First Impressions

I woke up yesterday morning to what I would consider a strange e-mail. It reminded of the e-mails you get from ongo-bongo or some other place I have never heard of saying they are holding fifteen million dollars in funds that I can have ten percent of if they can just use my bank account.


This e-mail was apparently sent out as a bulk e-mail to all of the members of one of the more popular treasure forums. In the event you aren’t a member of that particular forum or didn’t get the e-mail I have included it for you to see.

A major television production company has asked me to forward this to our members - this is a VERY serious casting call, and I wish you the best if you are interested. I would LOVE to see a TNet'r become a star!


Thanks,
Marc Austin


_____________________________________________________________


Major TV Production Company is ISO Passionate and Proven Treasure Hunters


Do you make your living traversing the country in an RV scavenging for artifacts from centuries past? Are you a family of metal detectorists who heads out to the local Civil War battlefields on the weekends to find your loot? Or a colorful character who pores over antique maps to find long lost relics?


If so, we want to hear from you. We are a major TV production company looking for our next big TV talent. You should be passionate about what you do, knowledgeable in a wide range of artifacts and time periods, but ultimately an amateur doing what you do because it's what you love. Ideal candidates include families who travel around the country - or even deep into their own backyards - searching for hidden treasures, a dynamic duo who hits the road in search of precious metals or Revolutionary War remnants to pay the rent, a unique individual who goes to great lengths to find long lost relics - or any combination in between.


If you think you have what it takes to be our next TV star, send us a video of your treasure hunting team telling us why we should pick you. Quirky personalities welcome.


Submission Guidelines
Please send a video (preferably a quicktime video) telling us who you are and why you want this gig. Video of yourselves in action is a major bonus.


In the body of your letter or e-mail, please answer the following questions.


1) What is your most astounding find to date?
2) What are your favorite types of finds?
3) What are your most frequent finds?
4) What do you do with your finds?
5) What regions of the country/world do you cover?
6) What methods/equipment do you use?


Please send the above materials with your contact information to Series.Inquiries@gmail.com. We will be in touch if we're interested. Thank you for your time, and GOOD LUCK!


Normally I would assume that the person sending out this e-mail has vetted the company that is requesting such information since it is coming from their web site but I don’t know this for sure.
I really hate to sound like one of those conspiracy nuts on some of the forums but when I read the “casting call” e-mail my spidey senses were tingling.

As I read this e-mail the red flags were popping everywhere. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for more shows about treasure and treasure hunters but when an unnamed “major TV production company” starts asking about who I am, where I hunt, what I have found and what I do with those finds then my suspicious side goes into overdrive.

Again, this is just my opinion and for all I know Marc Austin can vouch for this company but all of the casting calls I have ever seen always name the company and give a phone number and a physical address where they can be contacted instead of just some generic and probably untraceable gmail e-mail address. They also have links to a web site so that you can download the proper forms for submitting your information. Why would a production company looking for new "stars" not want to give their name? Why would they do everything by e-mail?

A "normal" casting call usually involves a specific application that has information about the program, exactly what is required of the individual and the eligibility requirements however this offer has none of those.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from following their dreams of being on TV and I would love for this to be the real deal but something just doesn’t seem right about this. I would think the old adage of “buyer beware” might apply here.

I will offer my apologies in advance to Mr. Austin if I offend him with my opinion but I thought I would throw in my two cents worth on this thing. To me, this just doesn’t seem like the way a “major TV production company” would go about doing business. Maybe I’m just being “quirky”.