As I was walking out of McDonalds on Fulton street, a guy comes up to me at 12:45pm and asks for directions to the closest Century21. Unsure, I looked around and tried to guide his way. He then proceeds to complimenting my voice and how it sounds good for cartoon voicing. He then seemed very interested, and asked if i was interested in voicing cartoons.
He said he usually doesn't go up to people in the streets, but heard my voice and thought it would be perfect. He seemed like a truthful person, so i continued to listen. He asked for a few minutes of my time and whether i was interested in the job to voice cartoons. He insisted that he works for a big company and is in a hurry but he will take time to talk about the job if i was interested. He knew that it would have been hard for me to trust him at that moment, therefore, he took out his wallet and showed me his "business card". I only had time to read the name, but not the rest of the card.
He talked about his company and how they were hiring people to voice cartoons for the summer. He asked if i knew about companies like Vh1 and Volcom and told me if i wanted the job, i would be working for Nickelodeon. He took out other business cards and i saw a Nickelodeon card, but i don't even know how real Nickelodeon business cards would look like. He was trying to prove that he exists, and when he was showing me the business cards, he showed me that he had Platinum Chase cards and other credit cards. He googled his name and a link came up saying how he was some manager or something.
Basically, he used a lot of psychology throughout the chat. If this whole thing isn't real, it sure sounded real. He tried to make me trust him and tried to make me believe what he said. I asked if he had a contact number for me, but he said, "we don't give out our numbers, but we will contact you". He asked for my name, email address and number, but nothing else. I asked about contracts, but he said there are no contracts, because % (he used some business term). He told me not to worry, because i'm worrying too much, and if i do, it will be a lot of hassle and he doesn't want the hassle.By saying that, its a line where it makes people feel as if HE/SHE is doing something wrong.
He said the only thing was that we had to pay for our voice kits. He told me that artists will be paid around $100 an hour, but the kits are a one time fee. He told me that other students are working, from SVA and stuff and asked why i would be interested in the job if i'm a business student.
He then asked if i could pay the money for the voice kits now, which would be $380. I said i did not have enough and he told me that i can get it from the ATM. He asked me how much i am comfortable giving him now and i said $100. He told me that he can spot me, but i have to pay him back once i work. I agreed. At the ATM, i did not want to pay for the processing fee and took out $85 for him. He told me he felt bad taking all my money and returned $5. He walked me back half a block, said that he will contact me in a few weeks and gave a small hug and said goodbye. I did not have time to report this because i had to rush back to work.
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