Beware of bogus approaches

The other day, after having our salon appointment in Bangsar, Jan and I took Putra LRT back to the city centre, got off in KLCC. As we were walking from the station to the mall, we were approached by an Indian girl who said she's from TFS Creative which is talent agency and they were looking for fresh and new faces for TV commercials, print ads, and other modelling jobs. Flattered to be approached for the first time in KL, I gave out my name and Marl's mobile number without thinking twice as they promised to call me soon. Yesterday, I got a call from a certain Jess and said she wanted me to go to their office to have a VTR, they even gave me an address to go to. Being an experienced model in Manila, I thought, what the heck, I'm going to this one, too, just for the fun of it.

But, I was a bit skeptical about it. So I researched about the company on the net. I didn't find their website but found forums and blogs of girls with the same experience as mine. They got approached in malls, too, and they even turned up for VTR. They were asked to sign a contract that they must undergo a grooming training for 6 months and will have to complete the 6 grooming course. Cool. But they will ask you to buy their expensive cosmetic brand (something Beverly Hills) at RM300-800 as a must which you will be needing throughout the course. Some girls have finished the course and were lucky to be given jobs, but some weren't. For whatever reason, I really don't want to know. For me, I'm lucky to be clever enough to research about it before getting victimized. Viva, Internet! It will be such a shame for a girl like me who have made couple of TV commercials before, to be the victim of such bogus approach.

So there you go, lessons that I've learned - again:

1. Never give out name & number to total stranger especially to people with childish notepads.
2. Ask for business card from the person and call the number to know if the person is really working there.
3. If possible, always make a research on anything before you do it.
4. Trust your intuitions.