Scam Alert! The Disabled Fan.. *Model Tip*

Today's post is about a rather unfortunate part of life - SCAMS.
They come in all shapes and sizes and I think effect everyone in some aspect of their life. Everyone has gotten emails or phonecalls or offers that sounded too good to be true (and were). Or even, like today's example, seemed completely harmless... but aren't.

In this business especially (the business of being SEXY), scams are rampant. Here's a recent email I got.

Sounds legit, right? You immediately think, 'Poor Kenny. What a sweetheart. Of course I'll send him a photo!' ... Don't do it.

By the way, this isn't my first "Kenny" email. Click below to see how I break it down to show that this is actually a (rather common) scam...

Ok. How you know that this is a fake:

~First off, they spelt my name wrong. That is not a true fan.
~Secondly, they say they saw me on Model Mayhem. This is a total name drop to try and build trust. However, my account settings require that you must be a Model Mayhem member in order to view my portfolio. So if this was true, it would make him a model or photographer himself, because last time I checked they do not offer a 'Disabled Vet' account.
    So then if he really DID see me on Model Mayhem, why does he not mention his own work? Or provide a link to his profile?

                    Because he is lying.

~Also, biggest sign here that this is a fake: He tells me that his name is Kenny Whatever, but his email (which I cropped so that my true loyal fans don't go blasting him haha!) is a completely different name.

Not that I wouldn't appreciate my fans showing this scammer what's-what. It's just that two wrongs don't make a right, and while they say that Karma is a bitch, I am not that bitch.

Well... not always....

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Now that we've established the likelihood that this is a scam, you have to ask yourself:

Why? What exactly is the scam? What would this individual have to benefit from this?

In this case, a signed 8x10 with my autograph could potentially be profitable to Poor Kenny. An 8x10 would be a large enough image to scan and use for his own purposes. Remember, it's really not too difficult to manipulate a photo, and in 20 minutes he could have my signature outta there. He could even take my signature and add it to any damn photo he pleases! Or on model releases! Or various merchandises... soaps... cell phone contracts..

Perhaps he runs a stock image company, and can now sell my image without my consent. Maybe he is a sexual predator, and actually DOES have an MM account and wants to claim that he took this image. More than likely though, he will mass produce the photo, and then turn around and sell the copies as originals. There's lots of possibilities here.

All of this is just dumb though, since I'm not even famous. But there it is!

Well.. at least I'm not THAT famous... Yet. Hee hee. This image ©Dorinda Grever 2012

This is possibly one of the more disheartening scams, since despite all this there is always that 1% chance that Kenny is real and would love a photo from me. I try so hard to believe the best in people, and I hate saying no to a true fan! Not only that, but this scam makes me wary of other similar emails, that may in fact be legitimate requests for a photo. Now those real fans may be thrown into the Scam Folder because idiots like this apparently don't have better things to do with their time.

By the way, I actually have plenty of
Signed & Kissed 8x10s
available for purchase (pretty damn cheap too). So they could still potentially pull off their scam if they forked up some dough. Which goes to show you what a bad scam it is, if they don't even make enough to just BUY a damn print. Pretending to be a disabled vet to try and make beautiful models feel sorry for you and send you their photos so you can fail at making money off of them is just sad.

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So how about this!! If you are REAL person who is actually disabled or a military veteran, let me know and I will send you one of my JNT Prints of the Month for HALF OFF. If you are a real life Kenny and a true disabled vet and fan of my work, I will even send you one for free.

Take that scammers!
XoXo
JNT

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**Models, if you ever receive an email and are unsure if it is real or not, please feel free to forward it to me! Most likely I've seen it before, or I know plenty of people in The Biz that can help to determine if it's whether or not it's legit. I may even make another little blog post like this to try and help others in the future.