215-245-2220

After being selected to be interviewed for a position at VIP Talent Connect, I was subjected to a group orientation of around 20 people. After sitting around as The Prestige played on the television, Alycia Kaback came out and gave us a rundown of her operation and it is clear that this company has no credibility in the entertainment industry. Each potential employee is asked to fill out a clipboard of information which inquires about such important information as "ADDRESS" and "NAME". It was clear that the company had no interest in respecting potentially new employees. I was first contacted via e-mail about coming in for this interview. The e-mail suggested that this would be a personal individual interview and that I was individually scheduled for 10 am. The 20 other applicants also received the same exact time. Anyway, as Alycia rambled on about her life and how she acheived such "GREAT SUCCESS", it became clear that something was off. You see, Ms. Kaback has no interest in helping others gain knowledge in the industry and is a selfish person. Her constant references of celebrities as well as the ridiculous amounts of photos of UNKNOWN "Celebs" plastered on the walls made it clear that she is an egotistical person. I can only now chime in with my experience in the industry. Being involved in countless Film/Television productions, it is a well-known fact that when some one is Name-dropping, they usually A) do not truly know said people or B) Find pleasure in impressing others with their bragging. Neither is a respected ethic in the entertainment industry. As to avoid being hypocritical, I will not mention the celebrities, models, and personalities that I have met and ACTUALLY formed professional relationships with. I can say that not a single one of them has heard of Alycia Kaback. Her orientation on employment hinges upon the desire of the 4 or 5 naive applicants to meet these celebrities. The applicants inside the room ranged from 20-year old students to 60-year old business men. Kaback passed out two sheets of information. The first listed the openings at VIP Talent Connect. Each position was described by Kaback as being one of the best jobs available. She then proceeded to hand out the next sheet. The room then silenced as she told each and every one of us that we had to start out as "Talent Scouts". This was the red-flag. She proclaimed that some would be promoted shortly after a few days of Scouting. This is where it became clear that she not only scams clients but potential employees as well. You see this system is genuisely designed to have top-tier workers do her dirty work with the false-hope thought of promotion. It is a scheme that does not humble employees but rather make them feel inferior to Ms. Kaback. She does not have the credibility or the power in the industry to belittle people who are overqualified for her company. I am not saying this out of bitterness but out of pity. I was probably in the median of qualifications within the room of applicants. But I would say 80-90% of the room were more qualified and had more experience in the industry than Alycia Kaback. She told us initially that the only reason she knows anything about the business is because of Craigslist. A few years back, she had put out a listing for $300 to any industry insider who could give her a crash course. She succeeded in finding someone that met her standards and met them at a bookstore. For 2 hours she was given a basic bare-bones conversation about Modeling, Acting, and other Talent Agencies. She made it apparent that the conversation is the ONLY experience she has. So how is it possible that she has her own company? Well her company is NOT a Talent Agency. It is what can be referred to as a "Networking Agency". For a large sum of money, VIP gives you access to 2 "Networking Events" which are held in Times Square NY. These events were advertised to us by Kaback as containing the opportunity to network with countless successful and well-known individuals. As she began to list off names of guests, she found no delight in us applicants realizing that NONE of them are in any position to help jumpstart someone elses' career. Most of these "celebrities" have done maybe one or two projects EVER. If there is one thing to understand is that these events are clearly not worth the money they ask aspiring actors and models to pay for them. Kaback overcharges these people and then instead of using that money to pay for ACTUAL Celebrities to come to her events, she makes her profit by paying "Nobodies" to appear and act like they actually accomplished huge success. This became ever so clear as in the final part of her orientation, she showed us a short video promoting these events. The video was laughably bad. She claims she has a Reality Show "in the works". God only knows what that sizzle reel looks like. This Event video was poorly filmed and showed a maximum of 2 to 3 people each scene. The events look particularly underwhelming and the "celebrities" showcased in the video only became celebrities to us when Kaback would yell over the video with comments such as "You know Jay-Z?! He's his driver!"..."You watch the Oscars? Well this guy made a film...and it got Oscar BUZZ!". The most intriguing was how she could not get over how happy she was that she knew a guy who played a SECURITY GUARD in Wall Street 2! Really? I truly pity the 5 people in the room who bought into this type of employment sales pitch. Once the video ended, Kaback insisted that she had to leave to get on a super-important phone call. From my research on this company, Kaback does this EVERY SINGLE TIME. She is a performer. No wonder The Prestige was being played in her office. She is a deceiver and a magician, a bad one at that. After Kaback hurriedly exited, we were then FINALLY interviewed individually by VIP Talent Connect employees. These were two young ladies who both began employment there 2-3 weeks prior to this interview. After waiting nearly two hours, my name was finally called for the interview. Instead of being brought into an office or a quieter place, I was led back into the waiting area where this all began. The young lady sat me down and informed me of how she had just started 2 weeks ago. She then began to sell the company as one of the biggest in the world. She insisted that she can not wait to meet Madonna because Ms. Kaback knows someone who knows someone who once pet her dog. It was sad. She didn't even look at my resume and then said "See you tomorrow at 11" for "Scouting Orientation". I had asked if Scouting is really worth it. She then pointed to a large mexican boy in a plaid shirt playing with a printer at the reception desk. "Mikey started out as a scout a few days ago."

I left the office with no intention of ever returning.


VIP Talent Connect is a company designed to appeal to aspiring models and actors. It is run by a woman with no real experience in this industry. She finds pride in how many people she has met. She is money hungry and vague. Worst of all, her delusions of grandeur have seeped into the minds of her employees. Her company will never be involved in finding the next big star because they aren't looking for one. They are looking for gullible people's debit cards. Do some more research. It's out there. She can try her best to cover it up but people don't deserve to be ripped off. The company over charges for events with NO real value. Yes, I understand that some people may want to pay $2500 to meet a guy who played a security guard in Wall Street 2, Alycia. Too bad no one will ever want to meet YOU.

I am working as a scout now and I feel like it is a scam...if you worked there please respond!!!

I too feel the same way! I have also worked as a scout for “The IT Factor” and now I feel used and scammed!!! But what happens now? I filled out an independent contract some sort of IRS tax form, but we only had to put our address. They have a copy of our ID's and a copy of our signatures.

What Now!!! I am now afraid of theft!!! I feel stupid but at the same time I thought I did do my research and at first didn’t find anything regarding this job offer as being a scam until I kept getting a gut feeling and started doing some real intense research and realized that all the BIG names they network with are also being reported as a SCAM Artist too.

As I keep searching online it’s amazing how much it trying to be hidden… Like my grandmother use to say, “All the things that are in the dark come out in the light sooner or later”!!!!! I hope I can fix my concern about them having some of my personal information… Thank God I didn’t disclose my SS#...

For anyone who can relate to my story please respond honestly and if you have been in the same situation like me, I am sorry that you got taken advantage too. God Bless Us All!!!

I had a similar situation when I interviewed, as it looks like a couple of people here have. While I'm interested in stories from clients who felt scammed as well, I'd especially like to talk to people who interviewed there and likewise felt it was dodgy or actually worked there for a while trying to 'advance up' from Talent Scout but ended up quitting. I'm trying to write an article about them and would like to hear from you. Please get in contact with me through the address in this post:
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/rnr/2560537477.html
I promise you will be kept anonymous/given a fake name if you wish. Thanks so much!

Aly I know it's you write these supposedly success stories. I remember when I worked with you and you would [***] about how people talked [***] on you bc you ARE a scam. So you and your boyfriend Mike James Fomkin continue doing your scam on both employees and talent that soon or later you WILL be caught. I seriously wish I knew what is going on in that head of yours. I dont know if your boyfriend brainwashing so good that you are starting to believe this is legit. You are just like Casey Anthony that would pass a lie detector bc she made herself believe she didn't kill her daughter. Just look at your boyfriend, he FAILED atleast twice before with this scam that now he is using you. Look how much money he is in debt. If you don't fix this, your either gonna go to jail or end up broke and owe hundreds of thousands.

You filled out a W-9 form... did you ever get paid?

Thanks for reporting these scammers.

if if turns out you were wrong and you just posted your story on the world to see, wouldn't you have opened yourself to slander and libel? My suggestion is to write the definition of the exact scam you excuse the company of being - since you have first hand knowledge, explain what the exact scam is - not the fact they obviously fired you - but what the scam is. I am curious to know. Thank You

Why do people post a opinion yet do not provide their name and email or a contact phone number. Obvious you are afraid of identifiing yourself - In this nation men signed a document that put their lives at risk - it would start a war - that document was called the Declaration Of Independence. Must be nice to hide behind what others died for.

WOW you really took it there with the Declaration of Independence?! I attended one of these cattle calls for employment today at Old City location in Philadelphia. I initially applied for a promotions/pr position but was told that with my "background" I would qualify to be a scout. (ummm ok). So I went to this thing to see what it was about. The previous posts mentioned a big fat guy named Mike. Yup. I met him. Alycia was not there but we were promised to meet the chick from Top Model and the guy who played one the wolf pack in Twighlight LOL! At first I thought maybe this could work out. What did I have to lose right? I was of course selected. Sidebar, the girl who interviewed me had to be no older than 19 or 20.

I would be curious to hear from talent who felt they were scammed. I don't think I will be returning tomorrow. We are required to attend a 7 day training that starts the day after we interview. This gives you no time to put in two weeks notice or even make arrangements if you wanted to. Suspect.

My girlfriend got offered a job to be a talent scout the other day.. Luckily she denied employment their.. Her and her cronies will all be in jail soon

The exact type of scam it is, is called a pyramid scheme, it may not technically be illegal but it is highly immoral. I'll bet if you dug well enough and found someone higher up in it willing to turn on her you could find something illegal in it. Of course that's probably why she doesn't hang on to her employees. They get to where they know to much and then they get axed. She is face deep in the big muddy, yes it does open scouts up to slander, liable and lawsuit, Alycia (or underpaid cronie). But it's worth it to chase crooks like you out of town. Here is what really is going on with this b*tch and her criminal boy friend. The guy actually got investigated by Dateline NBC for this stuff. How's that for an industry connection, huh?

http://starstruckmagazine.blogspot.com/

If you have worked as a scout for her you have some repenting to do. Print this out and hand it out up and down South Street. Get her out of here. We don't want you, your hideous mug, or your pedophile looking boyfriend here anymore Alycia. You better break the pyramid and run before we find something to put you in jail for. And if you do it again we'll know, because we all know your moving the SCAM to New York under the Colby Models/ It Factor name. Expanding right?

And for anyone who is currently working for her in the higher ranks, just think for a second how much more money she gets out of this scam then you. Then think about how you could get even more rich and famous by turning on her.... Food for thought.

That looks like a clown wrote that - you sound like your almost a boarder line stalker. I think people who write stuff like this on sites like this need to have posts like this sent to a local police department.

Food for thought. I am sure the justice system will catch up to the right people sooner or later. The truth is always set free. Just be a man already and stop living like a rat in a cave. How do you even sleep at night knowing what a slug you are?

We expect, and wish to promote, a cultural shift towards a general recognition that unidentified postings are not to be treated as true, reliable or trustworthy. The desired outcome to be achieved — albeit not immediately — should be that they are ignored or not regarded as credible unless the author is willing to justify or defend what they have written by disclosing his or her identity.

Why so you can file a lawsuit and shut up people who tell the truth about you? Anonymity is the greatest thing about the internet. Your contracts and waivers don't mean [***] here. Even if you did get names, Pizza, we some how doubt you would to do anything about it because you aren't going to want to draw attention to yourself and this operation. Also, are you in debt because of your coke habit or your drinking?

You know what, no matter. Bring it on.

Vesti la giubba,
e la faccia infarina.
La gente paga, e rider vuole qua.

Do your worst.

I damn well dare you to send someone to my doorstep. You wouldn't, your too frightened. Your probably in Florida right now phoning your cronies and crying into Fomkins big bouncing bosoms about how bad you've been found out. Colby is gonna get hit with this stuff too starting soon. And it's only going to get worse until you give up the scam and learn to live an honest lifestyle.

The following report is confidential and only disclosed manners of exploiting corporate information and senior management, comprised affliates, and all others organizations deemed with high activity be involved. Again, the information regarding to subject being released is issued for reasons to exploit operations, intelligence, and illegal activities inside corporate. Information given is to be viewed without bias or form of prejudice considering the sensitive matieral given below.

The It Factor/ Vip/ Options Talent, former existant and spawn of Transcontiental was previously shut down for reasons unknown, possibly due to bankruptcy and then afterwards leading into silence. After somewhat years proceeding later another clone to the continuing company, was and is VIP Talent Connect.

The It Factor/VIP, owned and partially operated by Alycia Kaback and her mother have progressed with construction plans to evolve the company with different name to New York. Alycia aka Aly has given birth to "FMA", Findmyaudition, another company out to scam unsuspecting aspiring models, musicians and other performance artists by selling them through untrained, and unexperienced 'representatives' event packages ranging anywhere from $500 - $15,000 or more to "create that special intimate environment for attendees and industry professionals to come meet and network in one place."

The Company is financially programmed by Aly and her ties to italian mafia groups sectored throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that help sponsor and compensate a majority of the legit actors, small by known, into attending these "networking events" so that they'll make it seem as if the company does what it says when officially VIP/ FMA are an openhouse for scam agencies, companies, and other profressionals that have little to no work to offer and to take advantage of these hope seekers. The company does refer 'very motivated and driven" aspiring individuals with that extra dollar at hand to other scam companies across the US board.

Again the USA is set up schematically like a SpiderWeb if you think about it, companies run or branched off with different or same names all stay in touch with each other and report to "The Source" with how their company revenues, annuals, and rates of demographic success ratios. "The Source" to be better explained as a very powerful, executive buisness head already retired, having worked in the cores of American business, such as WallStreet, major entertainment groups, and contracts with the law so as to not get sued, yet they are criminals with the capability to change their name, address, place of residence and everything about them that makes them untraceable.

These companies, whether they follow different patterns, methodologies, procedures or
having seperate CEOs or 'Executives" are all contacts that have studied and copycated the best of the best strategies in marketing, advertising, and sales techs available. Findmyaudition.com/ VIP Talent Connect is the longest and oldest running talent agency of any kind to take on different forms, hire or train potential scam artists into owning their own businesses and growing a new fabric look so that they'll look legit. Believe however when I say that not all these owners perfect what they have learned, and some still remain ignorant to this day not knowing how to run their show.

It Factor/ VIP/ FMA is by all means the old Options Talent, still secretly based in Orlando, Florida..a warehouse of refuge for Ms. Aly to escape of anything should dare seriously happen to her. Her "service", these event networking seminars, shows, expos, or whatever are again a hunting ground for these scam bounty hunters to keep sucking the new money from these people.

I as an insider and underground operative I see now why ultimately there is no way for this industry to scam on to never end. That we can use the rules of the law to make ourselves seem real, that we can pay who ever realistically to shut their mouths up and say to society how important and real we are, and how America really loves to help make us more money the wrong than the right, "adjusted" way. This is a sign off, and I leave this information to the beholder to view, and make just decision, to what they should believe or not these are the actions and dangerous activities happening realstically in our future.

God pray there be some way to stop this nightmare and the
next...

I would like to discuss my experience with you. I worked so hard. day and night. I have so much to say.

Totally and they have all my ID and my signature