emodel.com, Options Talent Group
To Whom It May Concern:
My daughter is a student a NYU.
She was approached by a scout during the week while
going to class. He gave her his business card with
an address, and told her to go to the 5th Avenue office
on Saturday, at 12:30 pm, and to bring a parent.
My daughter is excited. I am planning on going with
her on Saturday.
Then my sister sent me an email with all this scam information
on emodel.com / Options Talent Group.
What is going on? Should we just forget about this appointment
on Saturday? My inner instinct says YES. Nobody
likes to be made a fool of or to be used.
L.R.
L.
Christy Turlington, the supermodel, was a student at
NYU, too. But the answer to your question, What is going
on with Options Talent, is apparently the same as what
went on with emodel.com.
All reports, complaints and letters, like
one letter sent yesterday, indicate Options
Talent operates in ways which are either
similar to or worse than the practices of emodel.
If those reports are true, Options Talent are experts
at taking your money. They have it down to a fine science.
Bill Mitchell, President, Greater Los Angeles Better
Business Bureau, spoke out against emodel, saying: "The
whole thing, fundamentally, from beginning to end, is
a scam."
The staff at Options Talent are not experts at finding
people work. Apparently they make outrageous claims of
success which they cannot substantiate.
In other words, it could be false advertising. Emodel
used to use false advertising in different ways. For
example, they claimed supermodels used their network/services.
Nadine Johnson, the public relations representative
for IMG Models, was informed of the way emodel.com was
using supermodels for promotion. Her response: "What?
This is an outrageous situation! They have no business
using our girls to promote their business."
I don't know of a modeling scouting business which has
a worse reputation, a worse business model, or a worse
background. Your gut instinct is more than likely correct,
but you can still call big agencies to inquire further.
Ironically, the
FTC puts out a warning about scam modeling agencies,
and the first thing they say is basically the first
thing Options Talent scouts say.
- If You've Got "The Look"... Look Out! Avoiding
Modeling Scams
-
- What could be more flattering? Someone approaches
you at the mall and says, "You could be a model.
You've got the 'look' we're after. Here's my card.
Give me a call to set up an appointment.
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