In terms of safety in the UK, there are few better places to be an escort than in Rugby. Not only does the area have a reputation for knowing how to handle balls (pun intended), but it perfectly balances high demand for escort services with relatively low urban risk factors – London may have more demand, for example, but it also has a far higher rate of violence and organised crime.

In contrast, Rugby escorts agency can expect far less personal risk while still making a healthy profit. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s all roses, and one of the biggest concerns for Rugby escorts is finding a reliable agency. This is a concern for escorts all over the country – the difference between a respectful, professional agency and a low effort, risky endeavour – but especially in Rugby, which has an unresolved history of bogus agencies.

In a story in Birmingham Live titled ‘Police probe over bogus Warwickshire escort agency’, reporter Nick McCarthy shared his account of a fake escort agency in Rugby which, in his words, ‘has been ripping off wannabe Midland escorts.’ McCarthy goes on to explain how, ‘Police and trading standards officers are warning men and women to be on their guard after a number of people in Rugby, Warwickshire, and across the county signed up for work. The agency charges a registration fee and further payments but has so far failed to provide any work. Warwickshire Police is investigating a number of cases, including one man who has paid several thousands of pounds.’

That’s right – budding Rugby escorts are having their money taken with absolutely nothing given in return: not marketing, not protection, and certainly not work. So how can potential Rugby escorts stay safe when searching for an agency?

The answer is word of mouth and especially online reviews. If you can’t find multiple people willing to vouch for an agency, it’s reasonable to assume that it can’t be trusted. Any business that’s truly operating in the world leaves a footprint, so if there’s an absence of feedback, take that as a huge red flag. The way scams like the fake agency mentioned above work includes a process known as ‘winnowing’. This is when the content of a scam is sometimes DELIBERATELY low quality – the kind of thing that isn’t convincing enough to fool the average person. Why would this be the case? Because it’s an easy way to immediately exclude anyone who isn’t going to fall for the trick. This is a hallmark of Nigerian email scammers, who send messages in deliberately broken English. The idea is that by being unconvincing, they’re instantly dismissed by anyone who would have been too smart to fall for the overall scam anyway.

The same logic can be applied to scam escort agencies, and this may be something that saves Rugby escorts time and effort – if you’re unsure of an agency’s credentials, ask something of them that would require too much effort for a scammer but be a normal part of running a business for a real service, e.g. a direct message giving a bespoke answer to a question about the area. It’s not just that scammers can’t answer, it’s that they don’t want to – if you’re the type of person who’s smart enough to ask, they know they can’t trick you. Use this trick to stay safe when shopping for escort agencies in Rugby.