When you’re looking to hire a professional escort companion, it is easy to get caught up in the beautiful photos and sexy descriptions. Unfortunately there are a lot of frauds out there who are just trying to steal your money and run. Their ads may look legit, but in reality they are just scumbag crooks hiding behind stolen photos and fake information.
Some people will tell you that when a provider asks for a deposit up front for a visit, that it is automatically a scam, but that is simply not true. There are legitimate reasons providers require deposits: new clients sometimes change their minds after agreeing to meet at a specific time and place. This is understandable, but at the same time, the service provider reserved that appointment time and may have turned other clients away who could have come at that time. The provider has also spent considerable time getting ready for the date. And the provider may be traveling to an outcall to meet someone they have never met, at an address they cannot verify, spending money on transportation expenses and spending time in transit. Deposits themselves are not the problem – they can help you make sure you get the appointment you want at the time you want it – but they are unfortunately abused by scammers to make a quick buck. After the scammer takes your deposit, they ghost you and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s an awful feeling when your realize the local cutie you thought you were talking to was actually some greasy criminal from a foreign country.
There are other ways unscrupulous providers scam clients. They may be using fake photos or are intending to rob the client when they arrive. It can be a scary world. But there are things you can do to avoid common scams when booking an appointment with an escort:
Read more: Don’t Get Scammed!
- Ask for visual verification – Pretty much every provider should be able to do a quick video chat so that you can see they are who they say they are. If the provider tells you they need a deposit before they’ll video chat you, it is 100% a scam. You can also get visual verification by asking them to send a selfie with a particular hand gesture (like “hold up 4 fingers on your left hand”), but video chat will also give you a better sense of the provider’s personality.
- Don’t get pressured – Scammers will pressure you to send a deposit as quickly as possible, and they will accuse you of playing games with them if you do not. Don’t fall for it. Don’t send a deposit until you are reasonably sure you know who you are dealing with. Don’t let them pressure you into meeting under unsafe conditions.
- Do your research – Search the provider’s name and phone number using a web search engine. See if they have listings on other sites, social media accounts, OnlyFans, etc. Look for any reviews that may be available (although not all providers have reviews online). Check the dates of their postings, have they been around for a while? Pretty much any serious provider will have some kind of public web presence unless they are just starting out. If you can’t find any information on a provider by searching this way, it is a red flag.
- Reverse image search their photos – a reverse image search is where you upload a photo or provide a URL to a photo to a search engine, and it tries to find that image elsewhere on the web. You can do this on sites like Google Image Search, TinEye and Yandex. Either download some of the provider’s photos (right click and Save Image As) to your device or find the URL to the images (try your browser’s Inspect tool) and plug them into the search. Look at any matches – does the name match the name the provider is using? Often scammers will scrape photos from social media accounts – if those are the only hits you get when searching, it may be a sign that they are stolen photos.
- Check the incall location – If you are booking an incall, once the provider gives you the address, look it up on a map if you are unfamiliar with the location. If the provider is asking for a deposit for an incall, ask for the address first – if they won’t give it to you, proceed with caution. Google Maps allows you to see a “street view” of most locations on your phone or computer. Make sure the address they give you is actually a hotel or residence. Check out the neighborhood, make sure it looks safe. Bars on windows are a bad sign, as are houses in disrepair, litter, and unkept yards. If you have any doubts about your safety, decline the appointment.
- Use sites that verify their providers – The more reputable escort directory websites verify the IDs of the providers posting on them. These include, for example, eros.com, tsescorts.com, tryst.link, and topescortbabes.com. Look for the “Verified” symbol on the provider’s profile. Being verified doesn’t guarantee that the provider is legit, but it does mean that the website knows the provider’s personal identity and can take action against them if necessary.
- Be careful on free listing sites – Most major directories require a provider to pay money in order to post an ad, but some do not (like skipthegames.com). The free listing sites tend to attract more dishonest providers than the paid ones do. Just because a provider is on a free site does not mean they are not legitimate, but if their only listing is on a free site, be careful.
- Ask for a meet & greet – If you’re not quite sure about a provider, request a public meet before booking your appointment or sending a deposit. Honest providers will be willing to meet you, however it is reasonable for them to ask for a small donation for their time for doing so ($25-50 is reasonable for a brief meet & greet). If you have the time and want the extra assurance, ask if the provider will meet you somewhere public near their location and offer them some compensation for doing so. If they refuse to meet you, move on.
- Know what to expect – Providers must screen new clients for their own safety, and some screen very thoroughly. You may be asked to provide a reference from another provider, a photo of yourself, a picture of your ID, your work phone number, or other identifying information. These requests should not be cause for alarm; they are a part of the booking process. In fact, if a provider does not ask for any screening information, it is a red flag. It is normal for providers to request a reasonable deposit to hold your appointment time (although you should do your homework before sending one). It is also customary and expected that payment or donation for the agreed-upon amount of time is handled at the beginning of an appointment, not at the end.
- If it seems too good to be true … – If you come across a provider who is impossibly attractive and/or whose rates are significantly less than comparable providers, it’s probably a scam.
There is, unfortunately, no way to completely eliminate the risks associated with booking a service provider; at some point you need to be able to take a leap of faith. But some healthy skepticism can help you avoid getting burned by some of the more common scams out there.
