Thanks Mariah hun x

They can trace unregistered sim cards.

The police can trace any phone they want including all deleted texts/calls, clients can't trace though unless they want to pay a lot of money to a dodgy policeman which I doubt they'd bother

  I wouldn't be surprised or shocked if those numbers shown on AW were already in the database of the County police headquarters along with the trade name and real names (poss. and passport photo).   As far as I know shop assistants at phone shop can access the database.

  I wouldn't be surprised or shocked if those numbers shown on AW were already in the database of the County police headquarters along with the trade name and real names (poss. and passport photo).   As far as I know shop assistants at phone shop can access the database.

My reason for not wanting to register my true details has nothing whatsoever to do with the police. I'm not working illegally so couldn't care less whether they know who I am or not. As it happens, the police already know that I've worked as a sex worker as I reported a couple of incidents involving sex work a few years back. My reason for the unregistered SIM is to maintain my anonymity with customers. Too often I'm reading things about customers finding out very personal information and contact details and then using it to 'out' or blackmail a fellow working girl. I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen to me so I'm starting as I mean to go on, with total anonymity.

As for the police, they're out catching real criminals. Your average independent sex worker wouldn't even feature on the police radar as prostitution is perfectly legal. If AW released registrants' details, it would only be on a case by case basis and on disclosure by the police of a valid warrant to obtain that information, e.g. in the case of people trafficking/forced/underage prostitution, etc. Aw wouldn't blindly supply in bulk anyone's details because if it came out it would destroy them. AdultWork may be stupid, but they're not that stupid.

Why would phone numbers of escorts who choose to pay and display their number on AW be registered in the county police headquarters????Escorting isnt illegal in the UK. Numbers are only on a police database when they have been contacted so they would need to keep a log. It would be a huge waste of internet/server space if every single number attached to an escort via a escorting site was in a police database

I don't know.  They are known to have the intelligence of all sorts, to maintain their own data without us even knowing. Some counties are accepting and others, not so.   I live in a fairly conservative area, very very few escorts around.   
What I am saying is, if something did happen to me, then they might already be potentially aware that I was advertising myself on AW based on my registered mobile number.   What I am saying is your numbers displayed, on any public websites, aren't going to be "confidential" either registered or unregistered.  People who have access to the mobile phone database, even as banal as shop assistants (not even need to be the well-resourced, police force) may be able to find out who you are at any time without "hacking into the system".   

Privacy has been difficult (if not impossible) for the average individual to maintain since the Anti Terrorism, Crime and Security act of 2001 (later replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act). There are several provisions on both which could breach articles of the Human Rights Act... Anyway not to get political, but if the police or security forces want to find out information about anybody, they can. The question is are they going to bother gathering that information on people who are working within the law, paying tax, and don't flag any kind of "threat" radar.

My belief is that unless you are a native of a country which is high on the threat list, or you have ever belonged to certain political groups, or taken part in an anti-government protest, they are not going to be bothered.

There is no need to have your work phone unregistered.

Who is going to try the almost impossible task of finding out a private number to try to out you? People really aren't that interested in outing us. Clients that are usually have a vendetta against girls that they are close to already and they have a falling out, hence the emotional break down from the clients end and them wanting revenge: they already have the personal information on the woman. It's not a stranger getting information from a friend that works from Tesco mobile, it's information you willingly gave to them that they use against you. People are seldom victims of crimes involving emotional abuse, threats etc with strangers. If someone wanted to threat you as a sex worker they would threaten to come and bash you unless you gave them money each week as they controlled this area you live in, not to out you. Outing is a personal-related crime, most likely going to be committed to someone you've developed a relationship with that's turned sour.

You're more likely to end up chopped up in pieces in a bin or missing and when a mutual sex worker friend reports so before your family realises as you live a double life where you have some story to cover up why you are away travelling etc, they really are going to wish that they had your real name registered so they could notify your family or get some clues that could help you.

I hear the precise and clear logic and I'm grateful for sharing these, ladies. . .   

However, there are people, who actively choose to have unregistered SIM because, in their gut feelings, the real identities could be outed (or the real identities could be potentially exposed) which may lead to the losses of civvie posts and the whole embarrassment factor once being found out.  However, it's entirely up to individual escorts, who risk-assess their own pros and cons of displaying their number.  If it's ok in one group of escorts, there are others who may feel slightly differently, if that makes sense?    Great discussion!!!