It’s late. My eyes are bleary and my head feels fuzzy.
I’ve been online for approximately 2.5 hours, and in that time I’ve earned approximately 2.5 hundred dollars.
My hands feel sticky (a hazardous side-effect of the job), and my hair feels like a rat’s nest... And I’m thinking about safety.
Is Webcam Modelling a safe job? Because when you work in the mall, you can call security… And when you work in an office, you can call the police. When you work in the sex-industry… Who is there to protect you?
Shortly after signing up at MyFreeCams.com, one of my regular clients took a peculiar liking to me. It's not uncommon to build relationships with the individuals that visit you in your chat-room (in fact I would say that returning-customers are the ground-work to flourishing as a webcam model), but I had a strange feeling about the way he interacted with me.
It turned out that he was a journalist in his home town (Oregon). He decided to sift through my photos until he found one he could Google image-search to find my personal twitter. By doing this, he was able to find out my legal name and where I live, making me feel incredibly unsafe. I felt frightened and was not sure what to do. In the end I decided to permanently block/ban him from my chat-room and un-friend him.
I have also often met men in my chat-room that live in the same city as I do. I cannot see them, and will have no way of knowing whether or not they stumble across me. So the question is - how do I keep myself safe?
Luckily webcam modelling is a legal source of income and there are programs in place to protect individuals from the “nasties” of the cyber-world, but I have created a list of my own for the benefit of any future CamGirls (or CamBoys), or for anyone that might be curious about the sorts of precautions that one might take in this line of work.
1. Use a fake name. Never give out your real name. Not for any reason, not any time. For instance; I use the name ‘Alex’ or ‘Alice’.
2. Never tell the truth about what city, province, or state you live in. Be general. “I live in the West” or “I live in the East” or “Canada” tend to work for me.
3. Block the Province, State, Country, or even Continent that you live in. If you are afraid of being stalked or running into someone you know on-line (maybe a family member or friend), it’s safest to block an entire region.
4. Never meet a ‘User’ in real life. It is not safe. It doesn't matter how much money they offer you. Just don’t.
* edit: There is no sure fire way to protect your safety when meeting face-to-face. That being said, if you do choose to meet a client in person for whatever reason, be sure to bring a friend with you, meet in a well-populated location, and send pictures of their ID or license plate to a friend. Have a code-word. Use your head.
5. Create a fake e-mail. This e-mail is one you can use to communicate with your favourite clients if they are interested in staying in touch. This is where your clients will e-mail your on line gift certificates and Amazon Wishlist goodies. It is also the e-mail you will use to create your new Skype, your Twitter, your Instagram, etc.
6. Create a new Skype. I don’t recommend using Skype as a new Webcam Model (it's easy to be screwed over, your IP address is traceable), however if you choose to, create a new account linked through your fake e-mail so that you are harder to trace. Remember, clients can still find out your IP address if they want to!
7. Never take PayPal or E-Transfers. Not only is your private information now available to the sender, but PayPal payments can be reimbursed to your ‘John’ if he can prove that the money was in exchange for sexual entertainment as ‘sex for money’ is against PayPal policies. Additionally, there is no way to protect your identity while using PayPal.
8. Do not use ANY photos that you have on-line anywhere else. There is technology that allows people to use a photo to search the internet. To simplify – There are search engines where you can, instead of typing in a word, insert a picture – then use this picture to search the internet and find out where the picture came from. Like your Facebook, or other social media. Use original photos only for your profile, or for sending to clients.
9. Don’t hesitate to contact the website provider you are working through, or even the police if you feel unsafe. Better safe than sorry.
The most important thing to remember when you’re Camming is that although the money is great – No amount of money is worth risking your safety. Never do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing, and keep your safety and security at the forefront of your mind.
With that in mind – It’s 5:00 in the morning and I need to sleep. Till next time.
Alex
I’ve been online for approximately 2.5 hours, and in that time I’ve earned approximately 2.5 hundred dollars.
My hands feel sticky (a hazardous side-effect of the job), and my hair feels like a rat’s nest... And I’m thinking about safety.
Is Webcam Modelling a safe job? Because when you work in the mall, you can call security… And when you work in an office, you can call the police. When you work in the sex-industry… Who is there to protect you?
Shortly after signing up at MyFreeCams.com, one of my regular clients took a peculiar liking to me. It's not uncommon to build relationships with the individuals that visit you in your chat-room (in fact I would say that returning-customers are the ground-work to flourishing as a webcam model), but I had a strange feeling about the way he interacted with me.
It turned out that he was a journalist in his home town (Oregon). He decided to sift through my photos until he found one he could Google image-search to find my personal twitter. By doing this, he was able to find out my legal name and where I live, making me feel incredibly unsafe. I felt frightened and was not sure what to do. In the end I decided to permanently block/ban him from my chat-room and un-friend him.
I have also often met men in my chat-room that live in the same city as I do. I cannot see them, and will have no way of knowing whether or not they stumble across me. So the question is - how do I keep myself safe?
Luckily webcam modelling is a legal source of income and there are programs in place to protect individuals from the “nasties” of the cyber-world, but I have created a list of my own for the benefit of any future CamGirls (or CamBoys), or for anyone that might be curious about the sorts of precautions that one might take in this line of work.
1. Use a fake name. Never give out your real name. Not for any reason, not any time. For instance; I use the name ‘Alex’ or ‘Alice’.
2. Never tell the truth about what city, province, or state you live in. Be general. “I live in the West” or “I live in the East” or “Canada” tend to work for me.
3. Block the Province, State, Country, or even Continent that you live in. If you are afraid of being stalked or running into someone you know on-line (maybe a family member or friend), it’s safest to block an entire region.
4. Never meet a ‘User’ in real life. It is not safe. It doesn't matter how much money they offer you. Just don’t.
* edit: There is no sure fire way to protect your safety when meeting face-to-face. That being said, if you do choose to meet a client in person for whatever reason, be sure to bring a friend with you, meet in a well-populated location, and send pictures of their ID or license plate to a friend. Have a code-word. Use your head.
5. Create a fake e-mail. This e-mail is one you can use to communicate with your favourite clients if they are interested in staying in touch. This is where your clients will e-mail your on line gift certificates and Amazon Wishlist goodies. It is also the e-mail you will use to create your new Skype, your Twitter, your Instagram, etc.
6. Create a new Skype. I don’t recommend using Skype as a new Webcam Model (it's easy to be screwed over, your IP address is traceable), however if you choose to, create a new account linked through your fake e-mail so that you are harder to trace. Remember, clients can still find out your IP address if they want to!
7. Never take PayPal or E-Transfers. Not only is your private information now available to the sender, but PayPal payments can be reimbursed to your ‘John’ if he can prove that the money was in exchange for sexual entertainment as ‘sex for money’ is against PayPal policies. Additionally, there is no way to protect your identity while using PayPal.
8. Do not use ANY photos that you have on-line anywhere else. There is technology that allows people to use a photo to search the internet. To simplify – There are search engines where you can, instead of typing in a word, insert a picture – then use this picture to search the internet and find out where the picture came from. Like your Facebook, or other social media. Use original photos only for your profile, or for sending to clients.
9. Don’t hesitate to contact the website provider you are working through, or even the police if you feel unsafe. Better safe than sorry.
The most important thing to remember when you’re Camming is that although the money is great – No amount of money is worth risking your safety. Never do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing, and keep your safety and security at the forefront of your mind.
With that in mind – It’s 5:00 in the morning and I need to sleep. Till next time.
Alex