an ad on monster.com to be a modeling
scout for emodel.com (now optionstalent.com).
"I was living
in Jacksonville, Florida, searching for work on monster.com,
when I came across a model scout position opening up
in the Tampa Bay area."
Related:
The following public forum post was made by
a woman who visited monster.com:
Posted
by Natalie on January 09, 2002:
I want to thank everyone who took the time to write
about the emodel scam.
I was scheduled for an interview tomorrow at 10 a.m.
(New Orleans branch), but after reading these complaints,
I wouldn't step foot into that building.
It seemed WAY too good to be true, and I kept wondering
how they could allow amateurs to "scout" models.
Not everyone has an eye to pick out models.
I am an extremely skeptical person; I always try to
research things before I jump head first.
I went to Monster.com and saw that emodel would pay
from $30,000/year, yet no one has said anything about
salary. From what I can gather it is strictly a commission-based
job.
According to the emodel webpage, there are different
levels of emodel employees, with model scouts starting
at level 5. The salary listed for level 5 employees starts
at $30,000. How can they post this information and not
honor it?
I hope one day someone will be brave enough to expose
this scam.
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