Lori Sales - voiceover work - scam New York New York
I was approached on my lunch break @ 40th and Madison while I was listening to headphones. I was in professional business attire. A man in his 50s approached me and asked me where the nearest post office was... then interrupted my response and told me that I had a great voice. He tells me he is a casting director for Viacom and asks if he looks familiar - because he used to be on the Cosby show (did not tell me who he played - and no - he did not look at all familiar.)
He tells me I have a very animated voice and wants me for kids cartoons - I would be a great monkey! (uhh - what?? ok). So he asks if I have a minute and we sit at a random office builidng stoop and he pulls out a ratty wallet and shows me one dirty copy of his buisness card - "Lori Sales" which looks like he has been using for ten years. He quickly took it back so I did not have a chance to thoroughly read.
Then he takes out a cell phone from 1985 and randomly dials a 212 number and asks me to listen... it was a Viacom automated general line - to "confirm/ put me at ease" that he really worked for Viacom. He also had a bunch of random phone calls as we were walking... to tell me he found a great girl for "a monkey character."
He told me that I would be paid $190/hour on the weekends for for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network shows. But I would just have to pay $380 upfront to him. I said I didn't feel comfortable doing that. He asks If I would be confortable paying $80. I kept asking questions... he told me that I need to trust him - that he would pay the rest upfront. And that when I was making lots of money on the weekends that I would have to pay him back.
He kept asking what would be the worst that would happen... and not wait long enough for me to answer. A hobo to take my money would be the first thing!!
He walked me to a bank to take out the money. I googled him name as I was in the bank lobby and I saw that this was a huge scam. He came back into the lobby and asked me what was going on - because he "had people calling." I told him I was not comfortable paying him and he left.
Do not pay him anything!!