There is a program called graboid video that enables users to download videos, adult and mainstream. This is the place to go for the latest and most popular releases. They provide a free trial which lasts a month or until you have used 4GB, which is around five full length cinema releases or more for adult movies. Everything you download is yours to keep, even after the 30 days is up.  All the movies are high quality and some are available in high definition. The software is legal because it does not host the files itself, but instead they are downloaded from Usenet. The files download extremely quickly or they can be streamed. Graboid is much better than downloading from a torrent site because there are no virus’ and because the files download many times faster. Also, it can be easier to find the file than on Usenet and the retention is higher than on some providers. If you choose to buy a subscription you can do so from $4.99 per month. I’d recommend the $14.99 one because you get a massive 50GB to use which should be enough for anyone without a terminal addiction. I highly recommend this program.

Also, many Usenet providers offer a free trial, which you can do to get more free porn.

DVD rental

Most of the companies that offer DVD rental, where the movies are delivered to your door, offer a free trial. As there are many companies offering a free trial, and most have a selection of porn, it is possible to keep yourself in porn movies for free for several months. This means no scrounging around on torrent websites, waiting twelve hours for it to complete and then finding it has a virus in it or that it has been poorly copied.

LoveFilm probably has the fastest turn around and a large selection. This site is very customer orientated and they have excellent customer service. At Christmas they sent me an email with a free £5 voucher and in the post two gift cards with a three months free trial subscription to give to my friends. When I signed up I received £2 credit to spend in their shop too. Without a doubt this company has to be the best. They offer a 15 day free trial during which you should be able to get 15-18 movies if you return them quickly. They also offer games rental. They also have German, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish sites. 10/10

Cinema Paradiso are another site that offers a free trial and has a large selection of adult movies. They will only send you four discs during your free trial. If you enjoy mainstream world cinema they are outstanding. 9/10

Video on demand:

Wanted List is a large website with over 4,700 movies. They are an American site but international customers are accepted too. They provide a one day free trial of their video on demand. iphone access is included in the price. They charge just $19.95 per month. For porn on your iPhone you should try here.  10/10

Why do cam girls hate us?

Personally, I do not hate the users of the sites, well the ones who are genuine customers. Unfortunately the paying customer only comprises around 15% of the sites users so the genuine guys are pretty rare. This is why when you enter someone’s free room and ask them to tease you first, most will refuse. Most of us have found that those who request to be teased or to see the goods first rarely pay and even though you know you are genuine, the host does not, unless you have had a show with her before. Like most people I hate it when people try to use me and this is what the scroungers and time wasters are doing. They use chat hosts for free entertainment and when you are trying to make money this is extremely frustrating. Most beggars and scammers don’t see why they should pay even when they can afford it. Somewhat tellingly, most of these scroungers actually hate those who pay and hate the models as well. They erroneously believe that they are smarter than both groups, despite poor language skills being common with beggars and scammers alike, even those that claim to be from an English speaking country.

Why do you continue to be a cam-girl if the job is so bad, it is not as though there aren’t other jobs available, is it?

It is not the job that I find bad, but the beggars and scammers who expect something for nothing. I enjoy performing and can make good money from it but having to contend with scummers who try to use me for free and may even try to abuse me. Some would say this is part of the job, and unfortunately it is when free video mode is part of the equation. Actually now it can be quite hard to find a suitable job, even those with companies that were previously consistently hiring, because of the recession.

Why don’t you flash us in free mode? You cannot seriously expect to be paid for a quick peek of your breasts.

The main reasons why I don’t flash customers in free mode are firstly the sites I work on do not allow it and could close my account, which would mean I would lose the chance to make money from the site in future, all for giving away something for free and secondly most, if not all, of those who  request a flash have no intention of paying for a show which means I have no reason to do anything to entertain such people. Also, those who want a free flash generally are not after sexual gratification from seeing my breasts for a few seconds. I doubt anyone could get off on a few seconds peek, not even a Victorian. Those who request a free flash usually are interested in harassing the chat host. They are more interested in bossing someone around and making the host comply with their wishes. They probably fantasize about living in the 1950′s and slapping their secretary on the backside. Why should I do anything for someone who not only has no intention of paying me but has contempt for chat hosts and probably all women?

You have mentioned a group you refer to as “time wasters.” I am angry that you should have such contempt for people, like myself, who freely give our time to help our model friends out.

Although some chat hosts may have a different opinion, I find having someone in my “room”  for hours on end incredibly irritating because for one constant chat is often expected and if you have someone in your room for hours on end, day in day out finding something new to talk about is difficult especially as I have yet to find a time waster with similar interests to myself.

Can I have a free show? My MSN address is…

Die!

More questions will be added once I receive them.

Most, but not all sites require chat hosts to take part in a “free mode,” so that new guests can be lured into signing up for an account and hopefully  paying for a show. The cam sites like to portray free mode as a good way for you to meet potential clients but in actual fact it is how they get new clients. Of course they need to get new clients before you do.On some sites anyone, even unregistered guests can enter the free mode. Free mode is the worst part of being a cam girl because the majority of those who enter your free “room” will never pay and have absolutely no intention of paying.

85% of website users never pay for a show. Admittedly most will only look at the site once or twice, leave, forget their log in and sign up again at some point but the majority of customers that enter your room will never pay and probably have no intention of paying.

Free mode is the main thorn in the side of most chat hosts. Most of the customers wonder why hosts hate free mode so much and falsely assume it is merely because we do not get paid for it. That is an element but part if it is down to the kind of person we encounter in free-mode – the beggars, the time-wasters, the scammers and the abusive. The majority of those that do take us private never even enter our free-mode, except to have a quick glance. Most of those in the market for a show do not mess around with quick flashes as they want to see the whole thing properly and are prepared to fairly pay for the service. In fact many of those who take us private prefer to avoid the types listed above. Some of the free-mode types above generally have a negative opinion of the genuine customers for some reason, the scammers and abusive in particular, show a disdain for the paying customer because the scammers erroneously believe themselves to be the smarter group. Occasionally I have has a couple of the rowing in my “room,” generally this happened on adultwork. It is best to remember the IQ of the average crook is lower than that of the general population.

As the sites don’t care about keeping chat host happy, and they do not need to because there are plenty more girls willing sign up, free mode won’t be going away nor will any modifications to it be made. In some respects I am surprised sites offer unlimited free chat because they could make more money by restricting the amount allowed. Personally I think 15 minutes per chat host should be long enough for the client to make a decision and discuss their wants.

There are numerous ways in which customers will try to get you to provide them with entertainment for free. Some of these ways are:

• They say they will pay for a show but only if you show them the goods first. I have never known this type to pay for a show and it has been the say for other cam girls that I know.
• They want to be teased first, again they do not pay.
• They want you to speak to them. Many men can get off from just hearing a woman speak. If they could not phone sex would not be so popular.Recently I had a man in my free video room and he said that he never pays for cam shows and also that he could just get the same thing for free on redtube or shufuni. Obviously I wanted to know why he was wasting my time and he said he still needed a real woman’s voice.
• I’ll pay you tomorrow when I put some money in the bank etc, yeah right.
• I’m doing research. Into what, the colour and size of nipples?

Many people in the west are still somewhat prudish about sex and believe one’s sexual “morality” is as important, if not more so for women, than other forms of morality. This mode of thought is somewhat antiquated but many still subscribe to it. It is quite possible to sleep around, including for money, and still have greater insight into ethical issues than the average person, well unless “follow the rules” is the highest form of morality in your belief system… Due to attitudes such as this one will come across people who have a dim view of cam girls and they may either be abusive or try to save the cam girl. Some seem to dream of being the nutter from “China Blue.” Also, because of the same views many do not see why they should have to pay. Some “clients” believe it is the chat host that is scamming them by demanding payment for sexual favours, which they believe they should get for free. This kind if sense of entitlement will be apparent in all areas of their lives due to an inherant narcissism. A significant percentage of these people will try to get one up on the cam girl and if they manage it believe they have achieved moral and intellectual superiority over the chat host despite the fact most are barely literate. It is a complete waste of time trying to convince such people that they should be respectful to you and the only possible course of action is to ignore them completely.

In this business you will need to develop a thick skin because you will come across many abusive customers and you will have to become tolerant of frustration because from time to time you will have a slow period and hardly earn a penny. During such periods cheapskates are hard to suffer, and they are irritating at the best of times. Although some clients will disagree with me here, I would define a bad client is one that does not provide fair payment for entertainment provided. In my opinion this entertainment can include so called “free chat,” after all if they are using your time they should provide payment and therefore I try to avoid wasting time in free mode. After all, the more you provide for free the less they must pay for.

Some of which probably have personality disorders and get off on making people miserable. Many abusive clients want to get one over on the cam girl, often because they believe the female is scamming them by requesting payment for sexual favours. This may well stem from the west’s prudish views on female sexuality or more likely because people are used to illegally downloading movies, software and music off of the internet for free and why pay for what you can get for free? When it comes to prostitution, especially the high end, one finds the opposite – the majority of men are actually content to pay and some even have a fetish for paying to the point that a regular relationship would be unsatisfactory.  Of course, finding an attractive young woman to have sex at short notice is a lot more difficult than finding a cam girl and therefore those who want it nearly always have to pay. Customers in strip clubs will try for a free dance but this is far less common because other staff are watching and the customer does not wish to be thrown out.  Others have a sense of entitlement, that is they believe that they deserve to see you naked and compel you to do things for them merely because they exist. Some narcissistic males seem to believe that they are so great girls should instantly drop their panties in their divine presence – well something like that, anyway. Some will even claim they are doing research to try to get your attention. I guess they are supposed to be researching the colour and size of nipples…

Surprisingly most cam sites terms are skewed towards protecting the users, no matter how disgusting their behavior. The sites don’t really care about the hosts because they do not have to, if you quit today another ten will sign up to take your place tomorrow. Also, chances are if you go to another site the terms will not be any more favorable. Many sites have rules on excessive banning and sometimes it can even result in a fine. The surprising part it that the terms often protect the non-paying customer. The websites hold on to the slim chance the beggars will one day buy credit, but as every chat host knows, this is as likely as flying pigs. The sites free mode and rules surrounding it primarily favors the bad clients – no time limits on free video chat, rules on banning, fines for being rude or ignoring guests etc etc.

There are several forms of bad customer that the new cam girl should be aware of:

Abusive customers that pay for short shows:

This is the worst type of customer but fortunately they are rare. In this business you would do well not to care less what the client thinks as long as they pay. Just take their money and regard them as a little pile of cash, which is essentially all this type are. After all, no female would want to date one of these if she knew they were like this. Some customers regard being abusive as all part of the entertainment, they get turned on by it. It is quite easy to exploit this, or at least it was with the last one I had, but the site I was on didn’t force me to do free mode. I decided to try pretending that I was really upset by it and it worked, resulting in over 15 minutes extra on that one occasion. If you find yourself getting upset by what a client says just think of what their money will buy you. If you really cannot put up with them just ban them.

I will now go through the sub-types:

1) The most common one just calls names and will say things like “you are disgusting and ought to be ashamed,” and so on.

2) The second type are more subtle and therefore they can be more devastating. A friend had one of these and after five months of regular shows he also charged back which cost her over $130. He even sent her a message with his email in because he wanted to know how devastated she was.

Some of this type are pleased they can buy anything and do pretty much anything. They enjoy causing distress and then watching you force a smile and taking the pittance they pay you. Its up to you to decide whether to ban them or not. If you are genuinely upset just ban them. The distress isn’t worth a few dollars.

Non-paying abusive customers:

These are the most common type of abusive customer.

Type 1 becomes abusive when you refuse to do what they want e.g. give them a free show.

Type 2 is intoxicated and may insult you for no reason.

Type 3 is the “hit and run.” They will enter your room and then type “ugly,” or some such. They leave before you can ban them or otherwise respond. They often say and do the same thing to many hosts in a row so it is nothing to do with you personally.

Type 4 also enters your room and insults you for no reason but they stick around and try to get you into an argument. This is often because they enjoy being berated by an angry woman or they just want an argument.

Type 5 also want an argument. Instead of insulting you and trying to get you to argue they will start the arguing. They are more common on the phone lines than on web-cam. They usually are in a bad mood and genuinely want a fight. Some are quite happy to pay for one but again this is more common on the chat lines but it usually is not allowed, even though this can be fun if you have had a bad day.

Most abusive clients are not looking for sexual gratification. They merely want to harass you and generally ruin your day. Those who want free flashes surely cannot be getting off on the brief image of a flashed breast, instead they are getting off on your irritation and making you do something you would rather not do (not being nude but rather the effort – yes, I’m lazy and what of it? :p )

The time-waster:

The time-waster often is in your room for hours on end, some seem to spend their entire day on the chat sites so they probably have an internet addiction. They regard themselves as your friend and believe you to be their friend. They do not like to be asked to go in private as they believe they are giving of themselves. Often they are just lonely and a few are nice people but having someone in your room for eight hours straight is pushing it. Although generally very polite and friendly, some of these can actually turn nasty when politely asked to leave the chat room for a while (it is difficult to persuade people to go in private when they feel they aren’t getting your attention or believe you have favorites) and one sent me numerous nasty messages after I stopped offering free mode. You will get a fair few of these.

The time wasters are usually lonely men who want a chat, often very long ones and they do not see why they should pay to chat about non-sexual topics. Most of these actually think they are doing cam girls a favour when they stay in free mode for hours on end. I cannot understand why they go to the web-cam sites instead of a normal chat room but perhaps it is because they are less likely to find an attractive young woman interested in chatting. They consider themselves to be real friends with the cam girls but no one becomes a chat host to find friends. Usually this type believe that we are being greedy and selfish if we do not give them what they want. I’d consider someone who expects me to give them hours of entertainment for free both greedy and selfish. I’m sure that those in this category will disagree with me though and that they have anecdotal “evidence” which they believe proves me wrong. I’m a big fan of those that involve sending the cam girl money.

Not all those who are regularly in your room but don’t pay fall into this category, some are overly cautious or have limited cash and want to ensure that they have exactly the right girl. They still are not great customers but not everyone makes $50,000 or more each year.

A sub-type of time-waster wants you all for himself. I had one of these a few months ago and fortunately he was the only one. He actually started out as a regular customer and paid for a show. He then stayed in my room for longer and longer and soon started causing me problems. This one actually told me he loved me, even though I had first spoken to him less than a month before. I laughed when he first said it and once I realized he was serious, informed him that I did not love him. He started wanting me all for himself, but of course, he neither would nor could afford this so he tried another tactic – when I asked someone else if they want to go private  he would publicly say “its me hon, you know I don’t pay,” or “I get everything I want for free.” He even sent messages to the other customers, in private, saying not to use me because I was awful and that he remained in my room to warn people. Another client informed me of what he was doing. During the few days before I banned him I earned practically nothing. He signed up using a different name and was abusive so I had to contact customer service and have his IP banned.

A particularly insulting sub-type is the “knight in shining armor” who wants to save you and sometimes make you his wife. Often they do not pay for shows, and if they do it is only for a minute or two to “help you.” These shows are not adult in nature and occasionally this type will try to persuade you that selling shows is morally wrong. Sometimes someone will enter your free mode and preach to you. Some consider wasting a cam girls time to be a way of improving them morally or some other such nonsense.

The psycho and stalker:

Other types:

The whiny freak is a type of client that usually claim to be submissive but actually “top from the bottom,” which means they try to control what the dominant party. There is no pleasing them because they want to provoke you into berating them more. They will often give bad reviews even if they have enjoyed the show. If you get one of these it may well be apparent after you have seen a couple and therefore you can pretend not to offer the services they want as they rarely stay long enough to make the bad reviews or annoyance worthwhile.

One variety actually expects you to be a mind reader as well as a cam girl. They provide no guidance as to what it is they want and then whinge when they don’t get exactly what they wanted. These usually leave poor reviews saying things like “she was very slow to get undressed and down to it,” even when asked if they would like to be teased first or if they would prefer I got straight down to it. There is little you can do about them.

Another type  gives poor reviews even though they have enjoyed the show. One kept having  brief shows under different user names so he could review me repeatedly, each one just long enough so he could review me. I knew it was him because all the shows were cam2cam. Each time the review was not bad enough so that the people in customer service couldn’t see what I was complaining about. He gave more 4 stars initially and then later 3 stars so as to pull my average down and therefore I was listed further back on the site. Each time my average dropped below 5 stars my earnings dropped sharply and once I had managed to get back up to five the whole thing would start again. I asked him why he was doing it, and he told me it was “to keep my prices down and so that I would have to offer discounts to all customers.” The site didn’t seem to believe me or care so I moved elsewhere for a year. I still don’t use it as much as I would have..

Another type will tell you that they are a high earning executive and try to get you to do things you wouldn’t normally do, like meet them for a date. They will offer you “presents” in return for a “date.” They are probably after sex from you and at a lower price than an escort.

I will go into the free mode client in a separate post.

At first glance this would seem to be a simple question, most just want a sexual release but after reading a forum aimed at customers this turned out only to be partially true. Many expect a cam girl to be a friend, cyber-lover, girlfriend, therapist, confidant, sex object and often more besides.

After reading one forum for customers it would seem the perfect cam-girl is attractive, compliant, docile, intelligent, attentive, sexually available, never asks a customer to go private, completely honest with them, submissive, dominant, kinky, the shy girl next door, has cheap or non-existent prices, essentially everything to everyone. Another way to put it completely selfless and customer centered giving freely of herself to every needy and lonely man that happens to find her chat room. Obviously this isn’t possible because most of us need the money to live on and it is unreasonable of the customer to expect you to work for next to nothing. The rest you should try to fake.

On one forum for customers a man was complaining about hosts requesting private sessions when he “selflessly gave hours each day to chat with the hosts.” Basically this man wanted models to be his friend. To me this sounded very strange at first because I would never go to a paysite looking to make a friend, anymore than I would use a dating site to make a platonic friend. Up until I read that forum when I got clients that told me that they never pay I thought they just wanted me to berate them because they enjoyed that kind of thing. I still avoid communicating with the free loaders, because I am a cam girl solely to make money. Some cam girls can get money from this kind of client but they have to give out their name or address to receive the money and I could never trust anyone I met online with my details.

Some guys are looking for a g/f:

Some times this kind of customer is actually looking for a girlfriend. They will ask you whether you are single, like many other time wasters do,

These guys consider themselves to be the camgirls friend and that their presence in your room for 12 hours in a row is better than 2 minutes in private. Some girls may like someone to talk to but remember that if you give this customer more attention that the others then it will be noticed and the others will be less likely to pay. Some times they claim to be looking for “inner beauty,” which basically means that you must be happy to talk to them for free and have an interest in them as a person. The last time I had one of these I found it more irritating that anything. The moment I signed in he would show up and then he would stay in my room until I logged off. He expected constant free chat throughout that period but of course, I didn’t have a lot to talk about with him. Eventually I stopped doing free chat on that site.

I once had a client who was totally infatuated with me, he told me that he loved me constantly and gave me huge tips which he couldn’t really afford. It is difficult to decide what to do in this situation. I had a friend who had been in a similar situation with a client and when you she told him that she didn’t feel the same way he became aggressive and was rude to her in her chat room and believed that she had led him along. Flirting is part of the job and unfortunately he believed that she wanted him, instead of wanting him to pay for a show. I decided to leave the site for a while because he was putting off all my other customers and I was earning less money. Ignoring them isn’t a very good idea though because they will become worried, often not so much that you have deserted them but that you have been hurt. Leading them on may well be good for your bank account but what if they find out and you have given them your address? It is best to try to avoid this situation if possible.

Many customers want the models compliance. They want to tell someone what to do sexually and have it done, without complaint or hesitation.

Sometimes a customer wants to feel accepted, this is more common when their fantasy deviates from the normal. I have found this kind of customer more common on the chat lines than on web cam. I was working with a company that permitted rape fantasy and I had a man tell me he fantasised about this. He was obviously deeply troubled by this and wanted some reassurance. He asked me if I fantasised about making people do things agaist their will and I said “no,” and he hung up. The company informed me that I should have said yes. Obviously, that would have been easier to do had his fantasy not been so taboo and that I thought I may be encouraging him to actually rape someone if I answered in the affirmative. Usually it is far more innocuous than that, the majority of the “acceptance calls” being from cross-dressers. Pretend to share their fantasy, as long as it is permitted with the company you are working for. Be sympathetic to them and at least pretend to understand because they often have to work up to admitting to someone what they are. In some respects cam girls and phone sex operators are therapists.

Always remember why you became a cam girl. If, like myself, you became a cam girl primarily because you wanted the money then that should be your focus. Below I have listed some of the ways I have found I can improve earnings but remember the client will not like it if he realizes that you regard him as nothing more than a little pile of cash.

Being a web-cam girl is all about fantasy.

You should look good when you are camming because you do not get a second chance at making a first impression.

Do not complain to the customer about your life. They want to escape life’s problems and have a good time.

Create a persona. You should pretend to be perpetually horny and amiable. Pretty much happy to do anything they want. Even if you are cynical and only in it for the cash you should pretend to care about them as a person. Most don’t want to be seen as a little pile of money.

Pretend to be attracted to the customer and impressed with the size of his penis. The client will tell you if he wants to be laughed at for having a small penis. Don’t go too far though because they may realize  what you are doing and leave your room.

Smile, even if it gives you face ache. Pretend to be happy to see the customer, even if he is nothing but a beggar.

Never give anything away for free.

First of all it is a good idea to think about why you became a cam girl. I’m guessing it is probably primarily money and therefore you should never give anything away for free. If the site you are on doesn’t force you to do free mode then don’t waste too much time in it because you will find that more than 95% who enter free mode will never pay. If you are  forced to do free mode be polite and charming but don’t do anything that could make the client reach climax without being paid to do it. Some men can get off from just hearing your voice, which is why phone sex is so popular. Although typing requires more effort than speaking you should only speak when they first enter your room to say “hello,” and then type.

The more you give away for free the less they have to pay for.

On ImLive those in free video chat rarely pay but those in the free text chat often do.

Ask if they want a private show pretty quickly, say within three minutes of them entering your room. If they don’t respond repeat yourself. If they still don’t respond talk to another guest and then repeat yourself fairly frequently. You have to be careful about seeming too pushy though and therefore you should not say it as soon as the client enters the room. Some, surprisingly, will state that they do not pay for shows but most, if they have no intention of paying, will ignore you. Most of those who are in the market for a paid show will say they are looking or similar.

So what should I do during a show:

Ask the client what he wants. If he wants some thing particular like toys he will say so.

Change position frequently. This will keep the client interested and will prevent you from aching from staying in one position.

Variation is the key to interest.

Do what the client asks, as long as it is reasonable and you are comfortable doing it. Never do something you are not comfortable with. You will hate working and it will show. If you don’t offer something, anal for example, don’t worry. Most hosts make good money without doing it.

Cynical tips:

When a client enters your room say their user name. It at least provides the illusion that you are paying attention.

Blow kisses to the client. I’ve found that those I have blown a kiss to are more likely to pay.

Try to remember your customer, or at least make notes about them to create the illusion. They are more likely to come back to you again and again if you are attentive.

You obviously want to prolong the show but you must consider that if you are being overly slow the client may well go elsewhere. You could tease the customer for a little while and ask whether they enjoy being teased. If they say “yes” then you can take it slow.

Do not say that you do something if you do not. You will get bad reviews.

Try to offer a selection of toys and outfits.

Do not try to scam the client.

It is hard to be everything to everyone. Try to find a niche. If you cater for those who like “hairy” girls do not shave as you will alienate your client base.

Most custom comes from repeat clients. Initially your earnings may well be pitiful but after a while they will pick up so stick at it. It is best to do it alongside another job at first.

Don’t get too frustrated if you do not earn anything after a few hours logged in. Slow patches happen to everyone sometimes.

Make sure your profile looks good and hits the right spots. Research fetishes and study one of them and try to cater for it no matter what your personal feelings are. Treating a client like a freak will lose you money. Some fetishists will try to get you to serve them in free mode, foot fetishist seem bad for this because you don’t need to be nude to show your feet.

Many of the men are lonely. You can use this to your advantage by being sypathetic and affectionate. Make sure that they do not just waste time in free mode.

Don’t over or under value yourself. On ImLive many charge 1.98 per minute of which they receive 30% (0.59.) In the US there are phone sex companies that pay more than that per minute.

The credit card charge back:

The charge back is where a customer contacts their credit card company and informs them that they do not want to honour a particular charge and the payment is refunded to the customer. They can do this up to six months from the time of the transaction. Obviously every business that sells to the public is vulnerable to this but it is probably more common when it comes to “adult entertainment.” This seems to be more common with US customers and websites.

The charge back is a particularly distressing form of fraud because you could have a regular that has had numerous long sessions with you and one day you discover that a few hundred dollars is missing from your payment. ImLive seems to be quite bad for charge backs perhaps because the host only finds out on the day that payment was expected.

Obviously the cam sites are keen to prevent this from happening because they lose payment as well. I have not been able to get a list of what things they do to prevent it though

The “my card isn’t accepted scam.”

This scam typically involves a polite customer entering a free mode room and offers an unusually large sum of cash in return for a show but you must be willing to do it using Yahoo, MSN or some other messenger. Like the majority of scams it preys on a persons greed. Everyone has has their card denied even though there is enough money available and therefore this seems plausible, which is one of the reasons it works. Cam sites will ban you from hosting on their websites if they find that you are accepting payment outside of their system because they lost revenue when you do this.  Scammers often offer to pay by Western Union, it is a good idea to remember that you would have to provide your real name etc to them to even hope of getting payment. Also Paypal will suspend your account if they discover that you have accepted payment using their system for adult goods or services.

One variant of this scam involves blackmail. Basically the scammer will threaten to tell the website that you offered them a show outside of the site unless you provide them with as many shows as they want. Sometimes you will get someone in your room that threatens you with this even though you have done nothing wrong. They usually will offer you their msn or yahoo address first. Never give a customer your msn address unless you are working on a site like Adultwork which offers msn shows because they will at least expect free chat.

“The tease me scam”

Most guys will want to pay as little as possible to you and unfortunately 95% of those who enter free video mode will never pay you a penny. They will ask you for free flashes or to tease them and say something like “I will only take you in private if I get to see the goods first,” or “make me hard and then I’ll take you in private.” 99.999% of these ones have no intention of paying whatsoever. Most sites don’t allow nudity in free mode at all, however brief, but I have heard that Flirt4Free do allow flashes of the breasts. If you want to give the customer the benefit of the doubt then give it  try, I hope you prove me wrong.

The pharming scam:

This is less common on webcam sites than it is on social networking,sites and chat rooms but you could still get stung.You may get a customer who pays for short shows and tries to build a relationship with you. You will probably just believe they are lonely and maybe even want to buy you a gift. Eventually you start to trust him and maybe give out some little snippets of information. Then they will use then to steal you identity. NEVER give out your private details ever.

The relationship scam:

This is more often perpetrated by cam girls than against them. This involves getting a regular client and building a relationship with them. The scamming side pretends to love the other side and tries to get money or shows out of the arrangement. Violent males may use this as a way of acquiring victims, in the same way that paedophiles groom children in chat rooms and on social networking sites.

Juvenile scams:

These are so stupid I doubt any one falls for them. One wanted me to send him my credits so he could buy a show, even though the site did not allow credits to be transferred.

Remember:

Words are cheap. Online “I love you” means absolutely nothing.

Most scams will prey on the victims greed or need.

Don’t break the sites rules. Even if someone offers you $400 for a 15 minute show and actually pays the site may find out and ban you. You will then miss out on all future earnings.

Don’t get too disheartened if someone charges back because it is only a small percentage of what you have earned. The majority of cam girls will experience this at some time. I have been pretty lucky and lost only $37 in total but some have lost over $200 from shows with a single guest and it was still a small fraction of their earnings.

In many respects these jobs are best looked at as an extra source of income. As a phone sex operator you should be able to make a pretty regular income of £200-250 per week if you put the time in. Web-cam earnings are more erratic and at first pretty poor but once you build up a regular customer base $150+ per day can be achieved. It is impossible to make enough money from text chat alone

What do these jobs involve?

Firstly I will say that you do NOT have to be a picture perfect 18 year old to make money from these jobs, not even with web-cam! Many men like a big, beautiful woman (BBW) or a mature lady. There are less mature ladies on the cam sites than slim young women and therefore you may actually earn more. Also, if you do not fancy taking you clothes off then you could try domination.

A phone sex operator is essentially an actress. When talking to a customer you will generally be describing sexual acts,  explicit chat about imaginary sexual scenarios e.g swinging as well as the cliched panting and moaning.

Text operator is also descriptive. The pay from this can be pitiful but alongside phone sex or web cam it can add a few pounds to your hourly rate. Many of these sites require workers to complete a minimum number of texts each month and will not pay you unless you reach that target. During the first month it can be hard as initially you will be quite slow as there are certain requirements, such as length, that have to be fulfilled.

Being a cam-girl, or web cam operator, usually involves an explicit show. Basically you have to get naked and “pleasure” yourself for the customer. There are a few sites that allow “glamor” shows but these are not that common as most men would rather talk to a naked woman than one dressed in lingerie. It is possible to offer domination shows that involve no nudity but you will have to know what you are talking about. There are a few men on cam as well but this is not that common for straight men. Of course, you could pretend to be gay but some sites offer cam to cam so you will have to look at another mans penis.

How much can I earn?

Most companies have quite complex pay scales but for an hour of chat you should earn around £7-10.50 per hour, more if you log in for over 20/30 hours per week and after you have worked for the company for a couple of months. When I first started I made on average £3.25 per hour I was logged in.

Most of the text messaging companies pay 5p per message. Initially I was only be able to do 60 per hour but after a few weeks I was able to do 100 with the occasional break. Unless you are really desperate I do not recommend this on its own but if you can type quietly then, alongside phone sex, it is  a “nice little earner.” Alongside phone sex I can only do about 60-70 an hour.

Web cam can be quite lucrative but it is essential that you choose the right site. I will go into detail on this topic in a later entry but for now I will say that you should earn at least £5 per hour logged in as a beginner. When you first start the pay will be low as around 50% of your earnings will come from repeat customers. Also, when you first join a site you will probably have to use their free mode until you have gained some customers. This can be extremely frustrating as the same men enter your chat room over and over again without paying. At times you will go for hours without making a penny but it will get better. To maintain your sanity I would recommend doing only an hour of free mode per day.

Can men do this?

There are a few companies that will accept men but these are mostly gay or trans-gender chatlines or web cam companies.  Many web cam sites will accept couples, both gay and straight. Text jobs can be taken by any one as no one will know you are a man.

What will I need for these jobs?

For phone sex you will need a land line phone and possibly internet access to log in. Some sites require you to have a second phone line strictly for your job.

For web cam and text jobs you will need internet access and a computer. For web cam your connection must be pretty fast and you will also need a web cam or camcorder that can be connected to your computer but some companies will provide you with one.

How quickly can I get a job?

Depending on site it can take a couple of days to a week from applying to the start of work.

What about tax?

As you will probably be a private contractor you will be responsible for you own tax. One of the benefits of working from home is that you can claim expenses including parts of your bills.

As this entry is getting rather long I will wrap up now and go into more detail on some of the topics I have touched on here in later entries. If you have any more questions then please leave a comment.