ExposingjJohns.com

[Tommygunzz]

https://exposingjohns.com/

 

This is a fairly frightening site. Here's how they introduce themselves on their homepage:

 

 

"What we actually do

Our operations are clean and professional

 

ExposingJohns is an online organization, which investigates, identifies, and publicizes the conduct of adults who solicit prostitutes for sex online. The site consists of Third party volunteers who carry out sting operations by posing as prostitutes on sites known for being used to prostitute."

 

"Why we operate

Exposing Johns actually cares

 

Our service allows for you to view people who solicit prostitutes for sex online. Knowing who these people are brings awareness to local police departments, possible significant others and anyone this kind of activity might concern."

 

You might want to re-read the second sentence in the first paragraph, though the whole statement is pretty scary.

 

So, how do I know about it? I got a text yesterday on my phone with this:

 

"ALERT You are listed on ExposingJohns.com/xxx-xxx-xxxx for soliciting a prostitute online for sex. Go to the above link to Delete your profile."

 

Well, of course I did, and I couldn't. They did offer three different packages to clear my name----$195.97, $395.97, and $495.97. I passed.

 

How did I get on there? I texted someone on Backpage over the weekend. This is what I said: "Location? Rate? Services?" Now I'm posted as a "John" complete with my photograph, cell phone number and city (except the city listed is the one I work in, not the one I live in.) I have no idea how they got my picture, but it's one that I use for my GRINDR and SCRUFF profiles.

 

Pretty frightening, huh? Let me know if anyone knows anything about them, or is anyone else listed on there. Thanks.

[+ Gar1eth]

https://exposingjohns.com/

 

This is a fairly frightening site. Here's how they introduce themselves on their homepage:

 

 

"What we actually do

Our operations are clean and professional

 

ExposingJohns is an online organization, which investigates, identifies, and publicizes the conduct of adults who solicit prostitutes for sex online. The site consists of Third party volunteers who carry out sting operations by posing as prostitutes on sites known for being used to prostitute."

 

"Why we operate

Exposing Johns actually cares

 

Our service allows for you to view people who solicit prostitutes for sex online. Knowing who these people are brings awareness to local police departments, possible significant others and anyone this kind of activity might concern."

 

You might want to re-read the second sentence in the first paragraph, though the whole statement is pretty scary.

 

So, how do I know about it? I got a text yesterday on my phone with this:

 

"ALERT You are listed on ExposingJohns.com/xxx-xxx-xxxx for soliciting a prostitute online for sex. Go to the above link to Delete your profile."

 

Well, of course I did, and I couldn't. They did offer three different packages to clear my name----$195.97, $395.97, and $495.97. I passed.

 

How did I get on there? I texted someone on Backpage over the weekend. This is what I said: "Location? Rate? Services?" Now I'm posted as a "John" complete with my photograph, cell phone number and city (except the city listed is the one I work in, not the one I live in.) I have no idea how they got my picture, but it's one that I use for my GRINDR and SCRUFF profiles.

 

Pretty frightening, huh? Let me know if anyone knows anything about them, or is anyone else listed on there. Thanks.

 

You aren't the only one.

 

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?96542-I-Did-Something-Very-Stupid&highlight=Phone+number

 

I would suggest either getting a Google phone number or a pay as you go phone that you only use for your hobby activities. The only way I can think that maybe they got your picture is if your Facebook account has the phone number on it. I don't have my phone number on my FB account.

 

Gman

[Steven_Draker]

The whole scheme behind 'ExposingJohns' looks like blackmail and money extortion.

 

Can you provide a link to the Backpage profile?

[+ Gar1eth]

I looked at the page for several weeks when I first was contacted. I felt safe because it only had the phone number that changed without my name or picture. This made me relooking- the site now has my name associated with my old phone number although neither my picture nor my address have shown up on it yet. It only shows up so far on a websearch if I google my old number. I don't see the site pop up if I google my name. Luckily there are a few other people with my name within a 100 miles or so. But being able to google my old number and have my name pop up on the site is distressing.

 

Gman

[Tommygunzz]

http://dallas.backpage.com/MaleEscorts/best-hand-and-much-more-1-male-escort-1-22/28406427

[bigvalboy]

Thanks for the information TG. I have emailed it to a couple of friends of mine that use BP and CL fairly regularly. I have seen that face before, not on BP or CL, because I never go to those sites, but my best guess would be on M4M or Masseurfinders. Would your guess be that the masseur was part of the scheme? OR are they randomly targeting clients who frequent those sites? The whole thing is very disturbing.

[Scorpio]

I have seen that face before,

 

Here it is:

 

http://www.masseurfinder.com/members/jakesuave2.shtml

 

But with different phone #, stats and rate structure.

[Tommygunzz]

My guess is that someone associated with exposing johns lifted some pictures and posted them on backpage. I'm drawn back to that statement in their home page where they admit setting up a sting like that.

 

Gman was right They could have lifted my picture from Facebook.

[bigvalboy]

Here it is:

 

http://www.masseurfinder.com/members/jakesuave2.shtml

 

But with different phone #, stats and rate structure.

 

Thanks...now it is all coming back to me. He is located a few miles from my old house, and I remember now thinking about hiring him, but just never feeling right about it.

[instudiocity]

I have no idea how they got my picture, but it's one that I use for my GRINDR and SCRUFF profiles.

Anything appearing in an app can be reduced to a photo simply by taking a screenshot of what's being viewed on the smartphone. For iPhones, a screenshot is taken simply by pressing both the home button and the lock button simultaneously.

[instudiocity]

There is an app in Mac OS call Network Utility. It has a WHOIS search. This is the result of the search.

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered

with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net

for detailed information.

Domain Name: EXPOSINGJOHNS.COM

Registrar: NET 4 INDIA LIMITED

Whois Server: whois.net4domains.com

Referral URL: http://www.net4.in

Name Server: NS3.NL.TREXDNS.COM

Name Server: NS4.NL.TREXDNS.COM

Status: ok

Updated Date: 16-apr-2014

Creation Date: 15-apr-2013

Expiration Date: 15-apr-2015

>>> Last update of whois database: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 02:27:23 UTC <<<

Looks like from this data that it is an INDIA based registrar of the site.

 

Looks like a scam from the prices they're charging and from the way they're operating. I think I'd call the FBI and see what I could find out.

[+ Gar1eth]

I wish this were Europe. I'd have Google delete the link with my former phone number to that site.

 

Gman

[johnjohn]

I have started being careful before contacting people lately . A lot of ads on all the site are set up for these guys, when you hit them up, 1st thing they want is a contact # and keep asking for it. I back off. If texting or call can use Heywire or some other free site for text and calls.

[JoeyBryant]

I wish this were Europe. I'd have Google delete the link with my former phone number to that site.

 

Gman

 

Well; I try to tell ya, I try to tell ya. When I make statements about things like how guys balk at the idea of paying, a lot of this goes deeper than just having a negative attitude. It goes deep into the very core of denial, condemnation, and plain old witch burning. People in America have been conditioned to believe that if they use an escort, there could be consequences to doing so.

 

This (exposing johns) site just proves everything I've been speaking of in my ad, is indirectly related to the shame a person can be made to feel...if they so much as even think about seeing an escort.

 

I had a business partner who was accused of sleeping with escorts and I did not want that kind of activity associated with my business. Lucky enough I found his profile on this site doing a cell phone number search on google and I was able to confront him. This bit of information helped me keep my brand clean.

 

Quote from website. But, would it have made any difference if he was associated with the local swingers club?

[+ FreshFluff]

My advice:Use a Google voice number for texting/calling but DO NOT link it to your usual Google email address. Link it to a Google address with a fake name on it.

 

These sites make me mad. I wish I were a hacker so I could run a denial of service attack on them. They are probably run by one guy and it would take time to get the site back up

 

As for the FBI, the sites are all based outside the US to keep them out of reach of American law enforcement.

[+ Gar1eth]

 

These sites make me mad. I wish I were a hacker so I could run a denial of service attack on them. They are probably run by one guy and it would take time to get the site back up

 

I was just thinking that earlier this evening. I was reading the Wikipedia article on how to do it- but it might as well have been in Chinese. You'd think there would be a high probability that some guy they've targeted is a hacker and would have already done this to them.

 

As for the FBI' date=' the sites are all based outside the US to keep them out of reach of American law enforcement.[/quote']

 

Didn't the US Govt shut down offshore gambling sites from being available in the US?

 

I didnt actually solicit the ad that got me in trouble. I think I texted him that his pictures were obviously fake. So if any security checks can find the text, that is what they will see. Also I remember that the number that texted me to inform me that I was on the site was a phone number registered to a guy in Houston.

 

Gman

[JoeyBryant]

My advice:Use a Google voice number for texting/calling but DO NOT link it to your usual Google email address. Link it to a Google address with a fake name on it.

 

That could cause issues for someone if they contact guys like myself who rely on proper client screening measures. I have caller ID on all my phones, and having a client's actual name on the caller ID, can mean the difference between seeing or not seeing the person. If I trace a number belonging to a walmart top-up phone, or some google voice number...that makes me leery. Person could be a killer. Or less dramatic, a joker. Better option, would be to stick with well-reviewed, well-known escorts like myself with a clean, reliable track record. Even on classifieds, clients know I'm legit. Which is why I have the classifieds market in my hands. They look at everyone else, then they look at me. It's a no-brainer.

[instudiocity]

Didn't the US Govt shut down offshore gambling sites from being available in the US?

 

I didnt actually solicit the ad that got me in trouble. I think I texted him that his pictures were obviously fake. So if any security checks can find the text, that is what they will see. Also I remember that the number that texted me to inform me that I was on the site was a phone number registered to a guy in Houston.

 

Gman

Yeah, and the FBI took custody of the Libyan national accused of the Benghazi attacks in Libya. There are FBI Legal Attachés in every embassy we have. The FBI is the lead investigative agency of the US government for International Blackmail.

 

Also, you can spook a local phone number to appear that you're calling from a local number instead of internationally. Haven't you gotten Indian based customer service from a domestic number before?

[maninsoma]

Clearly this website is an attempt to blackmail people. I suppose that some clients are more likely to succumb to such threats even if they aren't credible. I suppose that if your public life is that of a heterosexual, married man then someone presenting information to the world that you hire male escorts could be damaging to your home and career lives. For some of us, though, I'd say that the threat of exposure is not particularly meaningful. It isn't like I go around telling everyone I occasionally hire male escorts, but my closest friends all know. And if this information was shared with people who don't already know, it's basically just gossip anyway.

 

If I were contacted by this website and I did have more concern about the potential negative impact being listed there could bring, I'd probably just ignore their threats. If the person (or people) behind this website have any intelligence, then they will throw out lots of bait (i.e., send the initial texts to clients whose phone numbers they've collected) and then see who follows up by searching for their name or phone number on the blacklist website. By doing so, all that client is doing is verifying that that information is something someone is concerned about and identifying themselves as someone who is perhaps more susceptible to being blackmailed.

 

This discussion did remind me of a couple of experiences I had about a decade ago. One involved me calling the phone number supplied by the supposed escort only to have the phone answered, "San Francisco Police Department." I was a little freaked out because it actually did sound like I reached the police dispatch center, not just that someone was answering his phone that way. The second involved me calling a supposed escort who started out the conversation normally and then veered into a lecture about how what I was doing was illegal and that I better be careful.

[tanman4u]

Just out of curiosity I went to the site and was about to search for my phone but stopped when I thought about it. If I enter my phone number as a search on the site, doesn't that pretty much alert the site that I have a phone number that I'm worried about and increase the probability that I'll see myself on it? And of course who would ever think of going to a site like that to search for a husband/boyfriend/coworker?

[+ Gar1eth]

Yeah, and the FBI took custody of the Libyan national accused of the Benghazi attacks in Libya. There are FBI Legal Attachés in every embassy we have. The FBI is the lead investigative agency of the US government for International Blackmail.

 

 

I, and I am being totally serious and not sarcastic, don't understand what point you are making here.

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

That could cause issues for someone if they contact guys like myself who rely on proper client screening measures. I have caller ID on all my phones, and having a client's actual name on the caller ID, can mean the difference between seeing or not seeing the person. If I trace a number belonging to a walmart top-up phone, or some google voice number...that makes me leery. Person could be a killer. Or less dramatic, a joker. Better option, would be to stick with well-reviewed, well-known escorts like myself with a clean, reliable track record. Even on classifieds, clients know I'm legit. Which is why I have the classifieds market in my hands. They look at everyone else, then they look at me. It's a no-brainer.

 

Joey, I've seen multiple people use Google Voice numbers. In fact I've seen several reputable escorts use them. And I'll bet there are even more escorts using them than I know about. Nothing is perfect. And if you aren't meeting with Google Voice people, you may be missing out on some legitimate clients. On the other hand, I understand your concerns.

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

Clearly this website is an attempt to blackmail people. I suppose that some clients are more likely to succumb to such threats even if they aren't credible. I suppose that if your public life is that of a heterosexual, married man then someone presenting information to the world that you hire male escorts could be damaging to your home and career lives. For some of us, though, I'd say that the threat of exposure is not particularly meaningful. It isn't like I go around telling everyone I occasionally hire male escorts, but my closest friends all know. And if this information was shared with people who don't already know, it's basically just gossip anyway.

 

It's not just a social problem. Many jobs/licensing require pre-employment security checks- physicians, lawyers, social workers, law enforcement, teachers. Even some volunteer positions like volunteering at a hospital now require a background check ( when I was in college I volunteered at two different hospitals- I was the reading cart guy at one of them- in those days all you did was go by a volunteer office and sign up. I looked into volunteering a few years ago when I had some time off work. They required some type of security/background screening. I ended up not volunteering- not because of the screening but because work ramped up).

 

So the question is will this website show up on a typical security screen.

 

Gman

[marylander1940]

The whole scheme behind 'ExposingJohns' looks like blackmail and money extortion.

 

Can you provide a link to the Backpage profile?[/color]

 

I agree with you, right on SD.

 

Once thing is not showing up to an escort's appointment or to misbehave with him, in that case the escort has the right to warn other escorts about the client's way of dealing with working men, but when a website contacts guys asking them for money in order to clear their names from the site, that's blackmail.

 

I guarantee you that site won't last.

[maninsoma]

It's not just a social problem. Many jobs/licensing require pre-employment security checks- physicians, lawyers, social workers, law enforcement, teachers. Even some volunteer positions like volunteering at a hospital now require a background check ( when I was in college I volunteered at two different hospitals- I was the reading cart guy at one of them- in those days all you did was go by a volunteer office and sign up. I looked into volunteering a few years ago when I had some time off work. They required some type of security/background screening. I ended up not volunteering- not because of the screening but because work ramped up).

 

So the question is will this website show up on a typical security screen.

 

Gman

 

A background check would presumably look for an arrest and/or conviction record. I would hope that simply finding a phone number on a website an individual set up making allegations for which there is no other evidence wouldn't be used by employers to screen candidates. If that were to happen, wouldn't that be easy to assure one's own employment by posting unsubstantiated deleterious comments about others? (I know that one doesn't always know the names or phone numbers of other applicants, but certainly when it comes to careers such as doctors and lawyers the people know the names of their fellow students and/or interns.) I know that many employers will now look at what people post on Facebook and the like, but it's very different to judge someone based on the information he posts about himself rather than an isolated allegation made by an anonymous poster on some website.