Scammers opperate in all walks of life. New and old models alike are advised to pay particular attention to the information presented here.

1. Advance fee/Nigerian/419 fraud – This is by far the most common scam and is currently in plague proportions on all modelling websites. The scammer (usually foreign) will present you with an overseas job offer that is too good to turn down. Typically they will offer to pay amounts far in excess of the norm, offer flights and accommodation, may even provide proof of bookings, and will give you the career break you have always dreamed of. The sting will come when they require you to advance them a fee for something. It may be a work permit, or a required uniform, or a guarantee, a tax, anything! The reason changes, but the sting is always the same: once you pay the fee, they will either disappear (there is no job) or they will attempt to get even more money out of you (but there still is no job). Advance Fee fraudsters will also normally engage in Identity Theft (see below) and Cheque Cashing (see below) scams. Generally it is wise to be wary of all foreign offers.

2. Identity theft - Be wary of anyone who asks you to provide a lot of personal details. Identity Theft can occur when a scammer has gathered enough details about you (such as your street address, bank a/c number, tax file number, date of birth, location of birth, etc) to apply for credit in your name with falsified documents. Identity Theft has far reaching repercussions for those whose identities have been stolen.

3. Over payment/Cheque cashing scam – A job offer is made to the model (or anyone else) and they are paid in advance by cheque. The cheque will be cashed by the victim and placed into their bank account. However, the cheque is for significantly more than the victim was supposed to receive. The scammer then contacts the victim and asks to be refunded the difference, which the victim complies with. The scam occurs when the cheque is found to be fraudulent and the funds removed from the victim’s account by the bank. The victim is now missing the amount they refunded the scammer. Never refund cheques until after they have cleared! There have been cases where cheques have cleared and the bank has still removed the funds from a fraudulent cheque many weeks later.

4. Agency fees - this is an age old one. Models should not have to pay a fee to join an agency, or to be kept on their books. However, new models may have to pay a small fee for a session with the agency's photographer, however this is not the norm. Beware! Agencies, if they sign a model, will get their cut from the commission for each hiring. Whilst today some kind of fee is almost unavoidable for a new model, look around and make sure what you're being charged is normal. It never hurts to pick up the phone book and ask some big-name agencies about their "fees". Quite often, an agency that charges a fee is an agency you are unlikely to get work from as their income is sourced directly from you paying them their fee, not from them getting you work.

5. Guaranteed work - "Sign with us, pay $1000 and we guarantee you'll make that back many times over in the first year - you have the look!" If you had the look, they would not charge you to join, would they? No one can guarantee you work over a certain period. They are applying a pressure tactic to get you to part with your money. Any agency who applies this sort of tactic is bad news - stay away!

6. Hidden cameras - From time to time there are public reports that some photographers or studios use hidden cameras in their changing rooms to capture models in states of undress. This video is then sold to pornographic web sites as "hidden camera footage". This kind of behaviour is very hard to guard against. Inspect your change room closely. Some photographers/studios have been reported to actually use signs stating surveillance cameras are in use, so that you have no legal come-back. If this is the case, ask to see the cameras, and block them - personally I would turn on my heel and leave.

7. Updating your portfolio - Getting a good portfolio is the most difficult thing a new model will do. As always, buyer beware - anyone who will charge you over $1000 for a single portfolio shoot might be worth it, but you would be well advised to check samples of their work, their references, and to ask around about them. That $1000+ may be the best money you have ever spent, or it may never be seen again. Equally, cheap or free photographers might not be worth the time and poor images may become a liability to you. Always check samples of their work, any references, and their reputation. The Internet can be a good source for reputation checking, as word travels quickly about cons and scams from particular individuals. A good portfolio will have the best picture from a shoot with a photographer, and a combination of different photographers to put yourself forward in differing styles.

8. Do I have what it takes? - You can't answer this, only time can. One thing is for certain, don't expect a photographer who is trying to make a living to answer this honestly. Stick at it for a while (a year, maybe less) and if you have given it your best shot and you have gone nowhere, then you might not have what it takes. Some photographers and agencies will happily take your money, even though some model want-to-be's clearly do not have what it takes. The "one in a million" model who is plucked from obscurity is just that - one in a million. The rest of us have to try very hard. Job offers for the hard-working is a good sign. A lack there-of is a bad sign.