Webcams.com AKA Tinyurl.com False advertising, bait and switch Internet

Webcams.com has a method for gaining money and they've been doing it for quite some time. They have people masquerading as girls all over the Internet on various adult dating sites and chat rooms. They promise a free webcam chat, sometimes even offering a short taste via a webcam show that promptly ends after a few minutes or a video clip they send. Most will usually offer alluring photos as well.

Once the victim agrees to the show, the "model" says that he will have to go to the site to verify his age and give "her" the membership ID code so she can unlock her webcam for him. Once the victim does this, the "model" then asks him to wait a minute so she can verify the information. After this, the "model" will send him another link and ask him to go to that link and register again. Once the victim does this and provides her with the second code, "she" tells him to login to the site and to search for her. "She" tells him to just go into the free chat and it'll be just the two of them. "She" then "signs off" the messenger program (but a check on a separate messenger account shows "she" just blocked him) and says "she" will see him in the chat.

Upon entering the chat, the victim is faced with a model who most times doesn't even look like the woman in the photographs he was given. The victim also finds other chatters in the room as well. When the victim asks the model what's going on, the model has no idea who he is or what he's talking about.

And so, webcams.com has gotten $5 for each membership fee the victim authorized, which they are able to do because the "model" sends the victim to two different billing sites (webcams.com uses multiple billing sites to get around the issue of multiple accounts popping up in the same database). That's if the victim is lucky and has the foresight to cancel the membership immediately. Because after the first day, the automatic renewal kicks in for a fee of $40 per month.

In their terms and conditions, webcams.com says only the fees on their site are the true ones and to follow those, not what the models say. As this has happened many times, it's obvious it is NOT simply an isolated incident -- webcams.com has made this a cornerstone of their business.

Do NOT use webcams.com. For one, their membership charge is a waste. The membership charge of $40 per month provides the member with one thing and one thing only -- the ability to browse profiles for webcam models and the ability to chat with them for "free" -- but nude chat requires a per-minute charge that is in addition to their monthly membership fee.

Anonymous
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.