Mega Pictures Production

Victim Location 86011

Type of a scam Employment

My daughter was contacted by a person posing as Benh Zeitlin, a famous film director, who said he was looking to hire non-union talent for a fashion commercial for an international retailer. Since she is listed on the IMDb website and uses it for auditioning, she thought it was legit. The emails were suspect for a number of reasons; why would a film director be involved in a retail fashion shoot, the emails had typos and they wanted to send her an advance check. She was told to deposit the check and keep $500 and send the rest to the fashion stylist who was altering the costumes to her size – a big red flag. She was given 2 dates to choose for the shoot and could bring friends with her, they’d even send a car to take them to the studio – another red flag. Compensation would be $7,000 for 2 days of work which they explained was because the brand was high end and international. I checked the BBB scam website and saw the exact scams listed on 5/26/17 and 7/19/16 from different production companies but the mode of operating was the same. I told her not to tell them she knew they were fake to see if they would send the check and they did. She received a check for the same amount listed in the 5/26/17 complaint of $4,850.30 and the name of the check was the Park Broadway Apartments – which was wierd. She didn’t respond or cash the check and they didn’t contact her. The website is still up for Mega Pictures Production. This is another version of the Nigerian money scam – so don’t get taken in if these scammers approach you!