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08/18/2008 09:56:59 PM · #1 |
Be aware of photolaureates.org. Unfortunately I was a victim of a clever and money making SCAM.
These are facts that have happened to me, I have kept all evidence and can uphold my claims with living proof.
I’m a professional photographer, but wanted to get some recognition from somewhere serious on the web. As most photographers, you’d like to know if you’re doing a good job by showing others your work and getting critics to evaluate you.
After a brief search throughout the web, I found photolaureates.org . Happy with my find, I signed up and entered an very nice photo that I took while in Brazil. A few weeks later I receive an email congratulating me and informing that I was chosen as a finalist in the 2008 photography competition. With all the hype in this email, I sent in a high resolution final for the book that was supposedly going to be published in.
One this was done, I received an email with options to pay for an award plaque, and pay more for a larger photo and biography. I did so, spending a total of about $ 160.00 for 1 large photo, 1 book (2008 photography awards) and 1 customized biography.
Once this was done, I was asked to wait from November 2007 all the way until April of 2008 to receive my award and the 2008 published book. So far, so good!
Finally after waiting even longer than the announced time, my package finally arrived on July, 10 of 2008. I was so happy, but puzzled when I opened the package. Nothing in the package was from photolaureates.org, it was all from a place called “Photography Vibes – best of edition” but miraculously was exactly to the “T” of what I ordered from photolaureates.org. At the moment I brushed it off and went my merry way.
Being that everything did arrive, I was so proud of my award and being published in a book that completely blew off my first impression and went to show some friends my accomplishment!
Once I got there and showed various of my friends the award and photo, which, by the way was the only photo in the whole book that had its own page and the photo was larger than all the other ones in the entire book, and was the only photo that had its own biography (all the other biographies are small and in the last few pages of the book).
When I pulled out the award to show everyone, at first everyone was impressed, I was too!! But then one of my friend pointed out and said “Strange, I didn’t know that Snoop Dog and Notorious B.I.G. were into photography”, to which I replied, “what??”.
At this point everything started to go downhill, and show the true colors of what was really going on.
To my shock, embarrassment and disbelief, I saw my award signed by “Calvin Broadus, Director” and “Christopher Wallace, Coordinator”. Do those names ring any bells??
So, naturally, I went online to check this all out, sure enough, I came across 10 forums of people all saying the same thing… it’s a SCAM!!! At one point someone mentioned that they fell for it too, and when they figured it out, they saw that the page that was in the book was GLUED to another page at the binding. As curiosity got the best of me, I looked at my book, and sure enough, my photo was glued into the book as well.
At this point I was furious and needed to tell people about this. How can someone claim to be something wonderful, then turn around and make money off some ones biggest dreams and turn these dreams into ashes by faking everything and sending out a load of crap.
MAY EVERYONE BE WARNED - THIS IS A SCAM - THEY ARE CROOKS AND DREAM SMASHERS!!! |
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08/18/2008 10:14:01 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by jimmysky:
then one of my friend pointed out and said “Strange, I didn’t know that Snoop Dog and Notorious B.I.G. were into photography”, to which I replied, “what??”. |
yeah, dead giveaways, that... |
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08/18/2008 10:22:29 PM · #3 |
| if only you checked here first. :( |
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08/18/2008 11:01:23 PM · #4 |
| I was almost duped into the "whos who in America" type thing...saying I would be published in their yearly book which goes into every public library in the USA, get a plaque, newspaper release, etc....but would cost me a little over $600.00 if I wanted it all. I questioned them about being a scam of some sort...they hung up the phone on me and won't return calls now or answer emails at all. I was lucky not to have fallen into this and wasted my money. |
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08/18/2008 11:14:18 PM · #5 |
It's a crooked road to fame and fortune, and there are many twists and dead ends along the way. The music business is full of that sort of thing too.
At least you got out with only a dent in your pride and a nick in the wallet.
I wonder where else your high res image is showing up now, and if that is the end game of the scammers?
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08/19/2008 12:43:10 AM · #6 |
| I'm sorry this happened to you. People playing on other's this way just sucks. I remember a woman being sucked in by a similar scam (sounds exactly the same actually) by a different site (I forget the name now). She lived in a mining town where we lived and was so excited to have "won" that the newspaper ran a front page article on her success! She gave an interview and everything! I looked into the site myself and low and behold I "won" also!!! Poor lady was over the moon, I bet she was embaressed if/when she found out everybody wins. At least you only went to your friends and not the paper! |
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08/19/2008 02:26:19 AM · #7 |
This same exact scam runs under various names and disciplines: poetry, photography, painting... You name it!!
Several years ago I also "won" at picture.com but got suspicious when they began asking for money.
It's a shame that there is so many people ready to rip you off everywhere!!!
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08/19/2008 02:30:19 AM · #8 |
Hey,
I got the same thing. Same scam. Was disappointed, but I have learned lesson.
Martin |
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08/19/2008 10:37:25 AM · #9 |
| Never trust a dead rapper.. they'll get you everytime. |
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