Cammers & Scammers: 3 Common Scams to Beware As a Webcam Model
Scammers are the worst. One moment you think that you’re communicating with a trustworthy client & the next, your money & sense of security are compromised in often irreparable ways. The internet is the birthplace of cyber attacks, like phishing & hacking, but with constant innovation, strategies like geo-tracing & money wiring scams are posing new threats to the physical safety & the safety personal information of models & content creators alike.
Most webcam models are well aware of the importance of protecting their personal information & physical location while being public figures on the internet & use a number of tools like geo-blocking, VPNs, alternate contact info, & P.O. Boxes to keep this information hidden. But, when it comes to protecting their money most are left to navigate the “Do’s & Don’ts” of client transactions with little guidance.
Afraid of becoming the victim of a scammer? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. We will go over three of the most common strategies used by disingenuous customers, aka scammers, so that you can spot them early & get one step closer to being a more clever, fiscally savvy model.
Dine & Dasher (Pay after show)
In a majority of our day-to-day transactions money is typically exchanged in return for a good or product. Normally, these funds aren’t paid to a business or service provider until the service has been completed; whether you’re getting work done on your car or getting a haircut. In the world of webcam modeling the opposite is true; money is always exchanged before a service is provided. Whether you’re discussing a private show or custom content, the payment should always be secured before beginning any work.
Dine & dashers, aka customers that promise to pay after a show or service has been completed, have no real intention of paying for a model’s time. From the moment that they initiate contact their goal is to build enough trust with the model so that they feel comfortable enough to perform under the guise of a promised payment. These clients target models they believe appear to be in a financial bind (i.e. a model that appears bored or frustrated due to a slow shift) or are new to the site, with the hope that they are naive enough, or at the very least desperate enough, to accept a show in lieu of payment.
Most dine & dashers are quite blunt in their propositions. Others will go through greater lengths to deceive models & build false sense of trustworthiness. They may provide fabricated screenshots of them paying other models or spin an elaborate story about how they can only pay you off-site.
Whichever method they choose, dine & dashers are the easiest scammers to spot. If you find yourself communicating with a potential dasher stand your ground & remind them that you’re happy to provide the requested service AFTER the payment has been sent. Most dashers will run for the hills once they realize you’re too smart to fall for their tricks.
Daddy “Sorebucks” (Chargebacks)
Daddy Sorebucks is the bane of every sex worker’s existence. This term is used to describe a client that pays for product or service, receives it, then turns around & disputes the charge with their bank so that they are fully refunded. To put it quite plainly, it’s a deceitful way for a client to receive services without fully paying for them.
Some may blame it on “post-sex clarity” or being caught by a disapproving spouse, but all chargebacks are rooted in one thing — power. When a client pays for a service or product there is an exchange of money & power. Some clients enter interactions with models already harboring negative feelings or hangups surrounding the fact that they have to pay for their pornographic content, time, and/or attention. But, it doesn’t stop them from desiring the things that they wish to obtain for free. Therefore, in an attempt to “re-balance” the scales, the client may initiate a chargeback to gain a sense of control. They can’t control the model & their business structure but they can control their personal checking accounts. In the client’s eyes, they’ve won; they have already received what they wanted & got to keep their money.
In recent years, chargebacks have become much more common when it comes to the purchasing of adult content. It is for this reason that most cam sites & subscription-based sites that allow adult content now have what’s referred to as “chargeback protection” implemented to protect their creators. What this means is that if a client initiates a chargeback through their bank the website will either provide proof that the charge was not fraudulent to prevent the transaction from being reversed or “eat the charge” & pay the bank the funds at no expense to the model.
While this has become a widespread practice for sites that openly advertise the hosting of adult content, there are still many platforms that do no offer chargeback protection for creators. Popular subscription-based site OnlyFans does not offer chargeback protection, so be wary. Mainstream payment processors such as Paypal, Venmo, & CashApp are also notorious for issuing chargebacks so it is advised to not accept sex work related payments using these methods. If you are worried about being the target of a Daddy Sorebucks the best advice is to only complete transactions using sites that explicitly state they offer chargeback protection for its creators. This information can typically be found in a website’s Terms of Service or you can contact their support team directly.
Also exercise caution when accepting large payments from clients you have had little interaction with. For example, a new subscriber that has not purchased content before but is offering to pay hundreds of dollars for a video poses a larger risk than a client that has purchased cheaper content in the past, expressed satisfaction with your work, & has no history of chargebacks. Keep in mind that chargebacks can be initiated up to six months after the initial transaction & they are often the product of disgruntled clients that felt as though they “didn’t get what they paid for”.
Negative Nathan (Negging)
Negging is defined as an act of emotional manipulation where a person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or remark with the purpose of undermining the other person’s confidence & subconsciously increasing their need for the manipulator’s approval. At first glance Negative Nathans seem like the most harmless of scammers. They do not draw a lot of attention to themselves & will sometimes tip, or engage in flirty banter to show the model that they are in fact a serious, paying customer. These types of clients have no intention of trying to manipulate the model into doing free shows or sending free content. Instead, their goal is to convince the model to lower their prices.
At first glance it’s easy to think “How is this a scam?”. After all, most models are far more worried about going unpaid , not being underpaid. However, convincing a person that their labor is not worth their stated price is a form of manipulation & a scam. They are purposefully dishonest about your value & worth as a model as a means to get full-priced services for cheaper. If you completed a service with the expectation of being paid full price & were underpaid, you have fallen victim to a scam.
Negative Nathans will employ a variety of tactics to get what they want. Some are quite abrasive in their approach & will blatantly tell you that your price is too high, but still offer to pay you at a more “reasonable” rate. Others will attempt to convince you that a cheaper rate is beneficial to you as a model because it attracts more customers. Regardless of what they say to try & convince you, stand firm in your pricing. While dealing with this can be frustrating to say the least, there is potential to convert them into a paying client. Remember, Negative Nathans seek out models whose boundaries they perceive to be weak & can be convinced to accept less for their labor. Never back down & trust me when I say, if they want it, they will pay.
Scams, unfortunately, are rampant on the internet & sometimes we can’t help but fall victim to them. As cam models the value of our labor & time is often questioned, scrutinized, & minimized by those that do not understand the work that we do. Just remember, regardless of what a client may perceive your worth to be, remember that our true value is defined by us. After all, we know our bodies & skill sets best.
