Screenwriting : Fake Accounts by Marc Nelson

Marc Nelson

Fake Accounts

Has anyone else been contacted by what looks like a fake account on here?

I always do due diligence when talking to people, guess it's part of my brain from my business days. I suggest you all do, as it's very easy to get excited if someone shows an interest in you.

I love the Stage32 platform, and like any platform, the majority of people on here are great, but I suspect there are a few fake accounts.

Let me tell you what happened to make me think this, and also provide a heads-up for you all.

I received a direct message from a producer saying really keen to work with you and he would like to review my script to help produce it. Exciting, right?

Well, before I let the excitement sink in, I went, hold up this guy is a big producer, he stated they had worked on many big TV shows/Films. I best check him out, not least, to form a more personalised response to help (i.e. I liked XYZ that you produced). Went on IMDB, and sure enough, his name was there as a producer on top shows. Amazing, right?

I then checked to see what production company he was working for, went to the website and found out that he was Managing Director. Looks like a great contact to have, right?

I then went back to the original message, he'd given me his private gmail email address. I thought that was strange.

He mentioned in the message that "Expanding my IMDB profile is a key priority" - why would someone who has been very successful say that?

I then noticed that his profile photo was from shutterstock. It had a watermark.

I then noticed that the address on his profile didn't match up with the production company's address.

And finally, a lot of the paragraphs I found out were exactly the same as could be found on Wikipedia.

It hasn't been confirmed yet if it is a fake account, but they have over 150 connections on here and if nothing else, this is a word of warning to always do your due diligence before handing over any of your work.

Maureen Mahon

Marc Nelson yes, I can usually spot the fake ones pretty quickly. You're absolutely right to do your due diligence. They'll use existing individuals' photos they find on IMDB, or somewhere else on the web. I usually get these people claiming to be investors, but when you search them, that's not at all what that person does. If they change the name, but use someone else's profile picture, you can find them with a google image search. I always report them to the Stage32 team and they'll take down their profiles.

CJ Walley

It's a common scam in the screenwriting world. What looks like a legit producer asking to read your script, tells you it's great, and then wants you to pay them to get it made.

Another is where a fake writer contacts you telling you you're script is great and you should get notes from a consultant that moved them forward (it's just the consultant posing as the writer).

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Marc Nelson. I've been contacted by fake accounts on here, but it doesn't happen often. Thanks for giving everyone the heads-up to do their due diligence.

"I then noticed that the address on his profile didn't match up with the production company's address." That's one way I've spotted fake accounts on here. Another way to spot a fake account 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, 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.

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 profile or a suspicious profile on Stage 32, email support@stage32.com with the person’s name and their Stage 32 profile link. Thanks.

Göran Johansson

Months ago, one member contacted me. And soon started to ask for money. I became suspicious, so I checked. The person had stolen the identity of a film professor in Germany. So I told admin to do something.

Pat Alexander

Stage 32 is definitely one of the best sites at getting rid of bots and fake accounts thankfully. All you have to is report the suspicious account and the team will remove them from the platform.

Robert Bruinewoud

i've been active year for less than a year and have been contacted half-a-dozen times by "producers" expressing interest in my work – some are obvious fakes (unprofessional and way too eager), but others sound sincere and professional, and seem to check out ... until the inevitable mention of their fee structure or whatever – it's getting to the point where i'm beginning to suspect that there are no real producers here ;•)

Debbie Elicksen

Thank you for this share Marc Nelson. It is an ongoing issue on every platform. Like Pat Alexander says, this platform works hard to curb the bots and fakes. Sometimes, it's obvious from the no profile picture and AI generated text. Other times, it's not so easy to tell.

Everyone can message Stage 32 to alert them to an issue. If someone is suspect, copy their profile link and the link (and screenshot) to a post like this (click on the title which takes you to this post directly) where someone might be inappropriate in the comments. Or if it's a DM, take a screenshot of the message. But always get the culprit's profile link, and send it to me, any other moderator, or Stage 32 itself.

Richard "RB" Botto

Yep, 1.2 million people here and we do our best. Unfortunately, there are scammers everywhere. Even more fortunate, the incredible people in this community help us police the platform. As many above have mentioned, simply email a link to the account to support@stage32.com and we'll take care of it.

And it goes without saying, no producer should ever be asking you for $$$ up front. Ever.

Bill Albert

I recently got a friend request and said Ok, let's talk. The first things she asked was if I recognized her. I didn't and she told me, again and again, how she's had a successful career on Fox News. She never talked about scripts or writing, just Fox, after a while I just ignored her.

Iannis Aliferis

Many times.

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