Hi all, I've only just started using Stage32 more frequently these last 2-months, since Coverfly shutdown in early August this year. Since returning to this site, I naively didn't realise how on my feet I needed to be regarding accepting "network requests" and parties interested in my written work.
As of Saturday just gone two-weeks prior, I had a lady named, "Sultana Herguera" on Stage 32 / "Isabel Herguera" (name on email thread), send a network request which I accepted and briefly chatted to here. She quickly sent a legitimate email address to continue discussing interest in one my two written projects. Before going further, I briefly researched her and it turns out she's an animation film lecturer with a history of animation shorts to her name, and is located in Spain.
I sent the first 10 pages of one script for safety and after some further email discussions, she expressed great interest in developing the project, with her fee being roughly $1250USD. I stated being unable to afford this service due to present financial status and proposed keeping her information for future.
She replied with a strong and adamant message as long as I was fully committed to my work, we could arrange an alternative finance pathway. This is where she introduced me to her, "long-time collaborator and licensed agent who had greenlit multiple, successful projects". I continued communicating with this colleague, "Sophia", over Whatsapp.
I only ever knew her first name, not surname, and never had a phone call--which I found very odd for this likely working relationship.
Sophia's service fee which I sent two amounts of $340AUD ($220USD) for her development of a script pitch deck, never resulted. She supplied an email address for the payment via PayPal (I found this method odd) and immediately refunded the first one. I searched the email address and it belonged to a lecturer at a Spanish university. For the second time she recommended using the option, 'Friends and Family', and again, refunded the amount when it didn't arrive immediately on her end.
I explained this likely being the result of an international transaction and it would take some time to complete (my bank later confirmed this). She really pressed getting the money in order to start working on the pitch deck.
All these communications were written very well and gave no indication to me of "Nigerian Prince money ordering" or sloppy AI-written scamming. However, scammers is exactly what they were. After talking to close friends about the timeline of events over phone, they were convinced it was a scam.
I contacted my bank immediately after this phone call and the next day, the second $340USD payment was refunded to me. I also sent my bank investigation team screenshots of the entire Whatsapp chat history. Furthermore, I reported the account on here and contacted Stage 32 about it, advising on my experience.
Throughout this period waiting for Sophia to receive the payments, again, pressing the pitch deck creation, I ended up wasting six-hours in a library (PayPal payment pending) constructing one. I sent this to her on Whatsapp convinced I was helping a development process along.
Conclusion: I had a refresher experience with modern scamming and was made to believe I was getting direct development access for my feature film, by accepting a Stage 32 network request. After some brief research, my close friends said Stage 32 admin and users in forums strongly advise against doing business with anyone who simply supplies email addresses or bank details in network chats.
3 people like this
Hi, Nicholas Burton. Sorry to hear that happened. Thanks for making this post to warn others, and thanks for reporting the account to Stage 32.
One way to spot a fake account/scam account is if they don't have a profile picture, but that could just mean they haven't had the time to upload one yet.
Another way is to look at their profile bio. If they don't have a bio or their bio is full of typos and grammatical errors, they might be a fake account/scam account, but that's not always the case. Someone people just haven't filled out their bios yet, and English might not be their first language, so that could be why their bios are full of typos and grammatical errors.
Another way to spot a fake account/scam account is to check to see if they're active in the Lounges. If they aren't, it's a sign that they might be a fake account/scam account. That doesn't work all the time though. They might be a new member. Or they might just be busy, and they haven't made any Lounge posts yet.
Sometimes producers, directors, etc. have links to their websites, social media accounts, and IMDb page on their Stage 32 pages. That’s usually a sign that the Stage 32 account is legit, but sometimes a fake account posts the real person’s IMDb page on their Stage 32 page.
The best ways to tell if someone is fake are talking with them on their Lounge posts/through direct message (you should be able to pick up on things that'll show they're fake, like them not knowing certain things about projects they said they worked on) and having a Zoom meeting to see what they look like.
If anyone sees a fake account, scam account, or suspicious account on Stage 32, email support@stage32.com with the person’s name and their Stage 32 profile link. And if someone sends you a scam message (like a producer asking for a producer's fee to make your script), send a screenshot of their message to Support with their name and profile link. Thanks.
2 people like this
Nicholas, I have had a few situations where one producer required $5000.00 to get things in motion to produce my script. I went back and forth and walked away. He was the son of a very famous producer who I won't name. I thought his had some credibility with pedigree but was just trying to get some fast cash. I also had someone on here who I won't name asked for $500.00 to work on producing my script. My rule of thumb has been my material is my payment. I have read through many sources including Paul. Guyot (Kill The Dog), when asked for money, run. If you believe in your work it just takes one right person to get it. After ten years I got one of our scripts optioned. Believe in your work if it has merit you shouldn't have to pay to have it taken to the next step.