Victim Location 37122
Type of a scam Fake Check/Money Order
At the beginning of the month I received an email from Benh Zeitlin at Mega Pictures Production, saying that a talent scout from their company found me and that they want to book me for a upcoming photoshoot in association with a Dutch company, C&A, which has no affiliation with Mega Pictures Production or the "sponsor" that Benh said would be sending me a check to purchase the wardrobe for the shoot. Benh sent me a Talent Release Agreement (which was to collect my signature) then proceeded to ask me if I was ok with the make-up artist using MAC products. After a couple days he emailed me again saying that the "sponsor" has sent him a tracking number for the check and that I was to email him immediately when it arrived and then deposit it into my bank account. I was instructed to keep $500 as an upfront booking fee and then use the rest to purchase wardrobe, which I never got to this step because when I received the Priority Mail 1-Day Express with the check I noticed some SERIOUS issues that I am hoping I can WARN any future victim about so they don’t keep this scam rolling.
First, the check came from the "sponsor" – Antis Automotive & Roadside (which upon searching on Google is a company based in Florida that is PERMANENTLY CLOSED). The supposed woman who mailed the check is Karen Brown from Roseville, Michigan (who upon searching on Google says she is a Productions Operator, so I am not sure if her identity has been stolen or she is a part of this scam). These two different locations are strange because the company is apparently run out of an "office" in Los Angeles and New York. The website (www.megapicturesproduction.com) seems official but it is very basic and can be made with a template VERY easily. There are many inconsistencies with the check itself so be sure not to deposit anything into your account because from what I read when searching other people that this scam has happened to, it takes WEEKS for your bank to notice it is FRAUDULENT which then docks your accounts all kinds of fees and penalties, meanwhile you’ve "purchased your wardrobe" for a shoot that is and was never going to happen, and YOU PERSONALLY have sent your real hard earned money to "Benh Zeitlin at Mega Pictures Production".
Once I told Benh that I was not going to deposit the FRAUDULENT check into my bank account, I have never heard from him or Mega Pictures Production again. BE WARNED, BE ALERT, and DO NOT DEPOSIT A CHECK FROM STRANGERS INTO YOUR ACCOUNT JUST BECAUSE THEY TELL YOU TO! This man, or these people, behind this cruel scam prey upon American’s in smaller cities who are hungry for an opportunity but don’t necessarily have the connections to make it happen. Benh even went as far to completely try to "SELL" me lies and further prey upon the ego’s wanting to be noticed and desire to be popular. There were 2 model-casting type websites that I submitted to a couple months ago, but I didn’t think anything of them because they were very amateur, I believe this is where my information was collected initially by their "talent scout".