Although scams happen on both sides of the camming equation – from members AND models, I will focus on the ways you can be scammed as a camgirl, and ways to prevent it, because unfortunately there are a lot of people wanting to take advantage of newbie and inexperienced models who are just entering the industry.
AGENCIES/STUDIOS/PROMOTERS
There is NO need for anyone starting out in camming to be signing up with an agency or a studio. Please remember this very important tip! You should be signing up with the cam sites directly, without anyone else’s interference, as these studios bind you to a contract and take a percentage of your earnings, for supposed “promotion” and assistance. You can do your OWN promotion on OnlyFans, Twitter, Instagram, Manyvids, etc. There are a ton of avenues to bring in traffic, and none should include an agency or a promoter. You may also encounter some Twitter promoters who will ask you for naked photos or even free Skype shows(!) in order to promote you online. Don’t fall for this tactic and don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Be completely independent. Take a look at this post to try out some sites and sign up with them directly and read up on some beginners guides to get started. Studios cannot give you any extra advice that you won’t find yourself online.
MEMBERS WHO SCAM
Unfortunately, there are a lot of members who frequent cam sites who are just looking for a freebie and have no desire to pay for your services, ever. At best, they will be merely annoying and ask for a free show, but at worst, they will promise to tip you or pay you with Amazon gift card or PayPal after you’ve done a show and never do, or will retract that payment. You should approach anyone offering to pay you *too* much for a Skype show with skepticism. It will almost always be over Skype, since they want to take you away from a cam site that would require them to tip for a show. They will always promise to tip you right after the show and then disappear and block you. OR they may pretend that they’ve sent a payment (such as sending a fake Amazon gift card email) or sending money through PayPal. With PayPal, that payment can always be reversed, so please only accept it from a member that you’ve known for a long time and one you trust.
The bottom line is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are so many stories of girls being scammed this way: by giving a long, explicit show and never getting the payment. So, be very careful with Skype and only accept to do a show once the tokens have been deposited to your account, as that is the best method to ensure you’ll get paid.
MEMBERS WHO STALK
There is another type of member who will become enamored with you (in an unhealthy way) and try to get as much information from you as he can by pretending to be your friend. This can be done in a few ways. They can straight up ask you about things like where you live, what sort of events you go to in your city, etc. by acting friendly and curious. Be vigilant about answering these types of questions, as you don’t know how this information can be used and by whom. Read my post about camming safety and security for specific tips. What these members can also do is send you links to supposed funny images or videos that will lead them to get your specific IP address, which will reveal your city and potentially your approximate location in the city. They can then put these pieces of information together to find out who you are and then harass, blackmail, or stalk you.
Being a cam girl is not the easiest job in the world, because it comes with challenges like these and people who will want to take advantage of your inexperience. Be extra careful and use common sense, and when situations feel weird, never be afraid to say No.
