EXCLUSIVE: A surge in online scammers impersonating casting directors has prompted the Casting Society to step in with a warning to actors desperate for work.

On Friday, the organization took action by warning thespians not to fall prey to offers that promise auditions in exchange for payment. CSA is also alerting its members to be on the lookout for anyone who tries to assume their online identity in an attempt to rip off actors.

“It’s important for us to make it really clear that a legitimate casting director is not going to ask someone for money on Instagram or any other social media outlet,” says CSA president Destiny Lilly. “These are literally scams, like a random person saying, ‘I am a famous casting director and I need you to send me $500 so I can set up your travel for an audition with a famous director.’”

Lilly tells Deadline that CSA members have shared stories about how their identities have been used to “try to get things from actors without approval.”

“We realized we needed to be proactive about it,” says Lilly. “It’s happening more frequently. It’s important that casting professionals are able to promote themselves online, but also protect themselves. There are completely legitimate reasons for a casting professional to reach out to an actor on social media, but then usually that’s someone who’s unrepresented, and then it would typically switch over to email or a phone call. That is a more legitimate form of conversation than if someone is DMing someone over Instagram asking for money. That is a red flag.”

Anyone who comes across such posts should forward them to CSA.

“If someone is asking for money, that’s fraud,” says Lilly. “It’s taking advantage of people who are just looking for opportunity. Our hope is to let people know that if they do get a message from a casting director, to verify that that is a legitimate person messaging them. A legitimate person wouldn’t ask for money.”

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