Filipina creators are the most targeted group in the world for fake agencies, because the recruiters know you speak English, want the income and may not know what a real agency looks like. Here are the seven signs, in the order you will meet them, and what to do if you have already been caught.
Growing alone is exhausting. It doesn't have to be.
The difference isn't working more hours — it's having a team handle everything that isn't creating.
- You post with no strategy and no idea what works
- Messages pile up unanswered
- Promoting on socials eats hours every day
- You never know if you're on track
- A clear content strategy, tailored to you
- A team answers your DMs and closes sales
- We run your socials and the traffic
- A weekly report with real numbers
Sign one: they found you, and they are in a hurry
A cold message on Facebook, Instagram or Telegram from a "talent scout" who loved your photos and has "limited slots this week". Real agencies do get in touch with creators, but they are never in a hurry and they never need an answer tonight. Urgency exists to stop you checking.
Sign two is the channel. If the whole relationship lives in Telegram or WhatsApp with no website, no company name you can look up and no video call with a real face, you are talking to an account, not an agency.
Sign three: any money going from you to them
A joining fee, a "verification fee", a deposit for a photoshoot, a payment to "unlock" your management slot, or a request to buy gift cards or crypto. A real agency never takes money from a creator before she has earned. The whole model is a percentage of what you make, which means the agency only earns when you do.
Sign four is the opposite trick: they want to receive your earnings and pay you out. "We handle the payouts, you get your share every Sunday." The moment your money arrives in their GCash or bank, it is theirs to keep, and the Sunday payment stops whenever they decide.
Sign five: they want to own your account
They set up the page for you using their email and phone number, or ask you to change the recovery details to theirs "so the team can manage it". Now the account, the subscribers and the payout settings are all under their control, and if you leave, so does your page. Your account stays in your name with your recovery email and your phone number, always. A real agency works inside it.
Sign six is guaranteed income. "Our girls make at least this much in month one." Nobody can promise a figure, because income depends on traffic, response time and consistency. A real agency will tell you honestly what moves the number and refuse to put a figure on it.
Sign seven: they will not show you a person
Ask for a video call with the person who will actually manage you, and ask for the registered company name. A real agency has both and offers them before you sign. A fake one has excuses, a stock photo and a profile created three weeks ago.
One more that is not a sign but a test: ask what happens if you want to leave. A real agency has a notice period in writing and your account stays yours. A fake one either has no answer or tells you that you owe them money.
What a real agency looks like instead
A registered company you can find in a public register. Named people on a video call before you sign. A written agreement with a percentage fee, a notice period and your limits in it. Your money paid by the platform to an account in your own name. Weekly written reports. No fee from you, ever.
That is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it is the standard you should hold every agency to, including us. If anyone fails one of these, walk away, whoever they are.
If you have already paid or handed over your account
Stop sending money, however convincing the next reason is. Change the password and recovery details on every account you still control, and contact the platform's support to recover any account set up in your name. Report the profiles to the platform they messaged you on, and if money was sent, report it to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group and to GCash or your bank, who can sometimes freeze a recent transfer.
Then forgive yourself. These operations are professional, they run thousands of conversations at once, and the people who fall for them are not stupid. They were just trusting.
How it works
Apply
Tell us where you are and where you want to go. No obligation, fully confidential.
We build your plan
Content, socials and DM strategy, with your account manager and a private WhatsApp group.
You grow
You create; we grow your earnings month over month. We only earn when you earn.
Before you sign with any agency, confirm
- No money from you, ever, for any reason
- Platforms pay you directly to an account in your own name
- Your account, email and phone number stay yours
- A registered company name you have looked up yourself
- A video call with a named person before signing
- A written agreement with the percentage and a notice period
- No promised income figures
Frequently asked questions
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Want to check us against this list?
Apply today and book a 20-minute video call. Ask every question on this page. We would rather lose you than have you sign without asking.