M’sian model exposes scammers posing as modeling agency to lure women into sending nudes on social media

Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

In a day and age where anybody could have the potential to turn into a breakout star over social media, more and more individuals are increasingly looking into the potential prospect of hitting it big with the power of the Internet. However, this has similarly brought about an increasing number of scammers eager to exploit newcomers who are unfamiliar with industry practices.

Scammers are now posing as modeling agencies and job recruitersĀ 

Just recently, Malaysian model @officialJoannaJ, otherwise known as Ms Joanna Joseph, took to her own Twitter account to shed light over the matter of scammers who are posing as modeling agencies in order to lure young women into sending them nudes over social media. According to her, she had previously been approached by a number of women, all of which have been made victims by scammers offering false prospects such as modelling and influencer opportunities, as well as career offers to work as stewardesses with well-established airlines.

Joanna explains that these scammers tend to operate with the sameĀ modus operandi, where they will approach young women who are keen to dabble in the modeling industry or similar fields.

In the case of one scammer in particular, who was only known by their screen name Sha Zayn, they would often pose as either a modeling agent or a recruiter working for a local airline. In both instances, the ‘career opportunity’ is open to women with zero experience in the field, and promises a salary of up to RM3,700 with a ‘convenient work-from-home lifestyle’.

Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook
Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook
Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook
Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook
Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook
Scammers are now posing as modeling talent agents and job recruiters for major airlines to solicit explicit photos from women online. Source: Facebook

Women are instructed to take revealing photos of themselves as part of the application process

If they express an interest, then the scammer would instruct these women to send a series of photographs of themselves clad in their undergarments, under the guise of conducting a virtual fitting session to obtain their measurements.

“These profiles basically ask you to take pictures of yourself posing in the name of ‘BODY SCANNER’ saying itā€™s a part of ‘Modelling’ā€.

Starting off with basic pictures and then more towards pictures of yourself with undergarments. Check the screenshots.” she wrote.

Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Potential candidates are told to strip down to their undergarments and photograph themselves for the purposes of obtaining accurate body measurements. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

Misbehaving candidates are blackmailed into submission

The process involves the use of a ‘BODY SCANNER’ application, which the scammer claims is a safe and secure means to map out a candidate’s stature in order to provide them with accurate measurements of their physique. Candidates are also told to strip down to their undergarments to avoid the scanner from obtaining inaccurate measurements, in a bid to get them into a more revealing state of undress.

Moreover, the scammer would even go so far as to blackmail models who refused to heed to their instructions, threatening to leak their photos to the public.

Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Women who do not reply on time, or do not do as they are told will be threatened with blackmail. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

Joanna goes undercover

Joanna herself had gone undercover in order to understand the sheer scale in which the scammers operated. Initially, the conversations appeared innocuous enough, with the scammer introducing her to a number of ‘job opportunities’ that they had available. She was then offered an ‘indoor modeling’ gig which promises a salary of RM2,500 with an allowance of RM300 on top, in exchange for 4 hours of work daily.

Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna went undercover in order to understand how the scammers worked. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

Instructed to send revealing photos of herself

The scammer proceeds to then instruct Joanna to photograph herself in a series of different poses, requesting that she be clad in a sleeveless shirt. In speaking with another victim, she was told that this was the exact tactic used by the scammer previously to obtain indecent photos from other women. They had even used photos of other models without their consent as ‘proof’ that they were working with them.

Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
Joanna was instructed to take photos of herself in revealing clothing with a number of different poses. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

Scammer backpedals, then claims Joanna was trying to scamĀ them

Unwilling to participate in the ruse any further, Joanna proceeds to call out the scammer. But to her surprise, the scammer flips the script and instead accusesĀ her of trying to scamĀ them.

When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ
When confronted by Joanna, the scammer flips the script and accuses her of trying to scam them. Source:: @OfficialJoannaJ

And Sha Zayn isn’t the only scammer lurking around the local social media space either, as Joanna revealed that an Instagram page going by the handle @jobvacancymalaysiaofficial had also approached other women for the same purpose.

Photos will then be shared on Telegram groups among other men

What makes this all the more sinister is the fact that the photos obtained by these scammers will then be shared among other men via a dedicated Telegram group, as explained by another follower of Joanna’s.

The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ
The photos obtained by the scammers will then be traded with other men on Telegram groups. Source: @OfficialJoannaJ

In speaking with Wau Post, she advises women who are looking to join the modeling industry to be incredibly wary, as many scammers are quick to prey on fresh faces who may have no proper understanding of how the industry operates.

“Itā€™s always good to double confirm with the senior models or someone that is already in the industry about a particular agency or job opportunity before going ahead.” she said.

And of course, when being invited for a casting, never go alone and always bring a friend along as some fake modeling agencies may have physical premises of their own.

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Also read: Migrant worker gets scammed out of RM1,000 after buying iPhone for his son, but only received a slab of stone instead

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