We’ve all done it. We’ve all sneaked off to one of those self-publishing classified websites and clicked on the personal ads, took a quick glance over the shoulder then clicked on the casual encounters page. No, no, it’s not to pick up someone for the night, really it’s not. It’s just to read the funny ads, just to laugh at the poor desperate fools who are so blatantly begging for a little physical love.
It’s okay, I’ve told myself that, too, before clicking the link to place my own ad. But after wading through pages and pages of automated replies from bots and links to pay adult sites, you start to wonder what went wrong, and swear off internet love for good. Well, until you go back to that website to, you know, laugh at all the desperate ads.
But with a little practice you’ll be able to identify the fake ads.
The internet gives you a feeling of anonymity. Be very wary of any ad that lists the poster’s name, phone number, email address or IM. Most people want to take some time to get to know a stranger before meeting them in person. Anyone who is willing to skip this step and spew their contact information to web is more than likely “working” or trying to send people to their adult pay site.
Pay attention to the pictures that are posted with the ad. No supermodel-looking person is going to place a personal ad on a free site, ever. That’s a fake ad, and you’ll more than likely be directed to a pay site.
Most of the fake ads are spam. Read a lot of ads before you actually respond to any. You’ll begin to see the same messages and photos being repeated. Soon you’ll be familiar with the spammers on the site and you’ll be able to skip right over them.