Beware of fake talent scouts

A face only a mother can love.

To all parents, their children are the most handsome and most beautiful.

But don’t always believe Mommy and Daddy’s press releases. There comes a point in your life when you have to face reality.

I’m not telling you to scoff at what your parents tell you. Listen to them because in time you will realize that they are/were right. In fact, they are correct most of the time.

And they are not exactly lying when they tell you that you are the most handsome and most beautiful. But looks are relative. In that department, perhaps only your family and relatives will agree that you are good-looking.

 However, you also need to be able to assess yourself and accept the hard facts of life.

Why am I saying this?

I’m writing this piece to serve as warning to young people because there are bad elements in society at present who may fool you and take advantage of your perceived good looks.

In several malls today roam these bad people who pretend that they are talent scouts. This is one example of their modus operandi: Somebody will approach you and tell you that you are good-looking enough to be in the movies.

Of course, you will be flattered and will open yourself up to the stranger. The stranger then tells you that he will bring you to a pictorial, but first — you need to have a facial. Since every mall has a skin clinic, that is going to be most convenient and you will agree to the suggestion.

Only last week in a very popular mall in Ortigas, a woman already past her teens was approached by a gay man, who identified himself as a talent scout. He can turn her into a star. In fact, they can do a photo-shoot that very afternoon. But first, she had to have a facial to make her even prettier.

And so to the skin center they went. Since the facial was going to take a while, the gay man told the young woman that he would wait for her at the reception. Oh, but maybe she could leave her bag with him for safekeeping.

That was the last time she saw her bag.

After the facial, the young woman went to the reception to meet up with the gay man, who had already left — with her bag. The receptionists were clueless. After all, the gay man and the young woman came in together and looked “chummy-chummy” with each other.

No, the skin clinic was not into it. In fact, the clinic was also a victim of this illegal operation. Without her bag, the young woman was unable to pay for the facial. And the clinic wasn’t about to detain her for non-payment of services. The young woman, after all, was no thief. The clinic understood her situation and let her go.

That wasn’t the end of the story. How would the woman go home? She didn’t have money for her fare. To the rescue came the facialist who worked on her. Out of pity, the facialist forked out P50, which was enough for the woman to get home.

 Of course, the facialist also gave the young woman a lecture on life — not to be too trusting especially with strangers you just meet in the mall.

However, the facialist still went on and asked the young woman: “How could you have believed that a good facial is enough to turn you into a movie star?” The young woman’s response: “Because even my Mommy said that I was pretty enough to be in showbiz!” At that point, the facialist’s co-workers were all glaring at her — signaling her to shut up and simply commiserate with the young woman.

Actually, you cannot blame the facialist for griping. Workers in most skin clinics do not exactly receive handsome paychecks. They all have to rely on tips for additional income. That day, she didn’t only lose her tip. She also became P50 poorer. Even the facialist was a victim here.

In another mall months ago, two teenage boys were also approached by a stranger who told them they looked good enough to work as commercial models. Would they mind coming with him to a nearby building where they can have the photo shoot?

 The teenage boys willing went with the stranger. On the second floor, they went to an office that was manned by a receptionist. The two teenage boys were ushered to an adjacent room and were told to wait for the photographer. Maybe they’d want to leave their belongings with the receptionist — laptops, cell phones and wallets that will bulge during the shoot.

The youngsters waited and waited until other people came in and asked them who they were. As it turned out, it was an office that was not related at all to showbiz. The fake talent scout and the bogus receptionist merely took advantage of the fact that the employees of that office were away on their lunch break. Perhaps those two people had the office key duplicated and knew the flow of human traffic in the building.

But all that is immaterial now. The two teenage boys who were assured by their respective parents that they were good-looking had already lost their valuables to criminals.

Next time you are approached by a stranger who introduces himself as a talent scout, just be polite and ask for their contact numbers. Tell them: Don’t call. We’ll call you. Don’t be persuaded to come with them at that instant. Remember — if they so badly want you for the movies, they will wait till you are good and ready. Play a little hard to get. That can even jack up your asking price.

Most importantly, tell your parents about the offer. Ask them to accompany you to that pictorial, audition or whatever had been scheduled for you by the talent scout.

To parents who will read this, warn your teenage kids about this new illegal activity so that they don’t end up as victims. And we’re not only talking of material possessions that may possibly be stolen. Think rape and molestation.

It never hurts to be careful.