Young Irish teenagers are being contacted on Snapchat by an account claiming to be a Northern Ireland modelling agency.

According to The Belfast Telegraph, an unknown Snapchat user contacts the teens acting on behalf of ACA Models. The recipients of the messages are told they could earn anything between £450 and £55,000 working with the company. A message tells the girls that a model scout found them on Instagram and thinks they would make suitable recruits. Alison Campbell, the agency boss, became aware of the scam on Saturday when a friend’s 14-year-old daughter received the messages. A strong of messages from a user claiming to be someone called Louise reads: "In terms of different types of modelling we literally do every single type you could think of. Obviously the more you are interested in the better chance you have of getting jobs.” "This is a one-off opportunity and we are looking for 30 new models. This is purely based on a first come, first served basis. "If you are interested, then please give me a message asap.” "Bear in mind the reason why we have added you to our company Snapchat account is because we are interested in you as well." The fake account then asks the girls to send on images. Parents and teens are warned to be vigilant of similar accounts and requests.