Avoiding Freelancer Scams and Extortions

[Member #4491]

There are lots of extortion stories in Angeles City

OK. I did not know extortion was common in Angeles. I was 25+ times in Philippines and not once in Angeles, so I know nothing about the risks or scene up there. In my world, where I go, I find the risk to be low. But as you suggest this has little bearing for someone that is not walking in my footsteps. Not arguing with you (before or now) I do want to mention for all these newbies that supposedly are lurking here, motivating us opinionated pervs to invest hours and hours of written wisdom in this site, that generalizing risks can be a risky matter. One might end up with an all to pessimistic view of mankind and the world, in turn risking to miss all the fun and die of heart attack from over consuming sugar and fat to cure the boredom and self contempt over not grabbing the few moments of joy life offers, during our short visit here.

One could also argue that investing to much effort in risk reduction, might in turn reduce the emotional bonding a female will be inclined to indulge in. Even a short time freelancer needs warmth and affection to perform at her best. So maybe it is actually an issue of weighing different risks against each other. One perhaps actually trade, instead of eliminate risk. The risk of finding oneself in the pound me in the ass penitentiary for failing to haul up that wad of 20 PHP bills repeatedly over the last hour, against the risk of reducing the love making to a distrustful and cynical act of pushing one piece of meat into another piece of meat. We have all been there and know what a waste of sperm this always feels like about 2 sec after we fired away on that sad hoe.

Barba is a naive trustful romantic. A risk taker perhaps, but with a huge portion of luck it seems. And if this luck one day ends, this will not make anyone else more (or less) right. It was part of the cost calculation. No one is right. Just different strategies. I previously wrote that girlfriends are safest. Of course they are but newbies, do not get me wrong. This is NOT the motivator. Girlfriends are simply the most fun and this governs my choice to 100. They trust you and give you so much more than a random pick up.

All the best.

B.

[Sammon]

exactly and well said, especially en relation to cebu. imho its an urban myth except when a high profile resident is targeted as in the famous hotel setup a couple of years ago and discussed ad nauseam on the local expat forum. the police in that case are currently being sued.

i advise all who are concerned about this to stay safely at home and spend their money whacking off to girls on web cam chat sites.

i agree with this wholeheartedly. mongering is for the brave. there are certain risk involved with it be it be diseases or victim of a scam. there are no real guidelines to avoid this. in spite of your best efforts you can be a victim.

most common is **** threat. generally you are safe if you pick up from a bar. there are plenty of freelancer girls in phi and scammers are very few. otherwise there would have been hundreds of foreigners in jails accused of [CodeWord123], ****, sexual violence etc. it is not happening. just go about your business taking normal care. if you are afraid stay home like david said.

[Member #4351]

I never had any problems of this kind. Did anyone here have to pay their way out from a situation like this? Is this a real problem for people or primarily an imaginary monster of men outside their comfort zone? Do not get me wrong, I appreciate general warnings a lot but it would be interesting to know how many of the mongers here that actually was in a situation where he was set up for extortion.

Exactly and well said, especially en relation to Cebu. IMHO its an urban myth except when a high profile resident is targeted as in the famous hotel setup a couple of years ago and discussed ad nauseam on the local expat forum. The police in that case are currently being sued.

I advise all who are concerned about this to stay safely at home and spend their money whacking off to girls on web cam chat sites.

[FurryFriend]

FF:s post relates to casual freelancers, and at the end of the day it is safest to go with "girlfriends" (of bar-girls or hoes that friends refer to you of course).

Of course, going with known girlfriends is the best option. But when mongers are in town, they don't have time to know really know the girl. Picking up freelancers on the streets, in the malls or online is a mongering essential outside Angeles City and Manila.

There are lots of extortion stories in Angeles City, a few in Manila, and fewer still elsewhere. Even if the risks are comparatively low in Cebu, I don't want to risk even the miniscule chance of spending time in a Philippine prison waiting months for their super slow justice system to work. Besides, these countermeasures don't cost anything (except the one about using a throwaway room).

Not that I want the girl to extort me, but if she does, I'll just pay a few thousand pesos if I'm really that unlucky. But if the cops are involved, that can get downright terrifying.

I think it's worth impressing upon newbies to take at least some countermeasures. Lots of guys think with their small heads, which is a great way to get into trouble in the Philippines.

I like your advice on telling the girl, before getting into a taxi, to make any final calls or texts now.

[Member #4491]

most smartphones can make voice recordings. you can secretly audio record your sessions or just at the end of a session when she's about to leave the room. without her knowing she's recorded, get her to to say that everything is ok and that she'll see you again soon. this proves [CodeWord123] did not occur in the room.

although quite a paranoid picture you paint, these are sound advice.

once i had a girl that started to act a bit unbalanced, but i told her "hey, look here at your text message. is says that you want to fuck me and do not expect any money, and now you are freaking out for not getting a pair of 1500 php jeans", and she eventually calmed down. i did of course give her money, but any ideas this flaky girl had about crying [CodeWord123], vanished as she realized she sent me sexy pictures and text messages, indicating she is far from the saint she likes her lola to believe her to be.

apart from this, i never had any problems of this kind. did anyone here have to pay their way out from a situation like this? is this a real problem for people or primarily an imaginary monster of men outside their comfort zone? do not get me wrong, i appreciate general warnings a lot but it would be interesting to know how many of the mongers here that actually was in a situation where he was set up for extortion.

looking at ff:s list, i can conclude i am not as paranoid. nowadays not so many of my girls are random pick ups like this, but when they are, i most often just go to a st hotel i choose as i go. for more reasons than security, the no phone-policy is a must. first of all i am paying for her company so the others will have to wait, and unless no one is following the taxi / car / bike, there is no way they can pull off a set up if the do not know where you are. obviously this advice is crucial. i ask the (unfamiliar) girl "is there anyone you need to text now? once we get a taxi i will ask you to not use your phone at all during our hour together".

sometimes i film the girl saying "yes i will try to take it up my ass for 500 php extra", and then, if i am in the hotel, i upload the clip and tell her that "this masturbation material will be safe on the encrypted and private server even if someone steals my camera". the movie of her actually taking the hammer up her bum is naturally even better to have, so i normally film the whole session (don't ask just tell her you will do it, and then do it).

gang bangs will also make a set up harder. you can just point at your friends and say that it was someone else that fucked her, and you where just wanking in the corner. but maybe harder to find good friends than to avoid extortion setups.

ff:s post relates to casual freelancers, and at the end of the day it is safest to go with "girlfriends" (of bar-girls or hoes that friends refer to you of course). keep the girlfriends hungry for a next session (future profits) and sustain the image of how busy you are "with work", and you will have few limitations as of how many of these gf:s you can have going simultaneously. one of my girlfriends "just swallowed her pride" and asked her for some help over the chat. the first time she ever asked me actually, but for sure not the last time she swallowed something that made her a bit uncomfortable. .

barba

[FurryFriend]

i wrote and posted this advise on avoiding freelancer scam and extortion on another forum. i wrote it specifically with cebu in mind.

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for those with extensive experience with street girls in manila, cebu or elsewhere, what do you think of these countermeasures to reduce the odds of a monger being victim of extortion?

the modus operandi of these scammers appears to be for the girl to go in your room and then calling or texting an accomplice (including police) to show up to extort you for having sex with a minor or for being in a room with a minor (which is illegal). or after sex with a girl clearly of age, cops knock on your door hours later to charge you with [CodeWord123] per her complaint.

granted, if you're in angeles city, there's never a need to pickup a freelancer. but elsewhere in the philippines, particularly outside manila, picking up freelancers on the streets, mall or from a dating website is a mongering essential.

these recommendations are ways to detect, deter and thwart an extortionist.

1. question her age.

ids aren't worth shit in the philippines. so you have to question her aggressively. ask her age and year of birth. even if she gives the "right" answer, play dumb and say "hey, that makes you 20, not 18". if she even considers your answer for a second, she's lying.

or tell her you can definitively reveal her age from closely inspecting a certain body part like her palm, fingers, lips, teeth, etc. then do an "inspection" and insist she's a minor and gauge her reaction. if she thinks you're a rich educated foreigner, she might actually believe you have such abilities ("in america, police can tell your age by the color and shade of your eyes").

other strategies include asking for her zodiac or star sign. or quiz the age and year of birth of her siblings and, after she gives a long list (filipinos usually have large families) have her repeat it to see if her story change.

you can even go perv by saying "you're cute but do you know someone who's 16 or 17?" and see if she suddenly admits to being ****.

when someone's lying, they tend to trip up, stumble, refuse to answer or suddenly go quiet, especially someone young, nervous and pressured by cohorts to scam. truthful people usually go on the offense when challenged. this isn't a foolproof lie detector but it's far better than relying on her merely claiming her age.

2. no phones.

keeping her from her cellphone is probably the most important tip here for it deprives her the ability to summon accomplices.

ask her to leave her phone with someone. if she understandably cannot, tell her it must remain off and it goes into the room safe until the service is over. if she needs to call, tell her she can always use your phone.

if she asks why you're requiring this, tell her you don't want her distracted while paying for her time.

most scammers will not agree to go with you if her modus operandi gets disrupted and when she's left in-field without assistance.

if she promised to keep her phone off but turns it on later, it's your sign to bolt.

3. give misinformation and misdirection.

there's no reason to tell the girl any truthful information about you. all she should be concerned about is getting paid doing what she agreed to do for an agreed duration.

naming your hotel during initial negotiations allows her to inform cohorts where she'd be (where they can ambush you). if she asks where you're staying, name a random hotel but change your mind in the taxi. there's no reason she'd object to a change of venue if she's legit.

of course, never give your real name either or even how long you've been in town.

4. use a throwaway room.

this may be overkill and only for particularly paranoid people like me who don't mind the slightly added expense.

in any philippine city, there are cheap hostels which they call "pension houses". many will charge hourly and won't ask for i'd.

these accommodations allow you to make a quick getaway if you suspect a set up brewing. they also prevent the scammers or police the ability to find you later. if you use your actual hotel, hotel staff can reveal your real name and passport number to police and philippine immigration can stop you at the airport from exiting.

5. take her far away.

scammers rely on nearby cohorts since it's impossible for a girl to extort you alone. if they're far away, it becomes time and expense consuming for her accomplices to come to her rescue. or you can be far enough so that the cop she's working with has no jurisdiction.

for example, if you pick up a streetgirl in central cebu, tell her your room is in lapu-lapu. by taxi, it is 45 minutes away, enough to deter a scammer from going with you. as you pull away with her in a taxi, look behind to see if you're being followed.

a girl shouldn't object going reasonable long distances if you give return taxi money (upfront, if necessary).

6. lowball her offer.

if a girl wants to set you up, she will likely be desperate to go to your room immediately. so give a ridiculous lowball offer. if she asks for p800 and she accepts an immediate counteroffer of p250 without resisting, she could be a scammer.

7. check if she's stalling.

i want to thank someone on this forum for this one.

once both of you are in the room, notice if she is stalling. there's no reason why she wouldn't want to get down to business immediately, especially if you've negotiated a short-time session. this isn't a bargirl who've already been paid upfront and may stall hoping you'd fall asleep without fucking her.

if the freelancer is stalling, you boot her. not just because she may be waiting for cohorts to arrive but also because she's a non-performer.

8. keep an audio recording.

this tip is also for paranoid people like me.

most smartphones can make voice recordings. you can secretly audio record your sessions or just at the end of a session when she's about to leave the room. without her knowing she's recorded, get her to to say that everything is ok and that she'll see you again soon. this proves [CodeWord123] did not occur in the room.

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granted, all these recommendations could be overkill. but if you do most of them, it should drastically reduce your odds of being entangled in a police extortion. it's also worth advising you to question the girl in a friendly, light conversational tone or a legitimate provider might get creeped out and refuse to go with you.