Is a joining fee or verification deposit ever normal?

Paying to be represented, to be verified, or to unlock a payout is the advance-fee pattern that consumer-protection agencies list first. In a real arrangement money moves toward the creator, and any cost is deducted from earnings rather than charged before them.

Should I ever send a manager a login or a 2FA code?

No. A one-time code is the thing an attacker is missing, so a request for one is the attack itself. Where a platform supports delegated roles or team access, use that; if it has no role for the job, the job does not need your account.

How do I check an agency without a blacklist?

Ask for the registered legal name, company number and country, then look those up yourself in that country's public company register. Ask to be paid after delivery on written terms. Search a distinctive sentence from the message, since templates get reused. None of that requires naming or accusing anyone.

Red-flag patterns in DMs from agencies, managers and brands

This page describes patterns, not people. It names no agency, company, server or account, and there is nothing to look a name up in. Every pattern below has also appeared in offers that were real, so treat a match as a reason to run the check in the last column.

The patterns

16 patterns creators describe in public threads.
Pattern	What it looks like	Why it works	Neutral check
Guaranteed earnings	A monthly figure promised before anyone has seen your work.	A number stands in for the checks you would run.	Ask in writing who pays the guarantee if it is missed.
Upfront fee or verification deposit	A joining fee, refundable deposit, training or onboarding charge.	Small beside the promised return, so it reads as paperwork.	Money should move toward you. Advance fees are a named scam pattern.
Asks for a login or a code	Needs the password to set up a dashboard, or reads you a code to confirm identity.	Framed as admin; codes feel less sensitive than passwords.	Never share either. The code in your hand is the thing being taken.
An assistant who needs account access	Someone offering to run your inbox asks for the account itself.	Real staffing arrangements exist, so it sounds ordinary.	Use delegated roles only. No role for the job means no access.
Admin or screen-share on a call	A friendly video call, then a request for admin on a business page.	Live conversation removes the pause you would take over text.	Grant nothing on a call. Add the lowest workable role later, yourself.
Revenue share plus exclusivity plus no exit	A cut of everything, every platform, auto-renewing, no notice period.	Each term looks normal alone; the combination is the trap.	Read for the termination clause first. No exit, no signature.
No legal entity named	Signing happens off-platform with no company name, number or address anywhere.	Leaves nothing to look up and nothing to enforce against.	Ask for the registered legal name and number, then check the register.
Gift cards or crypto only	The fee or campaign budget arrives only as codes or a wallet transfer.	Both are fast and effectively irreversible.	Both are named payment red flags. Real budgets move on invoices.
Pressure and deadlines	The slot closes tonight; reply within the hour.	Urgency is there to suppress the checking step.	An offer that cannot survive 24 hours was never an offer.
Buy the product to get the deal	Purchase it yourself, reimbursed after you post.	Sits close to normal gifting deals.	If reimbursement is real, it can be paid before you spend.
Overpayment and refund the difference	More than agreed arrives by mistake; you are asked to return the surplus.	Your balance shows the funds, so the money looks real.	Available is not cleared. It can reverse days later; never refund from your own balance.
A collab that needs your ID	A verification step wanting a passport photo before anything is agreed.	Platforms do ask for ID, so it feels routine.	ID goes to a platform through its own flow, never to a person.
Promo swap that needs your password	Shout-for-shout where they will post from your account for you.	Framed as a favour and a time-saver.	Scheduling tools exist. A password swap has no legitimate version.
Impersonated payout or tax notice	A styled message about a tax recalculation, refund or account hold.	Anything touching money gets opened.	Open the platform yourself, not the link. Note which address it reached.
Fluent but generic professionalism	Correct jargon, a brief, a rate card, no reference to your actual work.	Competence reads as legitimacy on an unfamiliar platform.	Search a distinctive sentence from the message. Templates get reused.
Pay to join the group or course	A paid guide, mentorship or private group sold as access.	Framed as investment rather than cost.	The same material is usually free in public communities.

What creators describe

Paraphrased from public threads, linked, without usernames.

A voice actor posted a whole email exchange so the wording would be searchable for anyone later vetting the same approach. thread
Streamers describe convincing messages about a tax-withholding recalculation on their payouts; one caught it because it reached an address never used for that account. thread, thread
Another said the convincing part was the opening: fluent, industry-correct casting talk, arriving on a first project whose real workflow they did not yet know. thread
Experienced voice actors note that direct approaches from commercial clients are rare in that field, so an unsolicited one deserves a slower look. thread
Creators in a creator support forum warn each other off paid guides and groups that charge simply to get in. thread

What this page is not

Not a lookup. No box to paste a name into, no directory, no list of companies, people, servers or sites — good or bad.
Not an accusation. A message can match several patterns and still be genuine, and a scam can match none of them.
Not legal advice. A contract or a loss is a question for a qualified adviser in your country.
Not a guide to responding. Block, report through the platform, and move on.

Sources

Job scams — advance fees, fake-cheque overpayment. consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams, read 2026-09-04.
How to avoid a scam — impersonation, urgency, payment methods. consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam, read 2026-09-04.
Creator threads linked inline above.