paypal and escorts: potential scam or just living in modern times?

[spunky]

among the many perversions my body commands me to indulge in, muscle worship/domination is close to the top of my list. just recently this gentleman got on my radar

 

http://www.rentboy.com/Listing.aspx?lid=561716&scid=124557003&sp=1&pos=14&locid=539&iid=495026&type=escort

 

(or if you don't like following outside links just look for 'Alexys' in the Vancouver (Canada) section of RentBoy)

 

and i decided to email him. i quote his reply below:

 

I charge 150 per hour and if you want to meet u must send a deposit by paypal so i know u geniune and lets set up all details meet,i can incall or outcall,if you interesed let me know so i give u my email paypal adress and set up meet and we can do all you wish.

 

Alexys.

 

there were a few things that sounded a tad bit off to me... he lists a German areacode number and emails from a Romanian web provider (did a backsearch through his PIN although that could mean nothing). he seems to have advertised on RentboyBerlin and Rentboy Sydney as well and just the overall of paying him by paypal before even meeting seems... strange.

 

i also think $150 is a little bit of a lowball (i'm used to $300 hourly rates for professional bodybuilders) so i'm starting to wonder whether this ad is for real or not (or maybe he just doesn't know what the going rate is). just recently i was able to save myself some money by google-stalking another escort on rentboy and finding some very bad reviews about him on other muscle-worship websites, so i'm a little bit paranoid.

 

is 'pre-paying' by paypal/skrill/CCBill/etc. a *thing* now? i mean, it seems reasonable in order to secure some money but in my (somewhat short) career of hiring, this is a first. if anyone recognizes this guy as legit (or fake) please share. right now my brain and my nether regions are in a lock down as far as what i should do here...

[mmk123]

since this seems to be someone new I would ixnay the Paypal payment

 

Now if it was someone well established like Steve Draker or Vin Marco or someone with a stellar reputation, then I would go ahead and paypal the payment

 

I am sure that this might become more common for escorts to do this just like some except credit cards now

[Steven_Draker]

Why don't you follow the Golden Rule: NEVER PREPAY THE WHOLE SESSION AHEAD OF TIME.

 

(it's especially valid for sending money to an unknown entity)

[maninsoma]

Unless you're putting a deposit down for an extended appointment, why would you need to pay in advance? Sounds ridiculous to me.

[spunky]

thank you all for answers guys. who am i kidding, this guy is definitely a fake. i kind of thought about something similar to what Steven_Draker said (i.e. only paying part of the session and the rest when we met) and he response was:

 

Downtown also located,you must send 150 by paypal and one hour is payed and if u will want more you pay cash them,if all ok let me know to give u my paypal emial adress and set up all details meet.

 

Alexys.

 

i was a little bit more thorough with my IP address search on this email and i noticed that this guys' IP address bounces around europe quite a bit before it makes it to an American server in Maryland... but the point of origin is (drums please.....) RUSSIA!

 

oh well. another scam avoided.

 

thank y'all!

[bostonman]

since this seems to be someone new I would ixnay the Paypal payment

 

Now if it was someone well established like Steve Draker or Vin Marco or someone with a stellar reputation, then I would go ahead and paypal the payment

 

I am sure that this might become more common for escorts to do this just like some except credit cards now

 

Right.

 

I doubt there is any issue with Paypal itself - I have used it to pay for items won on ebay, or similar online transactions, and have never had a problem - though I've never yet used it for an escort.

 

But clearly the issue here is the prepayment (in any form), not the use of Paypal in of itself.

[imrthr]

 

Right.

 

I doubt there is any issue with Paypal itself - I have used it to pay for items won on ebay, or similar online transactions, and have never had a problem - though I've never yet used it for an escort.

 

But clearly the issue here is the prepayment (in any form), not the use of Paypal in of itself.

 

 

A rose by any other name is still arose, said several famous writers. In that regard, escorting (as we know it on this site) is legal in Europe, South America, Canada and many other countries. However, it is illegal in the United States. Consequently, if Paypal knew the type of transaction being paid via Paypal, Paypal would reject the transaction and fire the person (s) who opened the Paypal account. The terms and conditions of Paypal specifically state that they will not process illegal transactions. This means that in the U.S., it is prohibited by Paypal to use Paypal and certain credit cards to pay an escort's fee.

 

While we are on the subject of escorts accepting credit cards and Paypal, I have to wonder who (a client) would be so dense as to furnish a stranger (an escort) with a credit card number and PIN as well as a real name and billing address. Perhaps, if you knew each other for a while trust might be established enough to use credit cards.

 

Wonders never cease.

[bostonman]

A rose by any other name is still arose, said several famous writers. In that regard, escorting (as we know it on this site) is legal in Europe, South America, Canada and many other countries. However, it is illegal in the United States. Consequently, if Paypal knew the type of transaction being paid via Paypal, Paypal would reject the transaction and fire the person (s) who opened the Paypal account. The terms and conditions of Paypal specifically state that they will not process illegal transactions. This means that in the U.S., it is prohibited by Paypal to use Paypal and certain credit cards to pay an escort's fee.

 

Good point. I hadn't even thought about the legality of it all.

[Mark Gordon]

Actually, PayPal prohibits use for "Adult Services," regardless of whether the transaction is in a country where such services are completely legal or not. Of course, where there's a will, there's a way.. The fact is that there is some demand from clients to pay by credit. Personally, I would ask for partial payment only before travelling out of my metro area.

[imrthr]

Actually, PayPal prohibits use for "Adult Services," regardless of whether the transaction is in a country where such services are completely legal or not. Of course, where there's a will there's a way.. The fact is that there is some demand from clients to pay by credit. Personally, I ask for partial payment only before travelling out of my metro area.

 

 

"Of course, where there's a will there's a way.."

 

Okay, supposing the "will" and the "way" were created. Suppose, also, that the tranaction went bad (such as the escort did not honor a commitment) do you have any idea what sort of documentation must be furnished by the "purchaser" to Paypal to have the transaction reversed?

 

I hope you realize that your "will there's a way" maneuver will be discovered by Paypal if the client disputes the transaction. The dispute will trigger adverse results for both the escort and the client. The escort will have his account closed and the client and the escort could be criminally charged with soliciting (if they live in the U.S.) which charge would be easy to prove simply by examination of the transaction and what it represented. There are many police stings. A client paying for the services of an escort via Paypal or a credit card makes proving the act simple.

 

I say "no" to the use of Paypal and/or credit cards for escort services.

[MiamiLooker]

among the many perversions my body commands me to indulge in, muscle worship/domination is close to the top of my list. just recently this gentleman got on my radar

 

http://www.rentboy.com/Listing.aspx?lid=561716&scid=124557003&sp=1&pos=14&locid=539&iid=495026&type=escort

 

(or if you don't like following outside links just look for 'Alexys' in the Vancouver (Canada) section of RentBoy)

 

and i decided to email him. i quote his reply below:

 

I charge 150 per hour and if you want to meet u must send a deposit by paypal so i know u geniune and lets set up all details meet,i can incall or outcall,if you interesed let me know so i give u my email paypal adress and set up meet and we can do all you wish.

 

Alexys.

 

there were a few things that sounded a tad bit off to me... he lists a German areacode number and emails from a Romanian web provider (did a backsearch through his PIN although that could mean nothing). he seems to have advertised on RentboyBerlin and Rentboy Sydney as well and just the overall of paying him by paypal before even meeting seems... strange.

 

i also think $150 is a little bit of a lowball (i'm used to $300 hourly rates for professional bodybuilders) so i'm starting to wonder whether this ad is for real or not (or maybe he just doesn't know what the going rate is). just recently i was able to save myself some money by google-stalking another escort on rentboy and finding some very bad reviews about him on other muscle-worship websites, so i'm a little bit paranoid.

 

is 'pre-paying' by paypal/skrill/CCBill/etc. a *thing* now? i mean, it seems reasonable in order to secure some money but in my (somewhat short) career of hiring, this is a first. if anyone recognizes this guy as legit (or fake) please share. right now my brain and my nether regions are in a lock down as far as what i should do here...

 

It might have been quicker to just google his pics. They belong to Alexey Shabunya (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexey-Shabunya/246005842081733). The Rentboy ad states the escort is 6'9" and weighs 308 lbs. Alexey Shabunya's Facebook page says he' 6'1" and weighs between 271 and 287 lbs.

[Mark Gordon]

I would think it would be very foolish of any client to engage with PayPal regarding such a matter or try to dispute a transaction for a payment they had made to an escort. If you're American, I wouldn't think calling the police in such a situation would be very bright either. Nevertheless, some people do like to spend money that they don't yet have in their bank accounts, and businesses and service providers all over the world have been known to cater to such clients. From the escort's point of view, only the funds currently in their PayPal account are really at risk. New PayPal accounts are easily opened.

[rvwnsd]

...is 'pre-paying' by paypal/skrill/CCBill/etc. a *thing* now? i mean, it seems reasonable in order to secure some money but in my (somewhat short) career of hiring, this is a first. if anyone recognizes this guy as legit (or fake) please share. right now my brain and my nether regions are in a lock down as far as what i should do here...

 

I don't think pre-paying is the norm, nor do I think paying by PayPal is necessarily a scam. However, pre-paying by any means is risky unless you know and trust the person you are paying. As more than one poster pointed out, billing a client for any adult service using PayPal is against their rules regardless the country in which the transaction originates. As Mark Gordon stated, there are ways to skirt the rules. One can do a personal transfer or state that the payment is for goods and services without specifying what those goods and/or services are. The benefit to the client is that the biller never sees the client's payment information. However, the biller will see the client's name and the client will see the biller's name. At the end of the day, the least risky approach is to pay at the end of the session using cash.

[spunky]

thanks everyone for your input. i didn't go forward with anything (nor did he contact me back). it's also very unlikely that someone of the stature of Alexey would risk posting pictures of himself on rentboy. if experience has taught me anything is that bodybuilders tend to be eager to get rid of their 'secret careers' as soon as they get some corporate sponsorship, and it seems like this Alexey guy's got it.

 

i've gotta say i'm impressed w/ MiamiLooker! i didn't know you could google pictures!

[Steven_Draker]

i didn't know you could google pictures!

 

Here, Spunky

 

[video=youtube;t99BfDnBZcI]

[spunky]

thanks! dayum, and i always thought i was good at this tech stuff.

 

you always learn something useful in this forum board XD

[rickp]

Using paypal or other credit card/electronic forms of payment seems to me like taking something incredibly simple and over-complicating it. Cash in person at the end of the session is the only way to go for me.