Update: Press release issued –
PRESS RELEASE – FMT Photography LLC Issues Urgent Fraud Warning
FMT Photography LLC has received several reports of a person posing as an agent or employee of our company offering large sums of money for a photo shoot.
The person goes by the name or alias of “Samuel Williams” on a modeling community called modelmanagement.com. This person claims to be from Streetsboro, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland), offering a paid photo shoot for a “client” named “Jennifer White”. This person is sending email to models, offering $3500.00 for a photo shoot, and offering to mail a check for partial payment to models before the shoot. Email messages are originating from throw-away email accounts such as Yahoo or Hotmail.
This is a scam, similar to the common Nigerian bank scams. This person is in no way affiliated with FMT Photography LLC.
If you receive a message from this “Samuel Williams”, please contact us immediately via email via our “contact us” page, or via phone at (330) 372-1135. Persons contacted by this fraudster are also encouraged to contact their local FBI field office or other local law enforcement agency. Models should consider this person extremely dangerous.
FMT Photography LLC rarely contacts models outside of Ohio and its neighboring states. Also, FMT Photography LLC will never contact models using a throw-away email address such as Yahoo, or Hotmail. All official email will come from the fmtphotography.com domain.
We do have profiles on a variety of model/photographer community websites such as modelmayhem.com, onemodelplace.com, and others, and do contact models via those sites. If you have questions regarding the legitimacy of those contacts, please contact us via email or call us.
Samples of messages received by models from this person are included below.
If you have any information or questions regarding this issue, please contact us immediately.
THANK YOU.
Screenshot of scam artists ModelManagement.com profile (http://www.modelmanagement.com/en/member/samuel-williams/)
Sample Email Messages
======================================
From: samuel williams <samuel_samuel455@live.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 18:32:22 +0000
To: [recipient name/email removed]
Subject: RE: Booking!
Hello,
Thanks for the response,part payment will be mailed to you, until you receive and confirm payment we will not shoot, your total pay for the job is $3,500 and part payment of $1,200 will be mailed to you first and the balance of $2,300 after the shooting, i hope you understand ? Send me your payment details as to which our client is to mail out your part payment to you in the form below
Name on check :
Complete Mailing address :
Phone number (Make sure your cell number is included):
Age :
Height:
One Photograph of yourself:
Also she said after we confirm the part payment, we will all have a fixed date and location for the shooting that best fits. Make-up, hair etc would be taken cared of at the Studio as we are presently deliberating with some studio agents over location, remember you can come along with anyone of your choice.
You have 15 different fashion outfits to cover as i already mentioned which would be provided by our client on the day of the shooting.most type of clothing will be Jeans and Jackets.I hope all is well stated, make sure you get back in touch with your required payment details at once thank you.
Samuel.
A Photographer
======================================
Received from: samuel_samuel455@live.com
Hello,
My name is Samuel Williams,A photographer I got your profile on model management
and I’ve a client who wants to update her Catalog with her new year Fashion
outfits release & I’m interested in you for the shooting.your pay for the job
will be $3,500. Get back to me with an acknowledgment of my mail.
Job Location
The shooting will hold at a rented photographers studio in your location,so you
don’t have to worry about traveling,the name and address of the studio will be
forwarded to you before the date of the shooting,all make up will be taken care
of in the studio.You can come along with any body of your choice on the day of
the shooting,your mum,dad,friend,body-guard anybody you wish to come with just
for you to feel more comfortable.
Job details
You have 15 different Fashion outfits to cover,which would be provided by our
client on the day of the shooting.
Types of cloths;
Jeans and Jackets
Name of client;
Jennifer White.
website
http://www.fmtphotography.com
Company Name;
Fashion/Modeling.
Job percentage;
The total pay for the jobs is $3,500 and you get $1,200 as your part payment.
Shooting Date;
The date for the shooting is not fix,I will have to make arrangement for that
ahead from now,I will email you the exact date for the shooting a week before as
soon as the arrangement is completed with our client.
Requirements;
Very Attractive,Classy,In Great Shape,Extremely Outgoing & Personable,out
spoken,Must be Reliable..
Payment Policy;
As part of my working policy and ethics,I receive part payment from any client
before I proceed with any job and balance immediately after the shooting,this is
to identify a serious client and ascertain the job,I hope you comprehend this
fact.
I will keep you updated as to when our client wants to make upfront payments.
Expectation;
You need to have good and attractive poses .(start practicing) Basically this is
all required of you,for your make up my client will be taken care of it,you
don’t have to be bother for any make up,please get in touch with me if you will
take the job and we can go from there,just let me know if you will take the job
to commence with next arrangement.
Please I’d like you to check your email on a regular bases, I might have updates
for you
Samuel Williams.
A Photographer
======================================
samuel williams <samuel_samuel455@live.com>
[recipients name/email removed ]
show details 11:09 AM (12 hours ago)
Hello,
My name is Samuel Williams,A photographer I got your profile on model management and I’ve a client who wants to update her Catalog with her new year Fashion outfits release & I’m interested in you for the shooting.your pay for the job will be $3,500. Get back to me with an acknowledgment of my mail.
Job Location
The shooting will hold at a rented photographers studio in your location,so you don’t have to worry about traveling,the name and address of the studio will be forwarded to you before the date of the shooting,all make up will be taken care of in the studio.You can come along with any body of your choice on the day of the shooting,your mum,dad,friend,body-guard anybody you wish to come with just for you to feel more comfortable.
Job details
You have 15 different Fashion outfits to cover,which would be provided by our client on the day of the shooting.
Types of cloths;
Jeans and Jackets
Name of client;
Jennifer White.
website
http://www.fmtphotography.com
Company Name;
Fashion/Modeling.
Job percentage;
The total pay for the jobs is $3,500 and you get $1,200 as your part payment.
Shooting Date;
The date for the shooting is not fix,I will have to make arrangement for that ahead from now,I will email you the exact date for the shooting a week before as soon as the arrangement is completed with our client.
Requirements;
Very Attractive,Classy,In Great Shape,Extremely Outgoing & Personable,out spoken,Must be Reliable..
Payment Policy;
As part of my working policy and ethics,I receive part payment from any client before I proceed with any job and balance immediately after the shooting,this is to identify a serious client and ascertain the job,I hope you comprehend this fact.
I will keep you updated as to when our client wants to make upfront payments.
Expectation;
You need to have good and attractive poses .(start practicing) Basically this is all required of you,for your make up my client will be taken care of it,you don’t have to be bother for any make up,please get in touch with me if you will take the job and we can go from there,just let me know if you will take the job to commence with next arrangement.
Please I’d like you to check your email on a regular bases, I might have updates for you
