An agency is offering free membership and will issue a client number after screening.  The agency happens to have reviews on TER.  Am I setting myself up for future trouble if I join their membership?

Probably.  Remember though, how he got caught.  His wire transfers to a couple of dummy corp.s was what got the bank involved with LE and that's how his name came up.

Be that as it may, agencies must, to do business, keep fairly extensive records - records that can easily be obtained by LE.  And that's where the trouble lies.

Independents, however, have much smaller client bases and are far more flexible handling records.  Simply, they are not a big enough target for this sort of sting.

Whatever you do, keep in mind the paper trail you might be leaving behind.

No trouble, you'll just get updates and access to VIP areas (nude pictures).