I read a thread on another website today warning a community in Iowa that clients who had used a well-known provider as a reference led to their arrest. Is this common, or does this sound credible, even?

***Please don't ask me for links or for names. Not important at this point - the incident in question took place three years ago***

The interesting thing about the situation I read about, is that the provider was (at the time) high-profile and on tour. It seems to be a simple case of LE finding their references (which no doubt, said something like "yes, I've seen client John Doe") which makes it seem that this was all they needed to secure a conviction. Which tells us two things: 1) cops DO subpoena emails and their contents and 2) the importance of using a secure, fake and untraceable email address is something that should never be overlooked.

that is why I usually ask for 2-3 provider references.

An assumption IS a guess, of course it is. But not an unreasonable one. The warning I saw was not to use this provider as a reference, as it seemed that any information previously provided or currently asked for was apparently no longer under her control.

So a guess, not a wild one, but a reasonable one given the known parameters.

2) has been discussed, so underlining, double underlining and triple... lest we rest on our laurels.

If someone flips then LE can usually roll up a few of their clients.  Works both ways of course.