The Cheque Scam Explained

A while back, we got a couple of messages from enCAST actors asking for our help. They’d received a random email which they rightly suspected was a complete scam.

If you fall for it, then it goes something like this:

The actor wakes up and checks their emails. One stands out and as they read it, they become more and more excited!

Scammer: Hi, we saw your picture online, and we’d love you to be in our advertising campaign. We’re going to give you loads of money for the pictures!

Actor: Fantastic!

Scammer: Great – we’re going to send you a cheque for €15,000 – take out €10,000 for yourself (you keep that) and then transfer the other €5,000 to the photo studio account for their expenses in taking the pictures and the wardrobe, etc.

If the actor falls for it, they get a cheque for €15,000 and deposit it in their bank. A few hours later, they make a bank transfer of €5,000 to the photo studio for the photos and wardrobe. And then maybe they pay their overdue rent, get their car repaired, take a course, buy some new clothes…

The actor is very happy.

But then something strange happens. For some reason, the shoot doesn’t go ahead and needs to be cancelled for a technical reason. But the actor doesn’t worry, they have earned €10,000!

…time passes…

A few months later, the actor gets a call from the bank.

Bank: Hello, the cheque you deposited for €15,000 bounced. It was a fake. So we’ve taken €15,000 from your bank account, and now you’re overdrawn and in debt.

So what has happened? The actor made a bank transfer of €5,000 to a scammer for some photos which never took place. The scammer is €5,000 richer, the actor is €5,000 poorer, plus they’ve spent €10,000 they didn’t have in the first place… they owe the bank €15,000 now!

Beware this scam. It’s popular in all walks of life, including the film industry.

How to avoid this scam #

Never take payment by cheque. Only accept payment by bank transfer.