Victim Location 91732
Total money lost $15
Type of a scam Employment
Hello My name,
Thanks for your response. We are looking for a production assistant for an upcoming production. This will be still photography for a commercial campaign. We have reviewed your submission details and we’ll be happy to have you on board for the upcoming production. Your main focus will be gear management, help with gear pick up/drop off but may also need to help with other task as assigned. You will be responsible for keeping the production schedule on track, attending to the needs of the crew, collecting and organizing paperwork. This is a contract role to start, but has the potential to become a staff position.
Production Details:
Project type: Commercial
Location: Manhattan Beach Pier, CA
Date: Oct 23th – 26rd 2020
Compensation: $1,200
Kindly get back to me if you have availability for the required dates and can perform all the required task so i can send you further details along with the crew contract agreement in a follow up email.
I signed the contract, emailed him. Then he replied:
Hello My name,
I have received your signed contract and arrangements have been scheduled for the upcoming shoot. Your retainer deposit is scheduled to be mailed to you next week from one of the sponsor for the event along with the funds that you will use to pay for the gear rental. Kindly get back to me with your detailed information as listed below that will be used to mail the aforementioned paycheck for your retainer fee and equipment rental cost. I will send you further instruction on how to send the equipment rental fee to the vendor we’ll rent the gear from once you receive the payment so they can have them reserved & ready for you to pick up.
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
City, State and Zip code:
Phone number (cell):
Steve Birch
Production Manager
Integrity Film
www.integrityfilmproduction.com
I sent him the info. Then he replied:
Hello My name,
I have received your detailed information and will commence with further arrangements. You will receive a payment in the amount of $3,450 out of which you’ll deduct $400 endorsed for your retainer fee and use the remaining amount to settle the gear rental deposit so they can have the gear reserved and ready for pick up. I will send you the invoice from the vendor we are renting the gear from. Kindly be on look out for the mailed package and keep me posted as soon as you receive it and have it processed.
I told him I received the check. He replied:
Great! Thanks for letting me know. Deposit it for processing and get back to me afterwards. I will send you the invoice from the vendor when i get to the office tomorrow.
I deposited the check on the phone. Then he replied:
Morning My name,
Attached is the invoice and details from the vendor that you’ll use to make deposit payment for the gear rental. Make a withdrawal of the gear rental fee and visit any bitcoin atm around you to make the payment. Send me the payment receipt once you’re done so i can get it across to the vendor as proof of payment in order for them to confirm our reservation of the equipment.
NB: If you’ve not used bitcoin ATM before, you can find nearby atm here https://www.digitalmint.io/bitcoin-atm-locations
Here is the step by step instructions on how to use the machine
Step 1: Click buy
Step 2: Verify your cell phone number
Step 3: Scan QR code on invoice to read destination address
Step 4: Insert cash
The check bounced. And he never replied again.
Victim Location 90638
Type of a scam Fake Invoice/Supplier Bill
Steve Birch emailed me on Sunday, 9/22/19 about a TV commercial production assistant position for an upcoming commercial shoot on Oct. 10-13. I let him know that unfortunately I’m not available on Oct. 12th but would like to come onboard for the other shoot dates. A day passed and I didn’t hear back so I followed up. He replied and attached a contract without even acknowledging my limited availability (which should’ve changed my pay to $900 but the contract still said $1,200. I was hesitant after hearing the unusually high PA rate and then learned that I’d receive a portion of the pay upfront. Who does that? I still signed the agreement and just received another email from a Steve today 9/26/19:
“Hello Mike,
I have received your signed contract and arrangements have been scheduled for the upcoming shoot. Your retainer deposit is scheduled to be mailed to you next week from one of the sponsor for the event along with the funds that you will use to pay for the gear rental. Kindly get back to me with your detailed information as listed below that will be used to mail the aforementioned paycheck for your retainer fee and equipment rental cost. I will send you further instruction on how to send the equipment rental fee to the vendor we’ll rent the gear from once you receive the payment so they can have them reserved & ready for you to pick up.
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
City, State and Zip code:
Phone number (cell):
Steve Birch
Production Manager
Integrity Film“.
I instantly Googled his name and a blog post came up so that confirmed that this was a scam. I’d like to prevent this guy from scamming anyone. Looks like he’s been scamming people for years and he needs to be stopped.
Victim Location 90020
Type of a scam Employment
I found a Production Assistant job on Craigslist and responded with my resume and questions about the job. I got a response two days later:
Hello Rachel,
Thanks for your interest. We are looking for a production assistant for an upcoming production. This will be still photography for a commercial campaign. We have reviewed your submission details and we’ll be happy to have you on board for the upcoming production. Your main focus will be gear management, help with gear pick up/drop off but may also need to help with other task as assigned. You will be responsible for keeping the production schedule on track, attending to the needs of the crew, collecting and organizing paperwork. This is a contract role to start, but has the potential to become a staff position.
Production Details:
Project type: Commercial
Location: Manhattan Beach Pier, CA
Date: July 6th – 9th 2019
Compensation: $1,200
Kindly get back to me if you have availability for the required dates and can perform all the required task so i can send you further details along with the crew contract agreement in a follow up email.
Steve Birch
Production Manager
Integrity Film
www.integrityfilmproduction.com
I thought it sounded fishy and looked up the website. It’s the vaguest site I’ve ever come across. The bull[censored] I wrote in high school is better than it. I couldn’t find a "Steve Birch" in film. I responded to the email saying I was available, just to see what they would say. I attached the next email they sent me.