Modeling Scams - Victims - File Official Complaints with Consumer Protection Agencies

FILE OFFICIAL COMPLAINTS WITH CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCIES

SafetyAlerts.com offers the following advice for anyone in the United States who has been the victim of fraud, including modeling scams:

You can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the Consumer Response Center:

Tel: 202-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
TDD: 202-326-2502

Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20580

online complaint form

Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for consumers, it can act against a company if it sees a pattern of possible law violations.

The FTC took action against Miss Cleo, the "psychic," after it received many complaints. The Miami Herald reported: "The agency's director of consumer protection, Howard Beales, said the FTC acted after getting more than 2,000 complaints."

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a U.S. government organization which has already dealt with modeling scams before (example), and it has already dealt with two of alleged principals of one modeling company that is in business today. But they must receive your complaints.

Federal Trade Commission Attorney Robin Spector, who has prosecuted perpetrators of modeling scams, said:

Consumers can and should complain to us directly -- call 877-FTC-HELP or fill out the online form (www.ftc.gov). You can write a pretty long narrative about your experience online.

Filing a complaint with the FTC is as important or more important than filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB offers a valuable service to consumers, but it does not have federal authority, it is not run by the government.

The BBB can help people from being scammed if they check their database, but it cannot shut down the company. The FTC can help people from being scammed by taking legal action (example), which results in the company ceasing to do business.

The best thing to do if you were the victim of a modeling scam is to file three complaints, first with the FTC, then the BBB, and finally the Attorney General.

Contact the Office of the Attorney General in your state, or the state where the fraud took place.

In Florida: http://legal1.firn.edu/direct.nsf

Don't let companies off the hook. Your complaint could get you your money back and protect others from being scammed. There is strength in numbers. The more complaints the Attorney General receives, the greater the chances of shutting down the fraud permanently.

To find the website address and contact information (email address, mail address, and telephone number) of the Office of the Attorney General in your state, use the Directory for Prosecuting Attorneys. It lists the Office of the Attorney General at the top of each list for every state.

Different states offer different ways of filing complaints. Missouri, for example, has a Consumer Complaint Form you can print out and fill out offline. The State of California has an online form you can fill out and send to file a complaint with the Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit.

Find the link for your state with the instructions. The link will say something like Crime Victim Services or Complaint Form.

If the right link is not obvious, use the contact information or telephone number on the website to find it. Usually the contact information of the Office of the Attorney General has the mail address, email address, and the telephone number.

If you want to write in more detail (you need more space than what is provided in the online form), get the snail mail address, and then send the Prosecutor your full and detailed account of how you were scammed.

If you have any questions be sure to ask. They are there to help, it's their job, and they are on your side.

You can also contact and file complaints with the Labor Commissioner, for example, if you were a model scout, and were not paid, or the company committed labor law violations.