Yes, I knew several girls in high school who claimed to be models. This was in the high profile fashion mecca of . . . wait for it . . . Denver. To be fair, most of the girls making this claim were generally tall and pretty, had a lot of their self-worth wrapped up in their appearance, and they certainly spent a lot of time on their appearance on a daily basis.
As far as I know, none of them ever actually had a paying job as a model. One friend did an unpaid fashion show at the local JC Penney (her dad was a manager there) as part of some sort of charity event. At least one other friend had her mom pay to have her "modeling portfolio" prepared at one of the many ubiquitous mall Glamour Shots businesses. Ummm, okay, you're a model if you say you're a model.
And then I went to college in a city where there might actually be working models. One of my roommates said she had a modeling career, and yes she had a somewhat professional looking portfolio. Again, no evidence of actual work as a model, but a fancy folder of pictures of herself shot in a studio. In this case, though, she was very short, fairly stout, and not at all attractive in any conventional way. Not a nice face, not pretty hands, nothing I could see that would interest a modeling agency. Honestly, I had to suppress the urge to laugh right in her face when she announced "I am focusing on my modeling career." That was when I realize the whole thing was a big scam. She failed out of school that first year, by the way. Too much time spent on her modeling aspirations, I guess.
But whateryagonnado? People are vain, and this whole industry feeds their vanity.