Last week I replied to their craigslist ad for extras for a print ad. Few days later I got a phone call from their receptionist to come for an interview. So I made an appointment and went the next day.
When I got there, there was bunch of people waiting in this really narrow room. Then this "Brad" appeared and called everyone in to his tiny office. He showed us authentic enough looking pictures, videos, and websites of these famous people claiming that he got them jobs and made them famous. Some people he mentioned are: the Asian guy with mohawk on Windows 7 ad, Chef Ji from Hell's Kitchen, the baby from Baby Mama, and some white guy on Yahoo ad. He also mentioned that he worked as an extra too and showed us a picture on new paper where he was standing behind Molly Sims.
Then he called us in individually. When it was my turn, he told me that he likes my look and that he has a job available for me that I can start the next day. He said he needs professionally done headshot & bodyshot photos of me in order for him to get me the job. He said it can be done for $99 right away. I got skeptical so I told him that I wanna think about it first. But he kept being pushy and talking really fast and said I can just pay what I can afford for that day. So I told him I'll pay $25 and used my debit card, but he charged me $107.88! I tried to argue him about it but he kept avoiding it by talking really fast to me and confusing me, saying something like I gotta get this done fast so I can get the job soon and so on.
Then I was sent to the "studio" across his office which was very disorganized and unprofessional looking. I took the pictures with this old photographer with a heavy accent. After the photoshoot the photographer told me he'll send me the pictures to my email by the next day. Then Brad called me back in to his office and told me he'll call me about the job the next day, and led me out through the backdoor which is located in the studio.
When I got out of there I felt something wasn't right. As soon as I got home I looked them up on google. I found out that they're scam! I found out they use different phone numbers 212-268-8013,212-268-9734,516-679-6107,212-244-4330 and more. But it's the same location: 224 W 35th St., Room 216, NY. I felt so stupid for falling for this.
The next day, I went to the bank to close my account and to file a claim to reverse the charge. The bank rep told me I have to take an action to get a refund first before I can file a claim so I called the company. The receptionist answered the phone and I told her I want my money back. She cut me off in the middle of me speaking and put me on hold and never came back. I tried calling them 2 more times and she kept put me on hold and avoided talking to me. So after that I went ahead and filed a dispute to get my money back. BTW, I NEVER got the pictures AND the phone call about the job they promised. I definitely got ripped off by this company.
I got in touch with another victim who got ripped off just like me but for a bigger amount. She said she tried reporting them to the police but the police didn't arrest him because it was more a civil matter.
Really, we gotta do something to shut this company down. This Brad has been doing this scamming and getting away with it for YEARS! We gotta report him for fraud and scam before he scams any more innocent people and gets away!
If you were ripped off like me or almost got ripped off by Brad, please report him to NYPD for fraud and scam. You can do it anonymously on the NYPD official website. Click "Submit Internet Tips" under "Crime Stoppers".
You can also file a complaint to the NY Secretary of State and Better Business Bureau. Please do it for the sake of justice. You CAN make a difference.
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