Safety Advice When Receiving Enquiries
& Attending Auditions, Gigs & Casting Calls:
In the digital era that we live in, although the majority of enquiries are from respectable people advertising legitimate entertainment jobs, gigs and auditions, unfortunately there are also scams which we would like all members to have an awareness of.
Take a moment to read over our safety advice for safety online and how to spot common scams:
1. When receiving a direct gig enquiry, job offer or audition, a quick Google search on a company or person's name and the location is always recommended, especially if the post or enquiry sounds suspicious.
2. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You may always click 'Report this listing' to notify us of a suspicious audition, gig or job.
3. Beware of Maritime Visa scams. The scammer will send you a false contract to join and perform on a ship and request that you pay them a large amount of money for the visa required to join the ship. If you receive an enquiry similar to this, report it to us immediately before applying or replying if it is a direct enquiry.
4. Beware of over-payment scams. A reported scam is where the scammer will send you a fake cheque for far more than your agreed fee. They then inform you that they made a mistake and sent you too much, or sent you your fee + e.g. the fee for the photographer that they're also hiring. They then ask if you could make a payment back to them / the photographer asap for the amount overpaid. The act makes the payment (which actually goes to the scammer) and then the cheque doesn't clear. If you receive an enquiry similar to this, report it to us immediately before applying or replying if it is a direct enquiry.
5. Only provide information / reply to requests that you are comfortable with and remember you always have the choice to decline an offer.
6. If you are requested to pay to attend an audition, report it to us & do some extra checks of your own. This is sometimes acceptable with reputable companies, however could also be a scam or simply not worth attending. Report it to us if you are unsure and we will look into it before you attend.
7. When attending an audition or gig, it is always recommended to tell someone you know the address where you are going. Some members also choose to attend with a friend or family member.
------------------
For your safety, we monitor and make a series of checks before jobs, gigs & auditions are added to our jobs pages. We also monitor our system for suspicious activity when e.g. a large volume of direct enquiries have been sent to a variety of our members from the same booker. If we flag these enquiries as suspicious, you will notice that we have removed the reply window from the enquiry in your account inbox for your safety. We will also send an email to all members who were sent the suspicious enquiry to alert them.
Although we try our best to spot as many potential scams as possible, we can't review every single direct enquiry sent to our thousands of members. Therefore if you notice anything suspicious, please report it to us immediately via the link in your enquiry thread and we will do our very best to help.