You might not know, but my Uber driving has been real slow the last couple of weeks since UW students left for the summer. And since I’m not driving this week (yes it’s THAT slow), I was browsing online ads last night for part time driving gigs that weren’t for over the road truckers. And I found one that was a little vague, but I texted the number (no address to write or email to, and it was 11 pm-ish) and asked for more information about the job.
To my surprise someone texted me back within a few minutes. “Do you have driving experience? You’ll need to pass a background check …” I replied that I was an Uber driver who’d done thousands of drives, and I could pass any background check he could give me.
Then he (ok, I’m assuming it was a he, but maybe not) told me the nature of the job. I would be driving “escorts” around to their “dates”, and I would get $60 per “call”. And he wanted my DL, proof of insurance and my SSN to do a background check. But I could be driving “first thing tomorrow morning.”
Well, I says, before I give you that, I have questions. I’ll call you. And I did and got voice mail, so I went back to texting. “How long might a call last? How many miles might I drive on a call? Would I be driving my car? Your car? How would I get paid? …”
And then … no more replies. So maybe it’s an identity theft scam, but how many of those start with the premise that a pimp wants you to drive hookers around?
About 4 am I woke up and saw there was still no reply, and texted “Hmmm… Already decided I was unsuitable for the job?”
I eagerly await the reply that will advance me into the next phase of my driving career – driver to porn stars! I’m going to have to get another cleaning service to periodically hose off the back seat.
Hey, who knows, you start as the ocassional delivery driver and before long you’re working your way up and we see you upgrading to an Escalade with spinner rims and buying yourself a sweet plumed hat and jeweled walking stick.
It’s a real thing. But you’re right to ask questions. You would also be expected to provide backup security for the escorts. If they’re not out in X time you’re supposed to call them, or knock on the door of the “date” or call the cops in worst case scenario.
Driving for an independent escort or a reputable agency probably wouldn’t be bad, but there aren’t many of those gigs. Independent ladies drive themselves rather than pay a driver(cuts into their profits). Well-run agencies wouldn’t have any problems answering the kinds of questions you asked and your credibility would probably go up with them for asking. They run a business and they appreciate businesslike people. There are brothels in Nevada that run shuttle services into Las Vegas and they have drivers going like clockwork in fifteen passenger vans. It’s a real, legit, job.
Driving for some vague backpage/craigslist pimp would be bad. They could tell you the guy stiffed them(which happens), so you’ll get stiffed too, or tell you the guy was a no show and they spent fifteen minutes in the hallway, when in reality the guy just popped early and they didn’t want to split the money. Basically when involved in a legally dubious venture you’ll find people tend to be less than honest and forthcoming. So you probably dodged a bullet. The not answering a phone call is also a red flag.
All joking aside, what are the legal issues of knowingly transporting prostitutes to their jobs? Are you an accessory? Any criminal charges as a driver would probably destroy your regular driving business.
I know that transporting them across state lines can result in a Federal charge. I’ve never heard of any laws against driving a prostitute somewhere though, so love as the payment is in cash rather than “barter”.
Let’s say for a moment it IS a real thing, that this is a “legitimate” escort service (I’m not entirely sure that’s even possible), and they are in fact looking for a reliable driver.
What should I demand from THEM to demonstrate their bona fides to ME?
Asking for an SSN to do a “background check” and saying you can start tomorrow … without even talking to you? Probably not the kind of folks I want to give my SSN to. I’m sure there are legitimate jobs driving escorts around, but this has to be an identity theft scam.
I’ve been working for Uber (they insist I’m working WITH them because I’m not an employee) for about 5 months now and I’ve only spoken to a living Uber employee once, about 3 weeks ago. Yet, perhaps stupidly, I gave Uber my SSN, for exactly the same reason stated by this escort service – to do a background check before allowing me to drive.
I once had something similar happen. I used to do basic web design. A friend asked me if I would be interested in doing a website for a friend of hers. I gave her my contact info and said to have her friend call me. When she called, I found out she ran an escort agency that wanted my services to create a web site to advertise her girls. She even offered to pay me in services.
After picking up my jaw from the floor, I respectfully declined.
Sure, but they’re an established company with a public presence and some semblance of corporate governance. Their business model isn’t based on scamming people out of their SSNs. But a random phone number in the help wanted section is anyone’s guess
Unless this is some super high end escort service $ 60 a pop seems like a lot (IMO) to pay for a ride around town compared with the cost of a girl renting a car or driving her own. On the other hand if he really wanted to scam you I doubt he would have been upfront that it’s for an escort agency.
I do think there is a potential legal risk if he gets annoying to the popos and the cops decide to scoop up his operation. You could be caught in the net.
So… perhaps I can ask you some questions that might help.
You’ve never heard of a law against driving a prostitute somewhere. But you are aware of laws against prostitution, yes? And I suspect you’ve heard the term “conspiracy,” before, too. A conspiracy is an agreement amongst two or more people to violate the law. In a conspiracy, not every person has to take an illegal action; a person who buys masks for the bank robbing members of the conspiracy to wear is equally guilty of conspiracy, even though he’s never heard of any laws against buying masks. Of course, to be guilty of conspiracy, he must have agreed to buy the masks knowing that the plan was to use them in furtherance of a bank robbery.
With that, do you think there might be some criminal exposure for you?
In this case, probably not. I had a family to think about and even though my services were completely legal, they would have been linked to services that were not. I would not want to jeopardize me or my family and possibly have the police knocking on my door over this.
How about an actual answer? Apparently there are “escort services” which remain legal enough to operate in full view of the law. I don’t know specifically what services are provided, what I’ve said here are my own assumptions, though perhaps pretty good ones.
I refer you to my post #10. What could I demand of this company that would at very least I made an attempt to determine their legitimacy before agreeing to work with them. Not saying I will, though.
What if I were a taxi driver and a woman passenger thanked me for picking her up so she could get to her next john on time for his blow job? Would I then be in a conspiracy with her, or arguably even more of a conspiracy, since she actually told me what she was doing?
