# A way to tell apart the 5-dollar hookers and undercover cops **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028 "2012-08-01T03:40:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/21 "2012-08-01T05:59:36Z")
Just in case you really are that clueless: everyone in this thread is mocking you. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/22 "2012-08-01T06:12:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Sounds like you’ve have a lot of experience with police work. Where do you intend to employ this clever technique? And take video. They love that. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/23 "2012-08-01T06:13:50Z")
I have known a few hookers. In general, if a cop is pulling a sting, they’re arrested as soon as they get in the car. Cops will be more up front about the transaction than the average man, also. They tell me that they’ve almost never seen a sting involving a fake hooker targeting the johns. The other way around is much more common. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/24 "2012-08-01T06:22:11Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Just in case you really are that clueless: everyone in this thread is mocking you. _Pfffft._ Pay no mind to the haters, **griffon502**. They are just jealous that they didn’t figure this out themselves. > [@griffon502](#): > > Female undercover cops disguising as hookers are usually rookie cops, total newbies. Therefore they have little motivation to show their bodies. Ok, ok, break this down for me (small minds, ya know?): what happens if you get a _veteran_ police-officer who really has a hankering to whip 'em out? :eek: What then?? _Ingenious plot **backfire…** _ ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/25 "2012-08-01T06:29:24Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Ok, ok, break this down for me (small minds, ya know?): what happens if you get a _veteran_ police-officer who really has a hankering to whip 'em out? :eek: What then?? _Ingenious plot **backfire…** _ That’s why you pay them with a counterfeit $5 bill - if it’s not a cop, what are they gonna do? And if it is a cop, it’s not really soliciting because you weren’t really going to pay. C’mon guys, use the psychology! ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/26 "2012-08-01T07:20:17Z")
Tell the hooker a joke. If her smile reveals any indication of teeth, she’s a cop. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/27 "2012-08-01T09:28:00Z")
I don’t thing I’ve ever seen a $5.00 hooker. But I’m old and not up on prices for hookers or dope and any of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/28 "2012-08-01T12:09:51Z")
A $5 hooker? Who do think I am, that young Mr. Rockerfeller? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/29 "2012-08-01T12:21:57Z")
Now a five dollar milkshake? Yumm! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/30 "2012-08-01T12:28:16Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Have you ever even watched an episode of COPS?!? > > They arrest guys who pick up a woman who says “hey wanna party?” it is shocking how easy it is to get sweeped up in these stings. I take it that **grude** has never watched an episode of COPS, because in the numerous hooker sting episodes I’ve seen over the years, they’ve never shown one where the john gets busted for simply going with a woman who wants to “party”. There’s always a discussion of money for sex. That’s not to say that undercover officers are universally rigorous about these matters, but when the COPS cameras are on, that’s always what triggers the arrest. A suggestion for the OP - make sure the “hooker” actually commits a sex act with you before you agree to the transaction - that’ll assure you she’s not a police officer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/31 "2012-08-01T12:34:58Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > This. Is. Simply. Brilliant. > > Thinkin’ “outside the box”…That’s what this is. I’m quite certain no one has ever had this novel idea before. _Quite._ _Au contraire_, he is most certainly thinking “inside the box”. Absolutely by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/32 "2012-08-01T12:35:28Z")
I have a better idea. Offer her a hit off your crack pipe. If she takes it, she’s a real hooker and you can ask for sex. If she declines, she’s a cop. It’s foolproof! ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/33 "2012-08-01T12:49:41Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Now a five dollar milkshake? Yumm! Just pictured Travolta saying ‘Goddamn, that’s a pretty fuckin’ good blowjob!’ Oddly, there were no male masseuses in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/34 "2012-08-01T12:58:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Duh! Cops can’t lie! If you ask what you suspect is an undercover cop “Are you police?”, and it turns out that they are in fact an undercover cop, they are legally required to then surrender their cover and answer truthfully. It’s a little-known legal loophole that only very smart people know! 😉 Undercover be damned! And if she’s wearing pasties with gold tassels, admiralty law applies and you can’t be arrested. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/35 "2012-08-01T13:02:56Z")
I’m thinking you won’t get any real pros in your car without discussing business first. They gotta earn a living. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/36 "2012-08-01T13:04:22Z")
Back a while when some bright-bulb started saying “Just ask them to nude model first!” the consensus was that most prostitutes would roll their eyes and tell you to take a hike than waste their time jumping through hoops for a potential score. There’s always another guy after you who won’t make ridiculous requests and let them get right to business. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/37 "2012-08-01T13:49:44Z")
What they dont show on COPS is the stings that never happen, because the hooker/john recognizes something is up. Also, I never heard of an undercover asian massage parlor worker (maybe too much work? I assume their hooking is an upsell to the massage you are giving them.) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/38 "2012-08-01T14:06:05Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Duh! Cops can’t lie! If you ask what you suspect is an undercover cop “Are you police?”, and it turns out that they are in fact an undercover cop, they are legally required to then surrender their cover and answer truthfully. It’s a little-known legal loophole that only very smart people know! 😉 Undercover be damned! Can you then sue them for false advertisement? Or are they obligated to deliver the product they had promised? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/39 "2012-08-01T14:20:11Z")
Cracked has done some field research on this question. http:/ /www.cracked.com/blog/its-surprisingly-easy-to-accidentally-pick-up-prostitute/ (Link munged because possibly NSFW) ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028/40 "2012-08-01T14:48:13Z")
In case anyone is dumb enough to believe anything they have read in this thread, here’s a link to the thread from a guy who picked up street hookers and explained how he avoided arrest: [Ask the guy who used to frequent hookers!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=161233) In short: Do not discuss money or services until she is in the car. If she won’t get in the car, drive away. Cops will not get in your car. Do not ask her if she is a cop. A cop doesn’t have to answer honestly. Even if you get caught with a hooker in your car, the cops won’t arrest you unless they have evidence that you solicited sex for payment or that you gave the hooker money or drugs or some other form of payment. If they have no evidence there’s no point arresting you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-way-to-tell-apart-the-5-dollar-hookers-and-undercover-cops/630028.md?page=3)