I've recently ran into 2 separate girls in the Dallas area that look super hot and are relatively inexpensive. The catch? They want you to buy/see their Cam show before u can make an appt. the cost is $25 to see it. They're claiming it weeds out bored men who are just screwing around on the Internet. So my question is, has anyone ever heard of this? And is it legit? It sounds like a scam to me. I'm not biting until I hear y'all's experiences.  

And why I'm here, I've been wanting to ask, is there a way to reach threads? Like say I wanted to look up whether anyone has posted anything about Cam shows before. Can I search old threads? If there is I can't find i

No need to have to pay an ante to see a gal.

It's not like they are Costco or something like that

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Are they real people y'all think? I have to say, I am curious but, I damn sure ain't puttin my CC to no crazy ass website. That's fosho!

I agree. Use the "Search" button to research the topic. You might want to post this question on your local board as well, but my guess is these girls are tease only and never meet.  

and while there are a few legitimate hookers who do cam shows, that too is a rarity.

So the short answer to your question is "yes, it's a scam, don't do it" and as for them being "real" people? Of course they are real, but most likely they aren't local, they run these ads in every market hoping to snare a few guys from each one, for all you know they could be in Montana or NYC, or even in another country. There really is no way to tell and I don't suppose many of us want anything but "the real thing" so save your money.

and yes, there is a "search" function here to find previous posts either by author, subject or other keyword.

Near the top of the page are 4 black buttons. "Top 10 posters," search," new thread,"  and "overview."
You must have clicked on "new thread" to start your thread. Search button is right next to it. Pretty much every topic has been discussed before. The trick is changing the date range when searching. The default is 30 days. You usually have to set a longer date range.  

As far as the cam thing, you got your answer. It's a scam to get your cc info.

I guess I'm an idiot! Hell I don't know how I missed it. You have to admit tho, it's not ur average search BAR you see on websites these days. It's a little confusing when u have in a drop down box "in search of" AND u don't have a box to type in. Just missed it. But thank u for the help.  

Two of the providers I've seen multiple times have been camgirls. In both cases, my first exposure to them was through TER, not through some blind hole whose first stop was a solicitation for cash-for-camera-time.

One is a young college student who had done camming in the past,  and legitimately, but found it generally lacking in penis & decided to go full-escort at a low volume. My my my my my, is all I can say. She popped up the the local discussion board before she had any reviews, and made herself noticed. As an escort, not a camgirl. Somebody TOFTT, and I'll just say - it's official, and all that shit - she's legit!

The other had been in a few pornos in the pre-digital age, and un-retired from providing after a period spent raising her kids. Last time I saw her, she was getting her camgirl thing going in a (hopefully) big way. Based on my experiences with her, she's legit as Hell as well. And somehow, she aged & became more attractive.

The business model of camgirls has changed with the advent of smartphones as a persons primary form of Internet access. The "girls" (They're Women) are (proportionately, compared to the past) less likely to be pirated, and they stand a reasonable chance of seeing a reasonable income from it. This is why there are so many scams out there - because the underlying context can be used as a medium for a legitimate business where both the camgirl & her customer can get exactly what they expected. Lotsa folks out there are perfectly willing to run sites that fulfill neither. Often the girl isn't aware of it until she realizes that she's not getting paid for her measurable performance - those are the scams, and they probably outnumber the legitimate sites by multiples.

But let's think about the concept of a $25 "screening" session. It's actually not absurd at all. I've never monitored a provider's email. It's GOT to be filled with a ton of time-wasting inquiries. I bet a lot of legitimate providers would LOVE a $25 put-up-or-shut-up filter. And I'm taking a wild guess that from an escort's POV, otherwise penisless time can be monetized - if only slightly - sorting out people she'd like to spend time with from those she'd rather not, as time worth spending.

I've been talking well over my head for a while now, but would suggest that reading the TER reviews of a camgirl-asking-for-money-up-front is a reasonable sorting strategy. If you can't do that, you're probably in scamsville.

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While a $25 "screening fee" is not a scam 100% of the time, it's certainly close enough to advise all mongers, especially newbies not to fall for it.

My main point was to look for TER reviewed providers. I mentioned one former cam girl who made her presence known on TER as an escort - and not at all as a camgirl - and an experienced monger TOFTT & determined she was legit. I don't recommend that a newbie try that.

The whole 'non-absurdity' thing was just stream of consciousness rolling off my keyboard, not intended to be the main point.

As a cam girl myself and a newbie escort I have tried the cam show screening before. Most guys do think it's a scam.  I started as an escort last year and then went to webcam and now I do both. I offered it as a way to make the client feel more comfortable knowing that I'm not going to show up and be LE. Now I just provide the direct link to my cam page or Twitter. My cam site rents a 3 min video for $1.99 for 24 hour access so you can definitely matchy video to my pictures. I don't think LE has gotten brave enough to show self pleasure videos to entrap clients.  

I've actually just spent that last 2 weekends in Dallas with a gentleman I met from webcam. He flew me from Florida to experience me in RL. All cam models have a profile on the cam site unless they are Indy and only do Skype. Next time just ask them which site they cam for.