If it sounds too good to be true…

THUNDER BAY – Ever get a job offer that seems too good to be true?  And you hope and hope that  it really is! I got a email yesterday from someone at Instyle magazine offering me a job on a photoshoot for them. It was all paid for and a super crazy paying job.  Oh god how I was excited and flattered and then my logical self kicked in. Is this a real person?

Here is the rest of the story, it may be updated a few times as it progresses.

I got this email in my work email account:

Obviously I first jumped up and danced thinking wow that modelmayhem site actually works. Lots of people seem to get great jobs from it and I have even had a few job offers that were legitimate from it. I was so excited that someone saw my work. But then I thought ” is this a real person?”. So I googled “Selene Milano Instyle magazine” and yup she came up.

I answered back thinking that okay, so this is a real person: it must be legit.

The Second email was sent the next day and I got even more excited. I freaked out so hard, calling my husband saying “OMG I get a free trip to make money!” I went through so many feelings, happy, pride, “am I good enough?” and then worried.

Dear Scotia

Your email was received and it shows you are willing to be a part of the shoot. This edition of InStyle Magazine will be shot in New Orleans on the 27th of November, 2016 and the crew is expected to be available from 9am till the end of the shoot, which should be by 4pm. Hotel accommodation will be provided for all. As for travel, a round trip e-ticket would be issued and sent to you via email at due time if you do not live within Louisiana. As for you residing in Canada, that’s not an issue at all as your travel, meal and hotel expenses would be covered by our company. We have also made an arrangement with our consulate so they issue a temporary work permit at our point of entry in New Orleans to any of our personnel who is not a resident of United States.

The shoots will be used for the magazine pages and the pictures will also be exhibited on our website. Therefore, you are required to be flexible, reliable, self-motivated, enthusiastic, with a professional appearance and a passion for delivering exceptional service. You must have excellent interpersonal, communication and listening skills. You should also have up-to-date knowledge of available make-up kits and beauty products.

You will be paid $1000 for your service with a 50% deposit on agreement. In the rare case of overtime, you will be paid $50/hr for the overtime.

Key Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for applying make-up aesthetically for models; Apply make-up to the models using a color palette and different tools such as mascara, sponges, eyebrow shapers, lip liners, brushes, and applicators.

Match skin color to color palettes to determine best looks.

Ensure make-up looks natural and well-applied under different lighting.

Apply touch-ups as necessary and remove makeup from clothes if some is transferred.

Wipe off make-up and reapply as needed.

Ensure appropriate action is taken to minimize unpleasant side effects from the use of specialist make-up techniques.

Maintain a clean work area and ensure all work instruments are sanitized in accordance with InStyle standards.

Ensure continuity in make-up and liaise with other members of the design team to ensure the overall look/effect is consistent and coherent.

Budget and order materials and equipment from our specialist vendors.

You stand a chance of making a reasonable amount from this deal, and even a noticeable fame. I believe that it will be a positive experience for you especially if you are looking to expand your portfolio.

Kindly let me know if you are fully willing to accept this job offer and can meet the above responsibilities listed.

Best regards,”

This looks super legit right? It really seems like there is a job. They know enough about makeup and what would be expected on a photoshoot. Then I realized there is 1. no instyle header, 2. when they first emailed me, it wasn’t addressed to me, just “hi” and 3. there is no phone number listed.

I called what I thought was the same number and got a corporate office building admin for the Rockefeller corp and gave them the address and she told me they moved a year ago and currently that floor is under renovations.

I was still naivee enough to think “well maybe this lady hasn’t changed her email signature yet for whatever reason.” I really want this job in a city that I have never been to but really do want to visit, come on now who doesn’t want to go to Voodoo shops and visit the Lestat house?

I talked to my 3 friends who are photographers in the industry, they all travel the world for some really fun things so I wanted to make sure I’m not being too paranoid from watching lots of human trafficking documentaries on netflix and all the “Hostel” movies.

One said it seemed fine, but he is very out going and does a lot of gureilla photohgraphy.

Another said it sounded pretty professional and even the 50% payment up front was a good key to knowing if it was real or not.  BUT he was thinking “why are they out sourcing makeup artists from little Thunder Bay to the states, I’m sure there are enough mua’s there of the same caliber as you. If the shoot was in Toronto or Winnipeg or somewhere closer it would make sense.”

My last friend said all the calling around I was going to do was a great idea, and she hopes it was real. She said it probably wasn’t because of the wage they were giving me was too much, the fact that they could fast track a work visa like that was strange and the fact that it was all free was stranger. A work visa from Canada to the US usually takes 2 months to process(says the Canadian consulate’s website) and costs around 1500$.

So I called the office for instyle and left a voicemail, I tried to track down a actual contact number for Ms. Milano on twitter and on instagram and left her some direct messages asking if it was her and letting her know someone is impersonating her if its the opposite of the case.

I called my friend who has family in the states and told her, she was too at first very excited for me. While I was driving to work she researched a bit for me and found out that the address wasn’t the right address. She contacted the building’s front desk and found out instyle isn’t there. The security officer at the rockefeller building at 1271 Ave said that he has been getting lots of phone calls about it.  He asked if I could forward him the email and he sent it to security for Time magazine (they own Instyle) and he has now confirmed its a scam.

I have messaged the moderators of modelmayhem.com, I have left voicemails, emails, direct messages for instyle editors and staff members, left my information and forwarded copies of this email to security staff for both buildings and the Time magazine corp. I am also now going to be sending this information as it has a date, time and place where these people will be meeting and looking for prospective young women who are just trying to make some money, to the RCMP, the New Orleans Human Trafficking Working Group @ www.endslaverynow.com and will continue to try to help as many people as I can.

I can not tell you that I know this is human trafficking, or a credit card or personal identity scam because they never asked for any of my information yet… I am waiting to hear back as while I was still in the “I hope its real, let me just test them.” phase I asked for more information and what else they needed from me.

As I kept looking into this type of scam and hoping that my “Hostel” joke was just that, a joke… nope. This came up:

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=GkLQQwuwYqw

and this:

However, the website that promises to connect aspiring models with the people who can help rocket them to fame is now being investigated for its role in the disappearance, rape and trafficking of more than a dozen women across the country. – ABC News 17 kmiz

and this:

“I thought at first it was just me,” said Doe. “But then I realized it happened to more and more women.” Flanders and Callum had allegedly been using the ModelMayhem.com site to lure victims to Miami since 2006. –Forbes.com

And more and more and more with headlines and tags of “sex human trafficking, rape, woman gone missing, etc.” when linked to this website.

I have seen almost exactly this scam but instead of Instyle it was PLUS model magazine. They issued their own warning and statement here. I hope that Instyle gets back to me or Time corp does so they can too make a news statement about this dangerous scam.

I hope everyone I left a voice mail with gets back to me sooner then later. There are 12 days left for this obvious pick up.  I don’t know if they super scout out their potential targets, and if they do I hope you’re reading this and know your plan has been blown. I hope this has maybe saved some people who are smart enough to call and find out from one of these companies (the rockefeller security guards, Instyle magazine, Time magazine, model mayhem itself, the RCMP, the rights organizations I have contacted) that they don’t go!

It’s now very scary that I was so eager to hop on a plane to get a little famous and to get money for my kids right before xmas that I would of knowingly gone with a driver “to the location/hotel” and  been another missing mom.

Well screw that. I am going to tell this story to everyone any anyone that will listen in hopes to put even the tiniest dent into this million dollar black market.

I will continue with this story when more people get back to me.

Scotia