In our previous post on client-inititated scams that tend to litter the world of camming, we dove into trickery and fraudulent behavior related to clients and patrons themselves — the PayPal Guy, the “It’s On The Way!” Guy and more. Things coming from outside the community, versus within.
It’s good to be aware of client-initiated scams, however, there are certainly a lot of scams occurring within the industry itself. Just because a company wants you to work with them doesn’t mean they are reputable, well-paying or even safe. Further, just because another model wants to “collaborate” doesn’t mean they are knowledgable, well-intentioned or — also — even safe. Sadly, cam models should also be wary of scams coming from peers and the community.
Let’s explore a few industry-initiated scams to look out for, shall we?
1. The Promoter
If you can take away anything from this post, let it be this: You do NOT need to join an agency or hire a promoter when you first start in the cam industry.
A promoter may hit you up via social media at different points throughout your cam modeling career. Be they legitimately good at management and social media or not, they will promise you complete social media management and an influx of patrons to your paysites for a cost or percentage of your earnings. Some may even ask for free nudes or videos for “promotional purposes.”
You are more than capable of researching the know-how and promoting yourself via social media. You can build your own brand. It will likely require focus and a bit of a grind, especially at first, but really isn’t that difficult to do. Sign up with paysites directly and promote your own stuff instead.
Bottom line: You can do anything a promoter can do, and you can do it for the cost of your time only.
If at some point you find yourself looking for outside help, be mindful of who you are partnering up with, as well as whatever agreements you sign. Paying for legitimate services is not a scam, especially if you find yourself needing to outsource in order to dedicate yourself to the tasks key to being a successful model.
Always be mindful of what services are being provided in the exchange though — and make sure said services are actually being done, and done well. Even the best outsourced service provider doesn’t work on autopilot. It’s a great idea to stay engaged with those who are working to manage parts of your brand.
Pictured below: Different industry than cam obviously, but a great example of a woman promoting her work and business.
2. The “I’m Totally A Cam Model, Too!” Scam
This one is sort of a mix of a client scam and an industry scam, and it is certainly a common thing that happens.
Many cam models use Skype. Some Skype users who want your goods will pretend to be another cam model or “aspiring” cam model. They’ll ask to get added to your Skype camming list without having to pay. Not only is it very uncommon for fellow cam models to ask each other for free shows, but it’s also pretty unethical to ask another cam model for free content. If they were really a cam model, they would know how valuable your time and money is.
If you mainly use Skype for camming, be wary of these (usually) fake models. Ask to video chat before adding someone like this to any of your cam groups, or just tell them you’re not interested right off.
We are not aware of any scams happening in the pic below, but this cute skyping model was too perfect to not share!
3. The Best New Frenemy
This one sucks to hear sometimes — because we truly want to believe we’re all in this industry together and need to take care of each other — but we’d be remiss if we did not mention your best new frenemy.
We’re not saying to avoid other cam models like the plague. Make friends and network! There’s nothing wrong with that. If you are part of a paysite that has a competitive edge and rankings that directly contribute to more earnings however, be wary of cam models who contact you with promises of raising your scores. More often than not, it’s more of a bribery type deal. They will want something back for helping you out with views and rankings, including nudes, videos, tokens and straight up money. Depending on how your competitive paysite works, these individuals will offer to “buy” videos or content from you and expect that money to be returned with interest in the near future.
These members should be ignored, and you should play the game the legitimate way. Being a cheater won’t help you in the long run of your career, and you’ll end up with a bad reputation on the paysite.
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Em Casalena is a queer sex positive writer and professional protective mom friend. Email them at em@ynotcam.com.
Image via Jean Scheijen.
Such a great and informative article. Being a cam model some of these hit home. Thank you for sharing your insight.