New to the hobby and have been lurking and reading through the newbie questions. I have been considering signing up with preferred411 as it seems to be big in my area, but I have a question related to this.

There are several providers listed on preferred411 that I would be interested in but have not been able to find any/very few or just old reviews of them on TER. I know it is suggested for people new to the hobby to go with providers that have several reviews, but if they are listed on preferred411 shouldn't it be safe?

TER is not the review site of choice in all areas.  I'm on the west coast and if you notice, my reviews here dropped off nearly a year ago.  They pick up again on another site.

The purpose of the reviews isn't just to know who is legit, it's so you can get an idea of what a session would be like before spending valuable time and money.  

If current info on a provider is important to you, check her website and see what links she has.  If she has reviews on multiple sites, she probably has links to those sites.  Failing that, you could send an introductory email asking where to find her most current reviews.

While preferred411 is good you might want to consider date-check as well. Most providers like myself are on date-check site..  while others are on TER. While i have 1 review on tbd, i can provide references from my clientele who will vouch for me as well so its up to you how to get reviews of future providers you want to connect with.
SweetPeach

Preferred 411 does verify providers who wish to sign up with them. I signed up before I became involved with the TER community and I had to have 3 very well established providers vouch for me that I was legit. They also had to have been providers who worked with me. It was a tough process as they really wanted reviews to verify me but in the end it worked out.

Hope that the insight helps you make an informed decision as to if they are "safe" for you.

Yes i know the procedure for Preferred411, as i used to be on there back in March 2010 then cancelled my site link. Just got reapproved today and am back on there again.  The info i had to submit got me verified... 2 providers and 1 review link..
Have a great week