In a creepily realistic Snapchat message, someone has been persuading girls in Ireland to send them photos of their faces and bodies by posing as a modelling scout for the agency ACA Models.
The fake Snapchat account, under the username ACAmodels1, is sending a formal message from ‘Louise’, propositioning girls as young as 14, to message them for ‘shoots all over the UK and Ireland’ and are ‘offering between £450 and £55,000 a shoot’.
Miss Northern Ireland 2015/16, Leanne McDowell, who works for the agency has warned girls that ACA would never add them on Snapchat and scout them in that way.
If 'ACAmodels1' add you on snapchat DO NOT ACCEPT! This is some creep with no life. Obviously not the real @ACAmodels !!! pic.twitter.com/lry2pZSiMA
— Leanne McDowell (@LeanneMcDowell_) November 13, 2016
Most of the messages were sent in the early hours on Saturday and one 14-year-old recipient replied saying she was interested and sent some head shots before the person replied asking for body pictures.
ACA agency IMPOSTERS on Snapchat sending messages to folk saying it's us using the name Louise head of recruitment…IT IS NOT THE REAL ACA
— ACA Models (@ACAmodels) November 12, 2016
Alison Clarke, Director of ACA Models, said:
Fortunately she alerted her mum to the account after that.
It’s very dangerous. We definitely don’t contact people through social media or send any alerts to any random people.
It’s happened in the past – people have been in Belfast city and went up to people saying they were from ACA Models and were scouting and asked for details.
The message described the ‘one off opportunity’ as ‘purely based on a first come first served basis’.
The message is pretty realistic and I worry that 14-year-old me would have fallen for that too if it weren’t for my unfortunate face… knew it would come in handy one day.
