It's no surprise that as technology advances so do the scammers and we've just heard about the latest one out there. Scam artists are becoming more sophictocated and are good at impersonization and faking real profiles.
These people approach artists right from their soundcloud account and send them an email offering them a recording contract. To every artist this is a dream come true and if your not on the lookout for it they have you.
Here's how the latest scam is working, The scammers are saying they are from A & R and Interscope records and you'll get contacted by either their vp or assistant to their EVP of their A&R team. In this case it was a "Nicole Wyskoarko and Randall Sycamore" who look real but have faked the profiles of real people.
They will send over a short publishing contract for you to sign which is fake. In the contract it will say they are giving you new studio equipment and a salary which in this case was $1.000.000 a year. Once signed they say they will fly you out to meet in person to sign more indepth contracts.
Before that ever happens their going to ask you for money they say is for project management and tracking software that you must have before any money is transferred. (This should be a BIG RED FLAG)
From there they are going to ask you to send the money via PayPal and use the friends and family part so they don't get charged a fee, (another red flag and that also makes you getting any money back impossible) As if that isn't enough thir also going to say they didn't receive it and try another email address: both are listed here: subreana72@gmail.com and kadengold63@gmail.com.
I've heard of a few people that have gotten taken by these people and they even tried asking for banking and login info, (Don't send them money and Don't give them your banking info)
Record labels never ask for funds up front; they take a percentage of royalties to recoup funds. If labels offer a recording contract, you'll need a lawyer to go through a lengthy contract. It is people like these scammers that give the entire industry a bad reputation, and we need to shut them down. If you are contacted out of the blue with a recording contract, here's the first thing you should do: Look up the actual company and see if the person works for them. Find their contact info and call and email them to ensure it all matches up, (and it will never be a Gmail address.)
Use Google Maps to see if the location actually shows the business, and get a lawyer involved. (IF THEY ASK FOR MONEY, DON'T GIVE THEM ANY AND REPORT THEM. If you are in Canada, report to the R.C.M.P. commercial crimes unit; if you are in the U.S., report to the FBI commercial crimes unit.)
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