📸 How I Almost Got Scammed Chasing a Boxing Shoot

Every so often, a job pops up that makes you stop and think, “Yes — this is totally my thing.” – Photography for a professional boxer!

That happened to me recently when a listing came through on Bark. Someone named John needed urgent photography for a professional boxer, supposedly for a magazine feature, in a Birmingham studio. The original photographer had cancelled, and they were desperate to find someone.

Perfect setup: fast-paced, editorial-style, sport-related. I love boxing. I was in.

But something didn’t sit right.

🚩 The Red Flags Start Appearing

First, the contact details were linked to a completely unrelated business — something to do with wildlife and conservation. Odd for a boxing shoot, but hey — maybe John ran multiple ventures?

Then came the website. A glossy-looking one-page site claiming to be a PR company. But…

• It had zero online presence outside of itself — just one Google result.
• All the social media icons linked to generic pages from the template.
• It was clearly thrown together, with no real branding or contact infrastructure.

I checked the company registration, which technically existed — but it had been set up just months earlier, with no UK trading address. Just a PO box and a director based overseas.

So now I had a last-minute job request… from a fake PR company… using real-seeming credentials… and someone else’s contact info.

🧠 A Reality Check

By this point, I wasn’t just suspicious — I was nearly certain it was a scam. But that raised a question that chilled me a bit:

What was supposed to happen if I had agreed?

Would they ask me to pay for the studio up front and “get reimbursed”? Was it just a ploy to get my banking info or digital files? Or something more serious?

I’ll never know — because I backed out. But I do know this:

Scams targeting creatives are getting smarter. They use just enough truth (real names, real company reg numbers, professional-sounding requests) to lure you in. And they target photographers, designers, and freelancers because we’re used to chasing the next opportunity.

🎯 What I Learned

If something feels off — trust your gut.

Check the domain.
Look up the company on Companies House.
Google the contact details.
And if it all feels too slippery to pin down, it probably is.

I’m still disappointed I didn’t get to shoot photography for a professional boxer that week. But I’d rather miss out on a job than fall into a trap.

Need a sports photographer with a brain, a camera, and a scam filter?
I’m available for editorial, commercial, and promotional shoots — in boxing gyms or beyond. Just drop me a line.