How to spot a scam

Last month a friend of mine was robbed of about 500 quid by an agency which describe themselves as 'providing the best jobs in the U.K, L.A, N.Y etc' as well as having 'No Joining Fee'. Sounds to good to be true right?
Being scammed when new the industry is very easily done. There are scam agencies floating all over the internet with promises of 'great jobs and no registration fee' etc... there are even ads on Gumtree of all places, supposedly 'looking for models'.
And these scam agencies are becoming craftier by the second, promising jobs, taking money and offering nothing.
So without further a due, here are some tips to avoid being scammed by an agency:

1) NEVER pay a registration fee

Commendable agencies will never ask for any money off you to join their books, if they like your look they will put you on the site, you are a value to them and should not have to pay for the 'privilege' of being on their books.

2) NEVER pay for photos

The new sneaky way scam agencies are robbing people off money is by inviting models along for a 'free photo shoot' with the designated agency photographer so they can put those photos on the website. Sounds fair, but here's the catch: after the 'free photo shoot' the agency will then ask you to buy the photos for your portfolio at a price of up to 500 quid in order to feature on their books!
You should NEVER have to pay for photos and there are plenty of reputable photographers around who will happily add to your portfolio for free. Just check out purpleport or modelmayhem for photographers in your area.
True agencies will not expect a huge portfolio if they like your look and want more pictures of you for the site they will send you on what is known as a 'test shoot' with a commendable photographer.

3) READ between the lines

If it all sounds too good to be true, screams of 'best jobs' and 'travel abroad' etc, it is most likely a scam. All these are used to lure potential punters in. And yes I will use the term 'punter' as the scammers do not see you as a model but a potential punter to give them the dosh. And that is the cold, hard fact.

4) Do your RESEARCH

If you are unsure just simply google 'X Agency Scam' to see if the agency you are looking into is reputable and more than likely if it is a scam, somebody will have already posted about it on the internet. However these scams are smartening up and particularly if it is a new agency, posts may not be shown. A way to get round this is searching on Twitter 'X agency scam' this is how I pin pointed to my friend that the agency she had joined was in fact a scam as 3 or 4 other models had tweeted and complained about it.

5) Trust your GUT instinct

And finally if you are still unsure about an agency being reputable and you are having second guesses then most likely your instinct is true and the agency is a scam.