How to avoid getting scammed by fake escort ads
Identity verification tips, helpful resources and advice about how to best curtail the risk of becoming a victim of fake escort ad scams.
Introduction
If youāve been a patron of sexworkerās services for just about any length of time then dollars to donuts you have come across a fake escort ad. Unfortunately for many men (and women clients) it is difficult to discern a legitimate ad from a fraudulent one no matter how much time in the hobby they have under their belt. Thatās what I want to help you with today; tips, resources and strategies that you can implement yourself to never fall prey to these types of scams again.
What is a fake escort scam?
A fake escort scam is any time the persona of an escort is misrepresented and used to entice/lure potential victims into communication with the intent to defraud them for financial monetary gain.
There are several variations of this con that are most likely to be used by modern day scammers but first I have to make this statement publicly and once and for all:
THE SCAMMERS BEHIND THIS CON ARE NOT ACTUAL ESCORTS.
Again, for the people in the back, the hard headed and the hard of hearing. Allow me to politely reiterate this sentiment :
THE SCAMMERS BEHIND THIS CON ARE NOT ACTUAL ESCORTS.
When you contact these to good to be true sexpots running $120 specials in multiple different states, each with different phone numbers attached letās be clear, she/he is not an actual sexworker. Therefore the adage ābut iāve been scammed before baby, I canāt send a deposit or provide screening infoā simply doesnāt work here.
Itās not our fault that you did zero research. Itās not our fault that you ignored all of the red flags. I understand that most clients donāt even know where to start when it comes to screening a potential sexy blonde mid-day snack such as myself (I kid, I kidā¦ not really. I am delightfully scrumptious) or any other variety of companion. The sexwork industry remains shrouded in mystery. It is a very insular community and we keep a lot of information close to the vest. The reason for this? Often times, our life literally depends on it.
For this reason a client can never be 100% sure about the validity of a courtesanās identity. Itās becoming more difficult to discern a providerās legitimacy as technology advances. The natural evolution of these tech improvements results in increased sophistication of scams and easier accessibility. The outcome of these combined traits is a discouraging one; scams that are harder to detect and can be employed by more people. Any Tom, Dick and Harry with a VPN and internet access can now run this con.
Thatās where my new client-escort liaison service can be very helpful to mitigate and effectively minimize the risk of falling victim to a fake escort scam. To give you ALL of the screening measures and cheat codes would be absurd. Especially in a public blog post. The legal grey area that my profession exists in prevents all of the information needed to protect both clients and providers from being out here. Bringing on a pro, a SW insider, to perform remote research,vetting identity verification and curating a list of safe options has been proven to be worth the minor affordable fee.
Types of fake escort scams
Fake escort scams are rampant in our community now more than ever. Something about COVID brought out the scammers in droves. The nature of this kind of fraud is diverse in both variation and level of sophistication. It runs the gamut from the shamefully common, rather desperate and benign catfish all the way up to international crime syndicates orchestrating a believable ruse to get your banking details and wire your entire life savings to an offshore, untraceable account. I say this not to instill fear or reaffirm your anxiety about booking a provider, but to inform those who are naive about the dangers of fraud when attempting to navigate the murky waters that is sexwork in the U.S. So alas, letās get into it.
Steal your information/banking details
This is the most common type of fake escort fraud and it also has the potential to be the most financially devastating. The other scams are chump change in comparison.
The ruse goes a little something like this:
Would-be client reaches out for a booking
Fake escort says fake escort things while attempting to appear legit in an effort to convince and then excite would-be client into thinking with his dick. In effect, priming the mark for step 3.
Somehow obtains personal identity information/banking/account details from the victim typically using one of these tactics: A virus or fake login page sent through a link or just good old fashion trickery to get them to hand over the deetsā.
Again, there are numerous variations of this particular con but you get the picture. The fall out from relinquishing access to this information can be extreme and follow you for a decade +.
I mean, think about it. How much of your entire life is accessible through your email? Your reaction is probably something similar to mine, which was āOh, FUCKā.
Bait and switch
The classic bait and switch photo swap. Itās one of the less harmful perpetrators of fraud on the list but it wouldnāt be fair to exclude it. It may have little, if any, financial impact but it does meet at least 2 of the 3 following criteria:
DECEPTIVE
ANNOYING
LIBIDO ANNIHILATOR
Deposit theft scam
The 2nd most common type of scam involves deposits and is the bane of my existence as an escort. Deposit scams are when the scammer poses as a sexworker who requires a deposit to be paid in order to secure a booking but never follows through on the meetup, essentially stealing the money.
Typically these types of scammers will ask for the amount of the entire rate or close to it rather than charging a much smaller percentage. For example, under certain circumstances that are riskier or more time/energy consuming I require a 20% deposit to secure the date which is pretty standard.
Unfortunately, the rampant deposit scams going on make enforcing my policy so much harder. I do lose new clients over it. However, the amount lost off of those would-be clientele pails in comparison to how much I would lose to No call/No shows, last minute cancellations and fantasy bookers aka internet trolls.
Although these scams are a plenty they are also relatively easy to see through if you use basic common sense and implement the tools that I have included throughout this post. As a matter of fact, one of the most comprehensive and well put together pieces on the subject is the āHow to find a safe providerā guide available to view on Reddit here.
Blackmail
Less common than the previous three is the blackmail scam. It is typically perpetuated by organized crime groups who aim to exploit your interaction with bait-escort. They may try to obtain nude photos/explicit conversation and then threaten to expose you to your work, wife, online friends, etc.
A lot of times they do have quite a bit of personal information on you by using software to run background checks. They may say āwe know that you live at 123 main street and drive a green hondaā or they know other details like names of family members, etc. My advice about how to deal with these loser blackmailers? BLOCK and do not engage. Especially important, donāt pay them off. Even if you pay them they will keep coming back and ask for more.
A lot of guy cite this as a reason to not provide IRL screening information during the booking process which is a cop-out Real, legitimate providers are not going to use the info to blackmail you.
Now, please indulge me by taking a moment to participate in a little pop quiz, of sorts, on todayās lesson of āHow to spot a fake escort adā.
Signs of a fake escort ad
- A combination of incredible appearance/professional photos + an abysmally low rate that is just to good to be true.
Example: a photo of a Sofia Vergara look-a-like who's rates go a little something like "60/hh, 120/hr"
Pretty self explainatory. This was literally the first photo that comes up on Google using the search term āfake escortā.
- Overly explicit or vulgar ad copy and/or photos showing penetrative sex acts.
The idea here is to get you all hot and horny so that youāll throw caution to the wind. Which, as you and I both know, is a SOLID strategy. Not gonna lie.
- Doesnāt link to a personal website or social media.
- No limits, boundaries or instructions anywhere in the ad. The provider is just there to āplease you in anyway possibleā and doesnāt include any preferences or hard noās.
An example of the opposite of this would be an ad that includes some specific instructions or requires a certain level of decorum/standard that must be met to be eligible to meet.
Iāll use one of my own ads as an example.
Provider red flags
- Doesnāt require any form of screening
Screening is the process of determining if a client is worth seeing measured by their risk level (on paper, that is). The information also allows them to keep track of who they saw if anything should happen to them like being robbed, assaulted, go missing, etc.
Screening is done by various means that I am not at liberty to disclose. If clients knew the specifics of what and how it is done, then in theory, they might be able to take measures toĀ curtailĀ theĀ process. The only people who will do this are more than likely already blacklisted or trying to do something that he/she doesnāt want to be held accountable for.
A provider who doesnāt want so much as a name, ad siteĀ handle, age/race, LinkedIn URL, etc. or a photo is quite suspect.
On the other hand, though, there are ways of screening that can be done with just an email address or phone number. So you might not necessarily know if she has done some screening. Plenty of software and apps exist for this very purpose and let me be clear, escorts are privvy to these methods. Sexworkers have been at the forefront (albeit, often behind the scenes or go unacknowledged) of countless digital privacy initiatives and anti-surveillance movements. You know who was screaming āfuck noā to the Patriot Act way back in ā03? Sexworkers. In-person workers and the tiny assembly of e-whores that existed when online SW was in itās infancy on the web. Haha!
But do you know who never screens 100% of the time? Law enforcement. Law enforcement, or, LE just wants to record you making incriminating statements and get you to their sting operation.
Hell, iāve even heard of clients being arrested at their home/work despite getting cold feet and not even showing up to the appointment. Once youāve incriminated yourself then they have the right to find out all the details that they want to know about you. Like IP addresses of any devices used or registered to you, phone number, business/work information like EIPN #, etc.
With that said, providers who donāt require screening DO EXIST and are admittedly more common than it should be. So take this one as more of a piece of supporting evidence to other red flags and scam sign.
- Requires 50% or more of payment upfrontĀ (before in-person meeting)
Industry standard is anywhere between 20-35%. However, for FMTY or extended trip dates a 50% down payment it is not uncommon + travel expenses covered by the person booking the session.
- Prefers or exclusively accepts payment via gift card or crypto
SomeĀ escorts accept crypto or giftcards for deposits but itās a major red flag if they are pushing these forms of currency. Apple gift cards seem to be a favorite amongst scammers. The reason being that they arenāt traceable, can be converted to cash relatively easily and eliminates the problem of having to move money internationally.
- If all of their accounts/ads are days or even weeks old.
I realize that everyone has to start somewhere but thatās a bit sketch. If their ad/account is this new in conjunction with any of the other red flags listed then donāt walk, RUN!
- If their photos are used on multiple ads with different names or contact info
How to research an escort
Reverse image search
In case you arenāt already hip to this search tool then let me fill you in.Ā Google reverse image searchĀ can be one of the most useful resources to verify the legitimacy of a potential independent escort. To conduct a search go must go to the websiteĀ hereĀ and click on the camera icon on the search bar. Now itās time to choose a method to select the image; upload from computer, drag-n-drop or by photo URL link and then hit enter.
The results page will likely exhibit hundreds of similar photos with the most similar ones being at the top. Google pulls information and photo recognition technology to scour the web, reaching to high, low and obscure corners of the internet. If your image has been uploaded online anywhere it is sure to show up on reverse image search.
āWhat are the benefits of such a tool?ā You ask.
If the photo has been posted onlineĀ anywhereĀ then there will be a link to the original source. So if your search comes up a bunch of other escort ads under different names, photos and or/with multiple different phone numbers then donāt walk, RUN. Thatās 99% likely to be a scam.
Additionally, this allows you to investigate other locations, if any, that the pics could be stolen from. Often times it originates from an Instagram modelās profile, stillshots of cam girls and photos of a poor, oblivious porn star.
Social media/Website
Having a social media presence or a website is not required to be an escort. To be a successful one, though, these things might be important. We use social media less for advertising and more for marketing and adding to our credibility. The website, however, is more important than anything because itās the one place where escorts can be candid and transparent about their services, rates and expectations. Unlike any of the escort advertising websites, directories or social media.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when researching her online presence:
- Does the contact info on the website match the ads?
- Are the pictures the same person?
- How do they interact with their followers and other providers
It is common to see that some accounts consistently liking and commenting on their posts are former clients.
Google the contact number/email listed in the ad
Pretty self explanatory but to expound on this point, I emphasize that google is your friend, USE IT.
*Be aware of scrapper website such as EroticMonkey, Listcrawler, etc. The ads on these sites arenāt valid because theyāve been scrapped off of legit escort ad websites using a bot (or sometimes manually, but its rare) then copy/pasted and posted to their site.
Escorts are common targets too
Believe it or not, escorts are victims of these scammers too. Iād wager to bet that we are actually targetted much more often. On a near daily basis I receive scam attempts. They come from every direction. Texts, emails, DM, you name it. My spam folder is a frequent landing spot for these scams. As I was writing this blog post I encountered a few perfect examples of these scams in action. So iāll share the most common ways escorts are targeted.
Fraudulent verification photos
This is the reason why I no longer agree to take verification photos for clients to convince them that I am real. If you canāt use your brain to piece together a logical conclusion about my legitimacy despite all my info being out there then we likely arenāt a good match, honey.
This fraud is conducted when a scammer poses as a potential client who is inquiring about booking a session. Notice how in the screenshot above that he gives a vague answer when asked about his location. āAlong the highwayā is his answer. I canāt find the next screenshot of the conversation but he offers to send a $100 deposit via cashapp if I send a photo holding a sign that contains the date andĀ amyx38@outlook.com. At that point I knew what the deal was. I knew it was a scam so I played along and told him to send the deposit first. He then reiterated that I must send the photo first.
The reasons for wanting this type of photo are:
- To create a fake profile on one of the escort advertising sites and become verified (which is required to be able to post ads) so that they appear more legit and in turn, reach more potential victims to scam.
- To send to victims/potential clients to āproveā identity and bolster their legitimacy
Impersonating escort advertising websites
Another method for extracting login details and/or account information from escorts is by impersonating a website like Tryst or PD to get you to click a link that takes you to a fake login page where you enter your information and they gain access to the escorts account to post or change contact information to forward future inquiries to their phone line.
Impersonating a fellow escort
I donāt have a screenshot to show as an example for this one but its a super simple concept to grasp. This is when a scammer pretends to be a fellow escort claiming to have gotten locked out of their account for whatever reason and then asks to be able to post on your account until their account is reinstated.
In conclusion
In this post we learned about the types of fake escort frauds, how to spot a fake ad, provider red flags, research techniques and about how companions are also victimized. My parting words of wisdom would have to emphasize the importance of doing your due diligence and conducting the research necessary to avoid getting scammed as much as possible. The other sentiment is to use basic common sense when attempting to ascertain the validity of an escorts identity.
