Sex Work Is Alive And Well On Social Media Platforms

Sex work is a big industry, and it is surprising how prevalent it is despite law enforcement’s best efforts to curtail the unsavory business. Sex workers can comb through Facebook profiles, looking for single men and women that might be lured by the offer of easy gratification without someone they might not otherwise get to meet. Everybody has a fantasy. It’s normal. And if you’ve fantasized about a young hot woman, or an in shape and younger man, you’re human.

I’m not admonishing the sex workers, other than for the legality and the dangerous side of the business. We don’t live in a world where it’s safe for young women to enter the sex work industry and it’s an industry that is often wrought with abuses, slavery, drug addiction, and appeals to desperation in people. Thus, the reason for this story.

A Facebook Sex Work Scheme

If you’ve never seen a Facebook scam, scheme, or illicit account then consider yourself fortunate. They’re very prevalent on the social media platform and while Facebook is trying to route out accounts owned by people for nefarious reasons, it’s a never-ending battle.

How one of these comes to a person is easy. It starts with the friend request. Sometimes, it’ll start through messenger requests. They are seemingly innocuous at first. You might even find them easy to accept.

The first thing I usually do is to look at the profile. There are certain things I’ll look for.

The longevity of the profile is a key indicator. Does it look new? Do we have common friends on Facebook? If so, how many?

Pics of family, friends, posted videos, shared internet content. A lack of these things indicates the profile is less a personal profile and more a profile that was made for a specific purpose.

Quality of pictures. In the case of a single guy, are most of the pictures selfies that are borderline skin pics, slight flashes, or entirely “sexy shots?”

If everything seems innocent enough I might accept the request and just be cautious about the information I share. Especially in the case of profiles where I have several law enforcement friends in common.

Think that’s a safe bet, several law enforcement friends in common, especially for someone that spent 25 years in law enforcement? Not always. Let’s look at one in particular.

With several law enforcement profiles as friends in common, I accepted Jenny Whites' request. Her profile indicated she was a nursing student based out of Iowa, has images of two children that appear in what is consistent with park, swimming, birthday party environments, and a ton of casual shots. This particular shot doesn’t seem that bad. Gym clothes show off the toned abs, right? What about this one?

The above was a red flag. Less innocuous and more titillating, pardon the pun. But, the generations are different now and a younger generation is more into these kinds of shots. So, I tread carefully.

The friendly, unassuming messages start. They’re always the same, like any other person. Even people using Facebook to commit criminal acts know how to talk to a person and strike up a report.

J: Hi, how are you today?

Me: Fine, what’s up?

J: Not Much. Just looking for something to do this weekend.

So, is she checking out my interest? It looks this way. So, why is a girl like this interested in me and why doesn’t she have a boyfriend? After some very minor back and forth as I am trying to figure out if I’m being catfished or if she’s going to tell me my names on a list of grant recipients, she announces her actual intent.

There it is. But my first red flag, the first of many, wasn’t even the price tag? It was the detectable dialect in her typing.

I’m a student of RN in practice would be:

I’m a nursing student, or

I’m getting my RN, or

I’m in college

I’m up for fun, it weekend would be:

It’s the weekend so I’m looking for fun

It’s the weekend, I’m up for fun

I’m up for fun, it’s the weekend

Tips for Facebook scams:

Don’t accept profiles of people you don’t know.

Don’t give personal information out to people that you meet through Facebook.

Don’t meet people you meet on Facebook at home. Use a public place.

Pay attention to the way their messages sound in your head. People tend to type the way they speak. Dialect in writing is detectable if you’re paying attention.

Remember, if it’s too good to be true it probably is. Every year people get scammed out of millions through social media scams.

When in doubt, or when you know people are up to no good, report the conversations and profiles to Facebook and if it looks criminal, the proper authorities. Only then is social media being kept safe. Kids use social media and it’s disturbing to think that sex trafficking on social media is this prevalent.

Even if you accept a friend request, they can be blocked. Click on the profile and scroll down to “Block” and “Report.”

Final Thoughts

While this actually happened, I know how to spot trouble. Admittedly, I probably have a bit too much fun screwing with people who are using Facebook for illicit means. The lack of imagination and the lack of attention to detail is alive and well in the criminal “non-elite” and these things prove that. But, to desperate, lonely men, this might be something they’re going to fall for and find themselves dealing with other trouble.

While the picture of the girl is of an attractive girl, this could go bad so fast. The chances of a Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman situation coming out of meeting a prostitute online are what they are, for fairy tale romances. In real life, dealing with prostitutes is engaging in the sex trade industry and that industry, while sometimes victimless, is wrought with slavery, forced servitude, addictions, disease, and abuse of the workers. If that doesn’t help you not to find it appealing, time in jail and a prostitution bust on your criminal record will scar your world for life.

So, keep your eyes open when approached on social media for something like sex. As attractive a prospect as it might seem, it’s not worth the price you’ll pay on the other side of that offer.