SCAM ALERT

David Green | 30/04/2007 - 21:03

EVERYONE BEWARE!!!!!!

AN EMAIL WAS SENT TO ME THAT IS A SCAM. BE CAREFULL AND PLEASE ALERT SITE MANAGER IF SOMEONE SENDS YOU THIS EMAIL:

Hello ,
My name is Caleb Adewole,a national Online Scout manager with www.toospoiled.com -an highly growing website with the largest database of actors and models in the world.I have gone through your profile and I feel talented guys like you should be on our database.Toospoiled.com offer talents the best in terms of worldwide exposure at absolutely no cost at the point of enrollment.You can upload your photos freely,there is no retention fee.We welcome the gifted like you and I know it's going to be a wonderful experience.why don't you join us at www.toospoiled.com/default.cfm Click 'Members'You would need my Scout ID:CAAD4310 for validation purpose.If you are having problem filling your phone ,omit your country and area codes.You can edit your phone number after enrollment.My email is Caleb.Adewole@toospoiled.com I look forward to hear from you.
Best of Luck.
Caleb Adewole

THIS SCAM COULD COST YOU MONEY AND IS NOT EVEN AUSTRALIAN. DO NOT REPLY OR GO INTO IT.

previous forum topic | next forum topic | email this forum topic | 3938 reads

Thanks for the heads up

Author: Labrug
Date: 01/05/2007 - 08:34

Just reading the posting, it sounds too scammy. Too Spoiled? Sounds like a joke site more so than a Talent Site, and how often do you have "Talent Scouts" send you e-mails? They don't. Just like a bank would never send you an email to "Confirm your details" or "Update your Security Access", you will never get an agent contact you out of the blue. You'd have to have done something pretty special for that to happen in reality.

Tip, anything that asks for personal details, money or Security Access codes should be considered Guilty before being proved innocent.

The industry of acting, singing, performing is full of many hopeful and occasionally "desperate" individuals that these sorts of Scams will work. Our task is to help others not fall for them.

So again, thank you David.

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins
Perth based Actor/Performer
who can also sing and dance
Fight/Sword Choreographer
Virgin Director

Home Page

15/06/2007 - 20:04 Caleb adewole (not verified) Re:Scam alert

Hey Caleb, if you insist

Author: Na
Date: 16/06/2007 - 01:43

Hey Caleb, if you insist that the company is legit, why not leave a personal email address where people can contact you properly? I doubt any of us are willing to waste money on an international call just so that we can prove/disprove any suspicions we might have.

And I have to say that it was not out of cowardice or lack of research. We simply did a Google search and listed the results: it's not our fault if there have been a lot of forum postings about your company that do not agree with your marketing.

We were trying to give some advice to many of the young and emerging artists out there who may not realise that the service is not Australian based, and therefore may not benefit them as much as an Australian-based site/company might. (Your home page shows shots of half-naked women on it; not something we generally promote to youngsters in this country)

And lastly; you want us to do 'proper' research about who you are? Put some company profiles up on your About us page, add some actual press releases on your press page, include actual media information on your media page (instead of where you place ads).

'In the interest of national and social justice' we have a right to present information based on what we have found on other websites and your own site, in order to better infom our local artists.

If you really are legit, then you will leave us more information about the company, instead of saying that 'other people have signed up' implying that it is legit. Having links to prettified (yes, I know I just made that up) profiles doesn't make me less suspicious; only some info on your company, that I could double check and triple check from second and third party sources (ie. yellow pages, a government business directory, etc.), would help.

You are a 'scout manager' and it is clear from the website that anyone can become a scout manager if they fill out an application form. I'd be a little more enthused if we had contact with... I dunno... a CEO of the company? Or an actual founding member of the company? (A google search of Caleb Adewole from Toospoiled brings up one link; this site. So we can't even research who you are! And so I say all this in full knowledge that you may not be who you say you are...)

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

Been there done that!!!

Author: David Green
Date: 16/06/2007 - 12:24

Dear Caleb

Unfortunately one of your people who sent me the above email was either very new to this site or took an extreme gamble and lost. I think every person on this site knows how I feel about agents, especially the one over in the eastern states who signed me up and NEVER got me work. And you want me to join an agency over in the US???

Now I always do research before I make any comments regarding other people. I went into your website and then did a google search. The results speak for themselves.

If you feel you have been wronged I am happy to apologies. However, let’s look at the email you sent me:

"I have gone through your profile and I feel talented guys like you should be on our database."

Now although I have a large profile…you have no idea what my acting ability is like. I may have done over 20 performances within 12 months but you have no idea if I was any good in them. Quantity is not the same as quality and without having seen any of my work how do you know you can make money out of me (because that’s why ALL agents sign up actors).

Also with over 10 million actors and models out there in the world, why would an overseas person pay anyone from Australia (who they have not met nor seen any of their work) to come over when they have thousands if not hundred of thousands of people available in their own country?

If you believe that advertising on a site like this would get you more clients I’m afraid you are gravely mistaken. Especially since people like myself who have been scammed before will ensure every new person understands the steps required to get a legitimate agent.

I’m sorry if you have felt wronged but I will not stand by and let people tell others they can have their dreams and then not deliver.

But to everyone else out there…

Keep Smiling Smiling

David Green
DRAGON FILMS

www.davidgreenenterprises.com

It is quite common practice

Author: Na
Date: 16/06/2007 - 13:31

It is quite common practice to 'harvest' email addresses from other internet sites and then database them so that you can send out large numbers of invitations later on. I would guess that this is what they have done. (Actually less of a guess and more of an informed assumption)

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

If you go to their website

Author: Na
Date: 01/05/2007 - 09:08

If you go to their website it is quite clearly a suspect site, most likely preying on the young and ignorant with promises of fame and stardom, while promoting their eyes and personal information to a range of services including online dating. It's pretty much for every wannabe model who doesn't know enough to spend their money on a reputable agent instead of a dodgy website.

It is also quite clearly US based, and would probably not be all that useful for us Aussies.

Their 'About us' page is a joke, and doesn't even state anything about who the company is or what background they have.

Finally, anyone who randomly sends you an email to join a site (and pay to join) is grabbing your email from somewhere. This is in fact spam, and against spam laws (don't quote me, American laws will differ from Aussie ones, plus the whole international realm of law is probably different from both). Figure out where they got your email address from; then work out whether or not you need to delete your email address from any mailing list/website/wherever. (Or sue someone if they got it from another party against your wishes and the party's own legal policies)

My vote: AVOID UNLESS YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR MONEY.

The Prompt Copy Store
www.store.thepromptcopy.com

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

Treading the Boards
www.treadingtheboards.thepromptcopy.com

Brave Na-art

Author: Labrug
Date: 01/05/2007 - 09:13

You're brave Na, I didn't even op to have a sticky-peek on the off-chance it may have been a Viral site. You know, those sites that use Active Content to spike your machine with either Viral-ware or Spy-ware. Another wonderful gift from the world of Scammers and Hackers.

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins
Perth based Actor/Performer
who can also sing and dance
Fight/Sword Choreographer
Virgin Director

Home Page

I wasn't planning on going

Author: Na
Date: 01/05/2007 - 09:24

I wasn't planning on going directly to their site, I did a DNS lookup (you see who owns the site) but found nothing helpful there. So I took a chance and had a look. Very 'flash' looking site, but quite clearly dodgy and won't last a year. These sites pop up all the time, but the good ones hang around. And there's nothing worse than finding an 'About us' page that tells you nothing about the company that runs the site. That makes you wonder what they don't want to say.

The Prompt Copy Store
www.store.thepromptcopy.com

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

Treading the Boards
www.treadingtheboards.thepromptcopy.com

Spike your machine

Author: Mandurah Little...
Date: 05/05/2007 - 12:06

Just a quick comment that some people don't know to do with protecting your computer. Go to your Tools menu and make sure that your 'Phishing Filter' is turned on. If it says 'Turn OFF Automatic Website checking' it is on. If it says 'Turn ON Automatic Website checking' then you will need to turn it on.

If you think it is a suspect site, report it. Go to Tools, Phishing Filter, Report this Website. It doesn't hurt to reports sites. Even if they are OK at least they have been checked. Think of it as making Microsoft work for their money.

JennyFer

SCAM ALERT

Author: David Green
Date: 01/05/2007 - 11:09

I agree this was scam. But this was sent to my inbox on the ITA website from a member on it. Thought I would alert anyone who recieves anything in their mail on this site from these people.

But other then that...

Keep Smiling Smiling

David Green
DRAGON FILMS

www.davidgreeneneteprises.com

Yes, my bet is that someone

Author: Na
Date: 01/05/2007 - 11:19

Yes, my bet is that someone signs up for these sites (because it's free and easy), finds and collects the email addresses and then sends out stuff. While it's not technically getting email addresses from another party, and though they don't send it to a 'normal' email address, it is still spam.

(This is a guess, because you don't mention whether or not the person who sent it is known by you)

I despise sites that do that.

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

SCAM ALERT

Author: David Green
Date: 01/05/2007 - 11:33

No I did not know this person. All I know is that they have an account on this website but its not the person who is stated in the above email. It was some new guy to the industry.
My guess is I was on line or they read a post of mine and sent me an email on these people's behalf. Why I have no idea but it would stand to reason to get someone who has not been burnt before from something like this. Let alone someone who has been in the industry for a while.

You only need to read some of my posts to know how I feel about agencies...let alone out of state ones.

Oh well...some never learn

Keep Smiling Smiling

David Green
DRAGON FILMS

www.davidgreeneneterprises.com

Just what I thought. It is

Author: Na
Date: 01/05/2007 - 12:01

Just what I thought. It is probably someone who signs up just to send these emails out. They're probably some dimbulb marketing person who finds all the highest ranking sites for a particular topic (in this case, the highest ranking/visited Aussie theatre site), and thinks if they get a link there or someone interested, they'll pass the message along.

Viral marketing isn't just for your bulk mail box. It's also getting naive people to pass along a message of a great new site; most people read the blurb, but don't check it out before passing the info on.

For all the NEWBIES out there looking for a leg up - this scam is to be avoided. You most certainly won't get any Aussie work, and any site that includes lewd model pics on the home page and a link to 'social dating', is NOT a site that will offer you legitimate paid theatre/film/TV/modelling work.

EDIT: Just found this:

http://www.netcheck.com/scamalert.htm

It's very interesting - also the page on spamming.

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM ALERT!!!

Author: Na
Date: 01/05/2007 - 12:22

Just do a google on their web name:

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=21896

They haven't done their marketing very well. That was in the first few links of the google search.

This was found on the next search page:

http://blog.superunit5000.com/2006/12/14/job-scam-toospoiledcom/

and:

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/jobscams_TooSpoiled.php

and:

http://batcave911.blogspot.com/2007/01/toospoiledcom-model-actor-website-scam.html

and:

http://www.namepros.com/warnings-and-alerts/204985-toospoiled-talentdis-etc-good-nothing-spammer.html

Furthermore, the name 'toospoiled' is associated with a whole bunch of other websites (ie. www.toospoiledhunks.com).. suggesting they are creating a whole bunch of sites just to get you to use their services one way or the other, and flooding google with top ranking/best matched names for the phrase.

(Do your own google and I'm sure you can find more posts about them being a scam)

PLEASE PASS THE MESSAGE ON TO OTHER PEOPLE, SO THAT NO ONE SIGNS UP WITH THESE SCAMMERS.

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

Interesting

Author: Logos
Date: 01/05/2007 - 14:03

I had a look at the site and nosed around the blogs and a few others I found and it looks like a pyramid scam to me. You get employed and presumably pay your money and then you get to send e-mails out and sign up people and get a cut of the income. It sounds so unethical and of course in this country anything even slightly smelling of pyramid is absolutely unlawful.
Avoid this one like the plague.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Scammers

Author: Grant Malcolm
Date: 01/05/2007 - 23:06

I'm with everyone else on this one.

Yes, there have been instances of people registering on the site just so that they can spam members. It's a slow process because the site will only allow them to send a message every two minutes. But sadly at the sweatshop rates some of these spammers are employed at, time is not an issue.

The account responsible for posting these messages has been blocked.

Regards
Grant

--
Director, actor and administrator of this website

Omnipotent

Author: Labrug
Date: 02/05/2007 - 08:37

Thank god for the Site Admin Eye-wink

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins
Perth based Actor/Performer
Fight/Sword Choreographer
Virgin Director

Home Page
Yahoo Blog Page

02/05/2007 - 12:32 Shocked (not verified) What? There are spammers on

Some lessons from the cliches

Author: James McDonald
Date: 02/05/2007 - 12:35

Congrats, everyone, on exposing this scam (scum rises to the top too!). Unfortunately as PT Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute". Those of us who have been on the internet for any significant length of time have seen it all. But it's the odd sucker - and a fool is easily parted with his/her money - who makes it worthwhile for these nasties on the net.

If it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true... Move on, and don't even look sideways when you come across stuff like this.

Jim

The sad thing is that most

Author: Na
Date: 02/05/2007 - 13:30

The sad thing is that most people don't do their homework before signing up to these sites and companies. Most people see the blurb, maybe ask around, but won't even think of checking for forum threads on other sites, or doing a background check on the company. That's the first thing I do, and it is so easy to inform yourself about who to avoid and who to trust.

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

Well

Author: Logos
Date: 03/05/2007 - 10:45

I'm impressed and on Grant's personal login too. That was good hacking.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Bogus Grant Posting

Author: Labrug
Date: 03/05/2007 - 10:48

Removed.

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins
Perth based Actor/Performer
Fight/Sword Choreographer
Virgin Director

Home Page
Yahoo Blog Page

Yes, I thought so too! But

Author: Squish delish
Date: 03/05/2007 - 10:50

Yes, I thought so too!

Actually I think there's a

Author: Na
Date: 03/05/2007 - 11:01

Actually I think there's a bug in the system; sometimes I go to the home page and I'm logged in as someone else. Once even as Grant!

Sticky Apple Legs
www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs

Puppets in Melbourne
www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne

Yeah me too

Author: Logos
Date: 03/05/2007 - 12:02

I found myself as Grant once. Hurriedly logged off and told him.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Hey it happened to me too!

Author: administrator
Date: 03/05/2007 - 22:44

Very confusing. I hope I'm going to get someone who's skills are far better than my own to look at it shortly.

me
(whoever I am)

Amway of talent

Author: Mandurah Little...
Date: 05/05/2007 - 10:55

Hi, Well after reading all the posts, I was very curious and decided to have a look at the site. (I have really good virus protectors on my compter, the ones that you pay for) The site is definately a pyramid selling marketing strategy. Very clever actually. People get sucked into this sort of thing all the time. Although the more people you can suck into it the more money you can make. Sort of the 'Amway' of talent agencies but you are not really getting anything tangable out of it. It is a go between service and indirect spam service. You sign up which costs you money and then you spam others to sign up so that you can make money on who you sign up and every time someone that you have signed up signs someone up you get a percentage and so on. Typical pyramid selling. You can also become what they term as a 'Casting Manager' which means that you research what jobs are out there and spam that to prosective (wanting) people and if they decide that they would like to look at the job, you make money. If you like spaming people to be really annoying or alienating your friends...... This sort of site wont get you a job but you will be making money for someone else.
Stick to the reputable networks to finding out about jobs. Do the legwork yourself. Don't fall for this crap. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

JennyFer

SCAM ALERT

Comment viewing options