JUST GOT SCAMMED BY BACK PAGE ADVERTISER

[dcman]

Here was the ad:

 

http://baltimore.backpage.com/MaleEscorts/warning10inch-king-new-to-town/11243175

 

Note that it started with WARNING but nowhere on the back page site did I see what this means so I thought the advertiser was just being funny about his 10".

 

Got to the hotel (decent hotel in suburbs)

text him I was in lobby, he ask me if I was law enforcement, gave me room number

open the door and it is very dark, walk in and quickly realize it not the same guy at all, guy ask for

his "donation", I say I am leaving and head for the door, he bolts in front of me, tells me I am not leaving

until he has his donation and that there are other people in the bathroom.

I give him the "donation" and get the hell out of there.

 

LESSONS LEARNED

1) Never Hire off Back Page. Assume way to many ads there are scams.

2) I had asked the guy to meet me in a public space, the hotel bar or coffee shop etc, he refused.

3) The guy (IN THE AD) was extremely good looking for the $150 "donation"

4) Never enter an extremely dark room and don't let the escort get between me and the door.

5) I never carry any extra money with me when I see an escort anyway and all the more glad I have

adopted that policy as this could have gotten messy.

6) If it seems too good to be true IT ALMOST ALWAYS IS NOT TRUE !!!

7) Stick with guys well reviewed on Daddy's.

[bigvalboy]

You should have never gone beyond #2...period. But it sounds like it was lessoned learned. I realize not everyone can, but if it was a hotel where they cared about such things, and depending on the quality, I would have gone to the front desk, given them his room number, and told them that he was running a prostitution scam from their hotel, then just turned and walked away. They might have done something about it, you never know.

[HopkinsLad]

Glad you're ok. Backpage is full of frauds do a google search image. A lot of times these guys use pics that have floated around the net.

 

Also in this day and age ask for a real time pic.

[MiamiLooker]

Here was the ad:

 

http://baltimore.backpage.com/MaleEscorts/warning10inch-king-new-to-town/11243175

 

Note that it started with WARNING but nowhere on the back page site did I see what this means so I thought the advertiser was just being funny about his 10".

 

Got to the hotel (decent hotel in suburbs)

text him I was in lobby, he ask me if I was law enforcement, gave me room number

open the door and it is very dark, walk in and quickly realize it not the same guy at all, guy ask for

his "donation", I say I am leaving and head for the door, he bolts in front of me, tells me I am not leaving

until he has his donation and that there are other people in the bathroom.

I give him the "donation" and get the hell out of there.

 

LESSONS LEARNED

1) Never Hire off Back Page. Assume way to many ads there are scams.

2) I had asked the guy to meet me in a public space, the hotel bar or coffee shop etc, he refused.

3) The guy (IN THE AD) was extremely good looking for the $150 "donation"

4) Never enter an extremely dark room and don't let the escort get between me and the door.

5) I never carry any extra money with me when I see an escort anyway and all the more glad I have

adopted that policy as this could have gotten messy.

6) If it seems too good to be true IT ALMOST ALWAYS IS NOT TRUE !!!

7) Stick with guys well reviewed on Daddy's.

What due diligence did you take?

[caliguy]

What due diligence did you take?

All circumvented by the thought of that 10" Penis.

[bigvalboy]

All circumvented by the thought of that 10" Penis.

 

[rvwnsd]

...

 

LESSONS LEARNED

1) Never Hire off Back Page. Assume way to many ads there are scams.

 

We have seen plenty of reports of bad actors advertising on Rentboy, prior becoming defunct, and M4RN.

 

2) I had asked the guy to meet me in a public space, the hotel bar or coffee shop etc, he refused.

 

Is the lesson that when a guy refuses your request to meet in a public place you should decline to hire him? If so, that should be #1.

 

...4) Never enter an extremely dark room and don't let the escort get between me and the door.

 

I would say this should be tied for Lesson #1 with the one above.

 

7) Stick with guys well reviewed on Daddy's.

 

I recognize I am in the minority for having this opinion, but I disagree. Although the probability of a well-reviewed escort doing what this guy did is low, good reviews from other people do not guarantee you will have a good time. As I've stated before, I've had dates with well-reviewed guys that were so-so. Conversely, almost all of my dates with guys who do not have reviews have been fantastic. In fairness, my dates with two very well-regarded guys (Michael Vincenzo and Rod Hagen) were fantastic. I did not post reviews because I did not have the time to do so when we met.

 

The rule of thumb I would encourage all to follow is to decide what is important to you when hiring (make a list, if you need to) and if an escort does not appear to measure up, do not hire him. In fact, I would apply the same principle to anyone I was hiring for anything.

[+ stevenkesslar]

Glad you're ok. Backpage is full of frauds do a google search image. A lot of times these guys use pics that have floated around the net.

 

Also in this day and age ask for a real time pic.

 

In case you don't know, if you type the words "reverse image search" into the Google search box it will give you instructions on how to upload images like the ones on that ad from your computer to Google. I just did it to see what it brought up. No surprises. From what I could tell, some of the pictures have been on various Twitter feeds, some haven't. Here is another place I think all the Backpage pictures are posted:

 

http://www.gayescortsreviews.com/29215/index

 

I've never heard of the site above - gayescortsreview.com. Has anyone else? That site itself seems scammy. There's a hyperlink to his "34 reviews" except when you click on that it brings you to an Out Personals main page, not a review page. The ad, if that's what it is, refers to Charlotte, as in presumably the city, except the number area code is Louisville. All of that could be real, I'm not interested enough to call the number and see, but it certainly would have raised flags with me.

 

I've been called out once this week already, appropriately, for being "patronizing," so I should just leave it at that. But me being me, I won't. In the New World Order DHS apparently wants, we are all "Rentboys," and we are all in a more dangerous place than we were just a week ago. Thank God nothing violent happened to you, and it only cost you a $150 "donation". This is just the very tip of the iceberg, and it demonstrates how not having access to legitimate and professional reference points, like websites, exposes everybody to more danger and more harm. I agree with you, rvwnsd, that something like this could have happened on almost any website, or on no website. That to me is a good argument for why we want more ways to do due diligence, not less.

 

It is just shameful that people who are supposed to be trying to make us more secure are instead going to inadvertently create many, many more situations like this.

 

Okay, I'm getting off my soap box.

[jcmiami1]

That guy or his pic was on a Miami ad not to long ago. I go on BP to see whose around and thats it. Well in my area, Miami, most guys on BP are transients passing thru this city scamming men - mostly tourists - then disappearing. I had 2 bad experiences on BP with guys that only wanted drug money or were totally high when you got there - never ever again will I hire from there again.

You escaped a potentially "unhappy ending" unscathed but more wiser.

[BaronArtz]

Well, at least you didn't get arrested in a sting operation - if that is a consolation. Do you remember his room number? I would call hotel security and report that he is using the room for illegal purposes.