Need some advice in handling this one

[spagmagater]

Hey guys,

 

I contacted an escort who's ad showed up on AmericanMaleEscort yesterday for Columbus OH (it has since disappeared, his name was Alex). I got a response from my email which said something to effect that he was not comfortable talking about things over email and preferred that I send him my phone number so he could call me.

 

Recently I responded to a Cleveland ad which turned out to be fake and then got the nasty email reply that I wrote about in a previous thread so I am not wanting to get a simialr response on my phone.

 

So, what do you think, is this the next step in the evolution of the scam that has been plaguing AmericanMale or do you think its legit? Should I send him my number or just insist to communicating over email for now? If the pic on the ad was not so appealing I wouldn't even worry about it, but, if he is for real I definately want to meet him.

 

I'm really curious what those of you with more experience with this than me would do. Help!!

[Boston Guy]

If the pic was removed from American Male Escorts, the escort was almost certainly a fake and the ad part of the scam.

 

For some reason that isn't at all clear to me, the scammer has used certain cities over and over again, with Columbus being one of them. So that's another reason to be suspicious of this guy.

 

More to the point, suppose for the moment that it was part of the scam. Why in the world would you want to even risk giving your phone number to someone who's perpetrating fraud? Who knows what other criminal activities this person is guilty of?

 

Or, here's another thought: perhaps all of the Columbus fake ads were being run by the Columbus police -- one reason why they'd want to speak to you over the phone instead of via email. We know they pursue escorts (just ask Jeff, who used to escort there until his arrest), so why not clients?

 

My contacts with AME today have led me to believe they are a bunch of good guys trying to do the right thing. Why in the world would you use an old ad that was pulled by them to potentially put yourself in harm's way?

 

As they say, think with your big head, not your little one.

 

Regards,

BG

[Steven_Draker]

If the ad has disappeared there is a reason ... be careful !

 

Steven ~

[spagmagater]

Thanks guys for the advice, obviously I knew that was the right thing to do but I needed some reinforcment. I figure his ad was pulled because it had no number listed and that violates the site's new policy.

 

I'll just go under the assumption that this is part of the scam. Do you think this new policy will help end his little adventure or will he not give up that easily and start posting phone numbers on his phony ads?

[Casteran]

Alex could have disappeared as AM.net changed posting policy that all ads must have a phone number, if not they were deleted. Visit site today and there is an update on home page. There are a couple of escorts that I have seen, whose ads are now gone as they did not advertise a phone number. Be careful in Columbus anyway, I have rarely found escorts that match their ads.

[Boston Guy]

If a phone number is posted, a client should call that number before engaging an escort. That gives a direct link to the person at the other end. If it turns out to be a scam -- not that anyone should ever send money in advance anyway -- then the number can be used by the appropriate authorities to trace the scammer.

 

So, yes, I think it will go a long way toward ending it, at least on Americam Male Escorts. I do think, however, that we'll see fake ads start appearing on other escort sites, which will require convincing those sites to also tighten up their policies.

 

BG

[+ deej]

>I contacted an escort who's ad showed up on AmericanMaleEscort

>yesterday for Columbus OH (it has since disappeared, his name

>was Alex). I got a response from my email which said

>something to effect that he was not comfortable talking about

>things over email and preferred that I send him my phone

>number so he could call me.

 

Have you been paying attention?

 

The reason the scammer wants your number instead of you calling him is HIS PHONE NUMBER WOULD BE TRACEABLE. Unlike free email addresses and websites, he can't get new phone numbers at the drop of a hat that disappear without a trace. But he can use a pre-paid calling card to call you fairly anonymously.

 

If the kid is legit, he'll put up another ad. This time with phone number. If you do respond to his email, you might even suggest that.

 

I would not even consider contacting one of the ads recently removed by AME.

[spagmagater]

Yes deej, I have been paying attention. That's why I hesitated to call him and consulted the board first.

 

What I am not real sure of is all of the ramifications of someone getting my phone number. For instance, with this history, if "the kid" does post a new ad with a number would there be any danger in calling it. I mean, verbal abuse I can handle, but identity theft I'm not too keen on.

[Guest zipperzone]

My vote would come down on the possibility of a police sting. Be careful. Catching Johns is priority # 1 and such a nifty way to spend tax payer's dollars - NOT

[Guest jeffOH]

I'm not sure about this Alex you're talking about. I've worked with the Alex on page 3 and their has been a Russian guy named Alex who I've seen advertise off and on.

[Boston Guy]

I don't know if the Alex from Russia is still escorting or not. I haven't seen any ads for him for a few months. Either way, he's a very nice guy who is hot and smart and not, I'm sure, part of any scam.

 

BG

[Guest ncm2169]

< If the pic was removed from American Male Escorts, the escort was almost certainly a fake and the ad part of the scam.

 

< I would not even consider contacting one of the ads recently removed by AME.

 

EXCUSE ME!!!!!

 

No one here wants to end the Nationwide/Cupcake, et al, scam more than I do, and I've invested more than a little time and effort to do so.

 

However, before we all get carried away here, let me tell you some facts about this latest AmericanMale snafu:

 

I am currently working with a new escort whose first Review was recently published. He got listed on AmericanMale about two weeks ago, but he did not post a phone number because (a) his cell had been shut off due to an unpaid bill, (b) he couldn't post his land line for discretionary reasons, and © he prefers initial contact by email.

 

He had been receiving responses to his AmericanMale listing and suddenly they stopped. I told him I'd read here about the recent "purge" of all escorts without phone numbers posted, and suggested that might be the reason. He was surprised because AmericanMale never advised him of the purge, and never gave him a chance to update his info to include a phone number. He checked, and his listing is gone.

 

His cell is now operative, so yesterday he logged in to AmericanMale, and tried to update his contact info to include his cell number. There is no option to do so.

 

He emailed AmericanMale, but received no response, so he re-registered. He gave AmericanMale his cell number if they need to contact him, but it is not posted in his ad/listing.

 

I will venture a guess that several hundred legitimate escorts have been purged recently by AmericanMale, just because they have good and valid reasons for not posting a phone number. How many of them will know that their listing is gone? How much business will they lose?

 

To repeat: no one wants the scam to end more than I do. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water here.

 

IMHO, there has been waaaay too much over-zealousness in this latest exercise, despite good intentions. x(

 

In summary, just because a certain escort (or several of them) has been recently purged by AmericanMale, DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME they're a fraud!

[Boston Guy]

Your points are well-taken.

 

But I don't believe that there have been several hundred escorts affected by this. In recent weeks, I've routinely sent random emails to the new guys on AME who I suspected were part of the scam. The responses I got back in every single instance -- every single one of them -- was "I work through Nationwide blah, blah, blah...". On some days, every one of the new escorts listed was a fake.

 

This has been going on for three or four months now. In that same time, other new listings were updates for guys who had previously registered with AME (like Small Town John, whose profile on AME is updated regularly) and who are, presumably, legit. Between the updates for guys already in the database and the fakes, there wasn't much room left for new, legit ads for legit escorts.

 

I'm sorry your friend was caught up in this. Certainly some legit guys will get hurt because of the actions of the scammers, just like some legit clients were caught up in the scam and lost their money. That doesn't mean that all attempts to stop the scam shouldn't be taken. If we find fake ads appearing on other sites, I will encourage them most strongly to follow AME's example and require listed phone numbers so clients can have a trail to follow to the escort in the event that the listing is part of a scam.

 

But how should an escort know? By doing what every other advertiser in the world does: routinely check his advertising. I would have thought most escorts on AME would have been aware of this scam by now and shouldn't have been too surprised by the requirement to post a phone. It would have been nice to allow current escorts to update their records to add a phone or even to have notified them. But perhaps AME's technology didn't permit those actions.

 

In any event, it's nice of you to be helping him and he's lucky to have help. Since he noticed it yesterday -- the very day the changes occurred at AME and the very day his listing would have been pulled -- one would think that the impact on his business would have been slight. And one would expect that culling out all of the oh-so-very-handsome fake models from AME would do two things to help your friend: reduce the "competition" and eliminate frustration from guys who thought they were trying to hire a legit escort and got caught up in the Nationwide bullshit. Both should help legit escorts on AME.

 

Finally, I don't believe that AME's actions, or the various opinions and reactions expressed here (includng my own) have been over-zealous. We were aware of an ongoing scam targeting gay men. What would you have done? Simply allowed it to continue? It seems to me that simply requiring a phone number is the least dramatic action AME could have taken and I commend them for it.

 

BG

[spagmagater]

Update

 

I took your advice and contacted the escort saying I did not feel comfortable sending him my number but I would call him if he sent me his number. I got a very genuine sounding reply saying times were tough and he did not have a phone at the moment, assuring me he was not part of any scam (like anyone would admit it).

 

Just today, I got a second email saying he just got a phone and he sent along the number. I have responded asking if he plan to reposts his ad.

 

So guys, is there any danger in calling this number to check it out?

[Boston Guy]

Hard to say.

 

If you call using *67 or in some other way where you cannot be identified, there's probably little risk in calling him. Just be careful and follow your gut.

 

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

BG