I see what you are saying, and why you are thinking that, but the thing is, if a bust is going to happen, one person is going to be in on it. Either the hobbyist or provider is a decoy/LE, or they are genuine but are trying to flip to work off charges. So, if you were already being set up, then it would not make a difference when you provided the cash to her, because if she or her agency were cooperating with LE, they would already be collecting evidence of your email exchange, and would likely arrange to be present whenever the transaction took place, whether or not it was the same time or place of the meeting and in any form, they would still know that you contacted her for services and paid her for services, which is the issue at hand. But on the flip side, if she is well-reviewed and responsible, then adding a paper trail (much of that stuff, pay pal, western union, green dot, requires some real identifying info on either person's part, often both- real names, bank info, social security number, proof of ID. So to do it this way not only would not protect you if she were working with LE, but would attract unwanted attention and create a paper trail where one otherwise wouldn't have existed for a legitimate provider and a legitimate hobbyist. Does that make sense? I think that is how most people who have been around the hobby would see it or explain it, although I can see why you would have thought otherwise, you just have to think about the circumstances in which you could be placed at legal risk, and the role that would be played by the provider- either you are LE, or she is. Unless you are soliciting on the street and LE sees it happen, they would have no reason to know where you were or what was happening and try to get you both in trouble- they are either coming after you, or after her. But if you can verify that she is legit by recent reviews, well known reviewers, intuition, etc. and simple things like whether she screens, whether she acts professionally and discreetly, etc. then cash is the best way to go and doesn't increase your risk any more- imo it minimizes it.