First time on STAGE 32. Thought I better warn/confirm everyone's fears about MONSTER PITCH.
A clever, nefarious, 18-month-long scam, spanning the writers strike, pitching, table reads, hotels, flights and 100s of emails from CRAIG.
I was out at dinner with my sister last night and she said, 'Nic, why are you so suspicious of everyone?"
Answer: living in London for 20 years, I get a feeling for things, even if I can't tell you exactly why - if it feels too good to be true, it is. This time I overrode that feeling because I wanted it to be true.
That said, I did do some checking on Monster Pitch - not a lot but there was a company reg (at the time - disappeared later) - and, well, for 55 bucks worth a roll of the dice. My theory being - at worst it's breaking my flight back from Sydney to London, a couple of weeks in LA in a nice hotel to do some pitch practice with my producer. I'll see some friends, organise other meetings - so what if I'm seeing the tea boy/ girl/ neutral at Netflix.
WRONG. Not even the hotel booking exists, none of it does.
This week when my 'personal link' didn't go live, I was like, 'maybe they are having tech issues, maybe'. I lied to myself.
By Friday I called the Marriott - no group booking - the booking reference is a digit short :) . Friday night I was organising fraud claims with Paypal (which they paid straight out).
I kept saying 'how can anyone organise a table read for 75 bucks. Answer - never intend to do a table read :)
Craig is in the Bahamas by now. Brilliant scamming btw. lots of back and forth. That's the part I actually hate the most - bastard.
I'm still in Sydney and will start trying to wrangle back flight change moneys and new flight change costs...
The most disappointing thing is that I was really looking forward to it, good or bad... just the adventure in LA and maybe meeting some new people at the conference or hotel.
The smartest part about frauds is targeting an audience who wants it to be true. Cause you when you look back, it was way way way too good to be true.
Hope you all get your money back.
Nicola
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Nicola Quilter So sorry to hear this news, Nic. Sadly, with EVERY nation struggling financially, scams and identity theft are rising dramatically. Look after yourself, dust yourself off, and when the time is right, get back on the horse. SCAMMERS SUCK.
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PayPal flagged it as a scam and I got an immediate refund yesterday.
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Wow! It's so tricky with sharks out there. I'm very suspicious too. Thank you for the warning.
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Any pay to pitch except for educational purposes is a suckers bet because the odds are so terrible. But thank for warning people here.
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I was wondering the same thing. I researched Monster Pitch before and they had information out from- Fox 2.com, and I thought ok - sounds legit enough and bang. They got me. Crazy - What a good scam. This is the second time that I've been suckered in the industry. Good thing - I am a teacher....
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What other occupations do you pay employers for job interviews?
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Started this page for those who got scammed.
I also created a Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554913043932
and an IG both @MonsterPitchScam
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Wait, so the guy ran off with everything? I've been getting a gazillion emails was wondering about it.
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Laurie Ashbourne it looks like it... >_<
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Unbelievable. This guy kept it up for a long time too. I just searched my mail and he started back in March!
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Good idea about Facebook page but I can’t find it …
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Thanks for the warning and confirming my suspicions, Nicola. Being the eternal optimist, I sat on the idea, until my gut finally kicked in. Been scammed too many times and so over it. Hope your extended stay in Sydney turns out well. I'm just down from you in Melbourne. Have a great Christmas wherever you are!
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Here is the FB page I created today: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554913043932
Group Page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/764191535754404/
and this is the IG: https://www.instagram.com/monsterpitchscam/
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EVERYONE should alert their banks/ cc accounts to let them know about the scam - we don't want these scammers to access our bank accounts.
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I think this is yet more proof we desperately need to instil a culture that encourages aspiring creatives to do their due-diligence at all times. We have normalised far too much predatory behaviour and turned a blind eye to carpet-bagging for far too long.
I see more writers effectively legitimising things to others based on little more than gut feel than I do advising others to do at least a basic bit of research.
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THANK YOU FOR THE HEADS UP Nicola Quilter
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Always do a 'whois' search on any website that you do not know before getting involved in any way. If the owners are hidden or the server is in Africa, Central Europe, Eastern Europe or any of the fraud-drenched locales.....drop whatever ideas you had and run.
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They just popped up here for me. Sounds very dodgy...
Oh no wait, this is someone WARNING me about them!
They HAD a USA Company - can’t find it now
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Looking back, the scam seemed so obvious. I had questioned our buddy Craig why so many of the companies on the list no longer even existed. He replied with a pretty elaborate explanation of company mergers, etc. Was also a bit weird is how, based on an email, he clearly took the time to read a scheduling spreadsheet I had sent. He'll probably write a screenplay about this scam and bank.
Yea I agree Brad … I think we should all connect on the monster pitch scam Facebook group … I’d like to help catch them - I feel they were in the industry to some degree. Also think that pulling this one is bad enough anytime but on such a year when so many freelancers have suffers as a result of the strikes, really sux
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Yeah, let's catch this clown. Would be great to see Craig in jail someday. Can't believe I fell for that one. Oh well, at least it let me discover Stage32 which seems interesting.
Agreed .. find the monster pitch scam FF’s ebook page or add me on there
Update - I contested the 75 dollars that was given to Monster Pitch via Backstage -and my bank is able to contest because it is less than 60 days, but the 55 dollars is bye bye. They also have to cancel my card. The good news is that I am ready to rock and roll with my pilot. I was so nervous to be in front of so many executives that I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb. Let's do this Stage 32! :)
Yes it’s about cutting your losses. My biggest thing is the non refundable flight
Thank you for posting this. I too was scam by this which I am very disappointed this happened. I was truly looking forward to this, but then again I kinda felt this was a little sketchy when I saw this in my junk mail. Shame on this man