Scam Pattern Check

Has the provider asked for a deposit by crypto, gift cards, or wire transfer to a personal account?

Legitimate deposits, where they happen at all, use cash, bank transfer to a business account, or low-fee app transfers in the local currency. Crypto/gift cards are an almost universal scam signal because they’re irreversible and untraceable.

Have they asked for a deposit before any voice or video confirmation?

Established providers may ask for a deposit, but typically after some screening exchange (a call, a video, an ID swap). Deposit-first-and-only is a high-volume scam pattern.

Are they pressuring you to commit quickly — "tonight only," "before someone else books," "limited time"?

Urgency is a classic confidence-trick lever. Real providers manage their own scarcity and rarely need to manufacture pressure on you.

Do the photos look professional, edited, or "model-like" beyond what would match the rate?

Stolen or AI-generated photos at low rates are a recurring scam pattern. Reverse-image-search any photo before depositing. Provider-generated content typically has some informal photos alongside the polished ones.

Are there NO recent verification photos (e.g. holding a sign, a date written on paper, a video selfie)?

Established directories increasingly require verification photos. Their absence on a paid directory profile is a small but real signal.

Is the profile new (under 30 days) with no reviews or trip reports anywhere?

New profiles aren’t inherently scams — everyone starts somewhere. Combined with other signals, no track record raises risk substantially.

Are existing reviews short, generic, or written in similar template-like language?

A profile with five-star reviews that all read like “great time, will see again, beautiful” with no specifics is usually self-written or paid-for. Real reviews include odd-but-specific details.

Are you booking from a directory or platform you don’t know, or one that surfaced via a sponsored ad / first Google result for a generic term?

Established directories have a reputation; new sponsored sites are sometimes scam aggregators that take deposits and disappear. Stick to directories with a multi-year track record in your region.

Is the contact number a VoIP / Google Voice / international number rather than a local mobile?

Some providers legitimately use VoIP for screening, but in markets where local mobile is the norm, a VoIP number is a small signal. Pair with other signals.

Does the language used feel "off" — stilted, machine-translation-like, or wildly different in tone between profile and chat?

Foreign-tour providers may have non-native English, which is fine. What raises a flag is profile written in fluent English but chat coming back as broken machine translation, or vice-versa — suggests the profile and the chat are different operators.

Are they refusing to give you any street address, building name, or area until after a deposit?

Some discretion on exact address until close to the booking is normal. Refusal to give even a general area or hotel name is a setup pattern — either no real venue exists or the venue is a robbery setup.

Are they pushing you to meet at a residential address or hotel you wouldn’t otherwise choose?

Sessions in unfamiliar private residences or low-grade hotels are the typical setup for robbery scams. Insist on a venue you choose, or a major-chain hotel.

Is the rate substantially below market for the area and listed services?

Bait-and-switch profiles list very low rates to attract contact, then escalate prices on arrival. Compare to other listings in the same city.

Have they raised the price after first contact, citing "agency fee," "verification fee," "tax," or similar?

Almost always a scam. Real providers state their full rate up front. Layered fees added late are designed to extract larger deposits before you can cancel.

Does the profile list every service imaginable with no qualifications, restrictions, or extras-pricing?

Real providers usually have services they don’t offer or things that cost extra. A profile that promises everything to everyone is more often a fake than an unusually accommodating real provider.