Online pageant scouts set trap for pretty girls

Jana Hurst did not receive promised prizes in the Miss Teen Christchurch 2009 pageant and was dissatisfied with the way it was run. Photo / Supplied

A teenage girl's mother has raised concerns about beauty pageant organisers trawling online social networking sites seeking pretty contestants.

She says her daughter was lured into a "scam" pageant by flattery and warns parents to research any offers their daughters might get on Facebook.

New Zealand's internet watchdog, Netsafe, echoes her concerns, saying a trend to scout girls on Facebook could lead to teenagers lowering their guard online.

Albany Senior High School student Jana Hurst was approached last year on Bebo, a social networking site similar to Facebook, by a pageant organiser and invited to fly to Christchurch for a beauty contest.

Jana, then 15, wanted to model, and had a dream of becoming a television presenter.

"Jana has kept all the messages, and they say, 'You're so beautiful, you're so this, you're so that. You must get down to Christchurch, it's not going to cost you much money'," said Jana's mum, Glenys Hurst.

"Jana was so excited - you know how they would be. She was only 15."

It was three weeks before Mrs Hurst found out about the online conversations, and by then Jana's heart was set, and some arrangements had been made.

Mrs Hurst spent hundreds of dollars sending Jana to the pageant, Miss Teen Christchurch 2009, which she said was hardly the glamorous affair the name suggested.

Many of the girls had been similarly invited online from throughout the country, and the stark difference in what was promised and what took place was a scam, she said.

Promised prizes never eventuated, and the pageant venue was ridiculously small, she said.

"At least it wasn't a 50-year-old male," Mrs Hurst said.

"But I was disgusted that this woman could suck these little girls in.

"Let's face it, they're all on Facebook, and I can't watch every single day who's going in and out of her Facebook."

She had done her research after getting paperwork from the pageant, but parents could not be too thorough in making sure offers were legitimate, she said.

"Parents need to beware. Go through the correct channels, check their website, get all the facts in writing - do a thorough investigation."

Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker said Facebook, with a database of 500 million users uploading photos, had all the right ingredients if agencies wanted to trawl for talent.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise," he said. "People post pictures of themselves so if you're interested in the way people look, it's a good place to start."

The organisation had not received any complaints but modelling offers followed by demands for money were an age-old scam, he said.

Younger people were especially susceptible to wanting to believe someone who had told them they were beautiful, Mr Cocker said.

"The main risk is the more normal this becomes, the more likely people will fall for scam versions or criminal versions.

"The more you get used to people approaching you through Facebook, the more you'll lower your guard."

Facebook users could look out for each other and report anything or anybody suspicious, he said.

Clyne Model Management fashion booker Ursula Dixon, who finds new talent for her agency, said it would be unprofessional for an established agency to scout for models on Facebook.

"I would say it's slightly stalky. I wouldn't do it," Ms Dixon said.

She occasionally gave her card to girls on the street who she thought had potential, inviting them to call her back after talking to their parents and researching the agency.

"You don't put any pressure on a girl to do anything. It's different from going into someone's private page."

Most new models were found from applications made to the agency, Ms Dixon said.

New Zealand had not had problems with people posing as scouts and talking to girls illegitimately, but the potential for abuse was there.

The organiser of Jana's pageant, Barbara Osborne, has made headlines this year by telling Miss Teen Wanganui 2010 to keep her hair blond or lose her crown.

She made the comments in response to a new Facebook profile picture posted by 15-year-old beauty queen Olivia O'Neil.