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Author Topic: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth  (Read 177703 times)

trotski

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Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« on: 18 August 2008, 06:58:30 pm »
hello everybody,
im writing to see if anybody has heard or used the above agency, i applied online and had a reply by post within a few days saying that my membership was accepted,they enclosed a standing order for ?49.95 per month but stating that i wouldnt be paying any fees until i had had a booking the date of the standing order is for the 1st of the month and on friday(15th) i received a booking for the 12th of september so im worried that i will have already paid ?50 but the booking could be a scam and ill be ?50 out of pocket. they do seem very professional enclosing my own personal membership card and on the booking asked me for a recent photo, i must add that i have already been "done" by paragon escorts for ?70 so please dont use that company but there communication was by text only and never asked for any personal info off me i just fell for it big time.if anybody could help ill be grateful.

xw5

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #1 on: 18 August 2008, 08:45:32 pm »
my membership was accepted,they enclosed a standing order for ?49.95 per month but stating that i wouldnt be paying any fees until i had had a booking the date of the standing order is for the 1st of the month and on friday(15th) i received a booking for the 12th of september so im worried that i will have already paid ?50 but the booking could be a scam and ill be ?50 out of pocket

Contact your bank and cancel that standing order now - they're a scam.

Their basic scam is that they make up fake bookings and keep taking the money until you realise you've been done.

Fortunately they're not quite as appalling as some others, so you're not left having paid hundreds of pounds into a bank account with no chance of getting it back.

'The Ian formerly known as SW5'. What they said: "Indispensable", "You are our best resource", and (hours later!) "I'm afraid that you're being made redundant..."

Winding down YourEscortSite.com

brandy@saafe

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #2 on: 18 August 2008, 10:31:44 pm »
Firstly I'd want to know why they don't have any profiles or galleries of these supposed "up to 500 males".

Secondly I'd like to know that why when it says on the home page that you don't pay a joining fee, they're asking you for ?49.95 a month. Whichever way they want to colour it, they want money off you, which is a big no-no.

Thirdly, I'd also want to find out how they've been supposedly going for 10yrs but their copyright is only from 2007 and isn't updated to include 2008.

Please avoid anybody that asks for money or for your bank details. I would certainly view this site with suspicion.
« Last Edit: 18 August 2008, 10:35:15 pm by brandy@saafe »

xw5

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #3 on: 19 August 2008, 09:52:20 am »
It's what I call the 'Network' scam after the first one of the type I saw. They say 'no joining fee, only pay when you've had bookings', which sounds great. The problem is that they invent the bookings, always for next month, so they can take the money.

Paragon, who were the other bunch who caught trotski, came up with a variation which promised no joining or monthly fee, just commission, which sounds even better... until you discover that they wanted the commission for the first booking in advance 'so we can be sure we can trust you'. Obviously that's a fake booking too, but at that point they're waving a booking for the next few hours at you - ooooh! - so an annoying number of people fell for it.

It looks like they've switched to being a Network clone - their 'commission' has dropped, and they charge ?70 the second they invent a booking.
'The Ian formerly known as SW5'. What they said: "Indispensable", "You are our best resource", and (hours later!) "I'm afraid that you're being made redundant..."

Winding down YourEscortSite.com

Mr_Nice_Guy

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #4 on: 22 September 2008, 11:45:39 am »
I'm looking to start out as a straight male escort working from Glasgow & Scotland. I'd love to work for a genuine agency (if there is one), preferably one which takes no upfront fees (coz I'm skint!)

I'd appreciate any help or advice anyone could give, thx x

Anika Mae

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #5 on: 22 September 2008, 12:00:44 pm »
I'm glad you haven't paid any fees, but I'm afraid you have been taken in by the hype created by fake agencies. Odds are, you'll never get any work as a straight male escort.

If you want to give it a go, SW5 lays out the options.

amy

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #6 on: 22 September 2008, 03:21:40 pm »
Have you thought about working as an escort driver? Judging by the last few days postings on the forum, there is definitely some demand for discreet, professional, reliable drivers (I wouldn't mind one myself for longer trips if I could find someone I trusted). You'll earn more than you are likely to as a straight male escort but then again, you also would if you were working in Aldi - sorry but apart from a very few exceptions, I think it's generally accepted as a non-starter.

The scam agencies will tell you otherwise to get your money - have a read of the Sticky threads at the top and don't fall for it.

xw5

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #7 on: 22 September 2008, 05:18:45 pm »
No-one knows of any real 'straight male' agencies. Thirty per cent (or any other agency cut) of nothing is nothing and so the scams can out spend anyone attempting to start one.

That leaves working independently, and a quick look at A____W___ shows 69 men wanting to escort women in Glasgow there already.

The vast majority will never get a booking, even if one has a couple of probably fake reviews. (Two reviews but only seven profile views since February? Come on...)
'The Ian formerly known as SW5'. What they said: "Indispensable", "You are our best resource", and (hours later!) "I'm afraid that you're being made redundant..."

Winding down YourEscortSite.com

Mr_Nice_Guy

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #8 on: 22 September 2008, 05:28:28 pm »
Anika - Thanks for the link to SW5, great info. From what I've read, I think I've realised there's probably no market (or very little) out there for straight male escorts. I may pursue the indie route just to see how I get on and maybe offer a buddy service for local indie's who maybe get requests for couples, if this ever happens. Many thanks again x

Amy - Escort driving sounds like a good idea, if I can make enough money through maybe a few local indie escorts. I have my own car and can be discreet and professional, be able to handle any situation that arises and ensure safety is the key. Damn shame you're in England or we could have spoke about this further. Thanks a million :-) x

xw5 - Thanks for having a look at this for me, reality strikes!  :D I might just see how I get on as an indie, just to see if I can offer a niche or just to satisfy my curiosity! There's lots of useful info on this site to sift through and I'm working on it slowly. Thanks!

Leila

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #9 on: 22 September 2008, 10:04:41 pm »
Hey! I Private mailed you earlier.. Im In glasgow and will probably be looking for a driver if your interested?

xx

Mr_Nice_Guy

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #10 on: 22 September 2008, 10:15:20 pm »
Hey Leila,

Sorry, I thought I relied to you earlier. I'll send another PM now :) x

jonny001

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #11 on: 07 October 2008, 09:22:30 am »
Hi everyone.

Trotski thanks for your info on Paragon was just about to get done myself! Fuckers! Um, can anyone give me a legit male escort company with no fees up front? As I've contacted all sorts,  Cavendish Knights is one,  who were profiled on TV, yet they don't even reply to my email!?

I'd appreciate any sort of help...

Thanks,

Jonny

xw5

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #12 on: 07 October 2008, 09:51:55 am »
No we can't, because there isn't one. Sorry.

The only good thing to say about Cavendish Knights aka SIGUK is that it's perhaps the cheapest of the scams to fall for. Because of the way the client is supposed to pay them then they give you your cut, all the money counts as their turnover for VAT purposes. As they're not VAT registered, this tells us that their turnover is low - it works out as less than one booking per week or less than one per 'escort' every five years from memory. It might not be much, but that upfront money for 'security checks' is their income.

Don't confuse being featured on some local radio programme with being any good. I'm slightly surpised a couple of them haven't had the cheek to plaster 'as featured on BBC Radio!!' across their site following this: www.bbc.co.uk/wales/x-ray/sites/allarticles/updates/8p03_escort.shtml
'The Ian formerly known as SW5'. What they said: "Indispensable", "You are our best resource", and (hours later!) "I'm afraid that you're being made redundant..."

Winding down YourEscortSite.com

thomasanderson

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #13 on: 23 October 2008, 09:51:42 pm »
has anybody heard of red rose escorts they seem to be a fairly new agency in manchester and ive been offered an interview with them and a "fake date" with one of her friends to see if i can handle my self on a nit out in a bar with a client just wondering if anybody else has been for an interview or heard of them an if they`re legit or scammers as there seem to be so many out there

cheers

Hermione

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Re: Straight male escorts - the scammer's favourite myth
« Reply #14 on: 23 October 2008, 11:33:40 pm »
The "audition" you are expected to do screams scam