ListCrawler Cartel Scam: How the Escort Extortion Text Scam Really Works

The ListCrawler cartel scam is a type of escort scam that has recently chosen ListCrawler as its target platform. For those not in the know, ListCrawler functions as a site for escort services. To use their own words they describe themselves as “ a platform where individuals can discover like minded partners for dating, hookups and everything in between”. However, most of that “in between” is centered around escort services. The site works as follows: you enter the site, set your desired location (city & county), and confirm that you are over 18. From there you are presented with a list you can browse for the types of meet ups you desire.

What the ListCrawler Cartel Scam Actually Is

How Scammers Target ListCrawler Users

The cartel scam usually happens after someone has contacted a service provider via the platform. This is one of the differences between this scam and other scam texts (toll road text scam or coinbase text scam) where you are often contacted regardless of whether or not you use the platform. In this case, the scam is specific to users of the platform.

Why Simply Messaging an Escort Makes You a Target

When contacted, the person receives threatening messages claiming to be from a cartel. It doesn’t matter whether you visit the woman or not. All you need to do is to have made contact. The “cartel” makes bold claims saying that you wasted their woman's time and now you need to pay up! Sometimes they say they are a pimp, or part of a gang, but the idea is that you are now a target and a “cartel” is coming for you unless you pay. This is where the extortion and blackmail happens. They know that for most people, the thought of even being exposed for frequenting a site like ListCrawler can lead to a lot of imagined and actual damage. Hence the cost benefit analysis makes it easy for the average person to just decide to pay and have the problem go away.

How the Fake Cartel Extortion Threats Unfold

Why Paying Blackmail Always Makes Things Worse

This is mistake number one. The thing to remember about blackmail scams and blackmail in general is that it never stops! Whether it's a scammer blackmailing you, or your friend or your enemy. Once you give in to the first blackmail request, you have made it clear to the blackmailer that he/she has just found a source of potential recurring revenue. If you are wondering why everything is a subscription these days, this is part of it. Every business wants recurring revenue, that's the golden goose. So once you give into a blackmail / extortion request, you are basically signaling that you are a golden goose…… and we all know what happened to the golden goose. It got killed.

The Threatening Messages and Fear Tactics Scammers Use

This segways perfectly into another aspect of the scam. Which is that these threats are often accompanied by very graphic images being sent, escalation to saying they will target your family, and lying that they have hitmen close to your address. It can be pretty scary stuff. The main thing to do here is to pause and breathe. In our last post about toll scams, which you can find here. We highlighted the importance of inaction. The same applies here. In this post we will underscore the importance of arming ourselves with facts. Here are some facts.

Why the Cartel Threats Are Fake: An Economic Breakdown

The EBSCO estimates that in the United States, drug cartels make between 19 -29 billion dollars annually. The European Parliament estimates that about 3-7% of global GDP is related to organised crime. Why does this matter, it matters because cartels and organised crime are big business. We like to think that criminals act irrationally and are prone to run on a rampage wreaking havoc on the lives of their victims. This is not the case. For most participants in organised crime, it is a matter of rational calculated economic decision making. Economics 101 dictates that we do things when the benefits outweigh the costs and the costs to a cartel for attacking you and your family unprovoked always outweigh the benefits!

What Actual Cartels Gain — and Why You’re Not Worth Targeting

In the Netherlands, interviews No Scam has conducted with escorts indicate that some of them make over 10.000 euros per week. While flipping a kilogram of drugs can easily net you 60.000 euros. These are the kinds of returns that the cartel would have to lose in order to make due on the threats that you are receiving via the phone. Hence, economically speaking, no cartel would send you the texts that you receive via this scam. This is why it's a scam and it has always been a scam. We wrote an interesting post about Temu to help you think about economic incentives with respect to scams. You can check that out here. To continue, the point we are trying to make here is that when you always approach your financial decisions as a matter of understanding the incentives, you often make better decisions for your wallet and protect yourself from being a victim.

If you come across a scam like this, play it cool, think about the incentives. Protect yourself via telling the police and then go about your day. You have evidence and real cartels aren’t that stupid to give you evidence before they commit a crime ;). Additionally, post your story on our share your experience page. Your story is posted anonymously! The more we unite our experiences the easier it is for us all to collectively learn from them!

Other Escort Scams You Should Watch Out For

Pre-Payment and Deposit Scams

Finally, we would like to arm you with one more tool in your arsenal for dealing escort scams. A common variety of the escort scam that occurs on these platforms is when after contacting someone on the site, the woman refuses to meet until you make some kind of pre-payment. The pretext here can differ. Sometimes they say that you have to pay for their taxi to come and meet you. Sometimes they ask for the full payment up front. Other times they will say that it is for a “security deposit” for the escort's safety. It really can be anything. If you agree to this, this will then be followed by directing you to a very unorthodox payment method. A very common payment method they will use is gift cards. Whatever the payment method is, it's sketchy, and know that if you use that payment method. Your money is gone and you have likely given the scammers one more data point about you.

Deleted Messages and Fake Identities

If you find yourself in such a situation do not pay! And immediately save your message thread. Because, one way to know for sure that you are dealing with a scammer is to not respond for some days. You will usually find that they start to delete the texts that they sent you where they asked you to pay for something. If you leave the conversation and come back after a few days to find all the texts “she” wrote deleted, then you were 100% dealing with a scammer. The good thing is you saved the texts and now have proof.

Secondly, we will like to add that you were most likely not speaking to the person you saw in the pictures but a random dude that could be anywhere from your neighbor down the street to a guy in Turkmenistan.

Final Thoughts: Report, Save Evidence, and Move On

The List Crawler cartel scam is the perfect example of a scam. While seeming scary at first, economic analysis exposes its fundamental flaw. When we receive these scary text messages your course of action should be to report and resume. Save and report these text messages to the authorities and resume your day! (R & R). Life’s too short to be scared by scammers and their fantasies. Make fun of them and post your story on No Scam. I’m sure the brotherhood would appreciate it ;)

Summary & Key Takeaways: The ListCrawler Cartel Scam

1. The “Cartel Threat” Is a Scam — Not a Real Criminal Organization

Scammers send aggressive, intimidating messages after you contact an escort listing.Their goal is to shock you into paying instantly.

2. Messaging an Escort Once Is Enough to Trigger the Scam

You don’t need to meet anyone.Simply texting a fake profile gives scammers your number and opens the door to extortion attempts.

3. The Threats Are Designed for Panic, Not Logic

Scammers use:

• violent language

• graphic images

• “we know your address” threats

• fake urgency

Everything is scripted to provoke fear and fast payment.

4. Blackmail Always Gets Worse When You Pay

Once they know you’ll respond, you become a recurring revenue source.Paying them guarantees more threats — not safety.

5. Real Cartels Don’t Waste Time on Small Targets

Organized crime functions on economic incentives.Attacking random men from escort sites makes zero financial sense.This is why the entire setup collapses under basic economic analysis.

6. Escort Platforms Have Many Other Scams Too

Common variations include:

• upfront taxi fee scams

• “security deposit” scams

• gift card payment demands

• fake profiles deleting messages after asking for money

If payment is requested before meeting, it’s almost certainly a scam.

7. The Correct Response Is Simple: Save Evidence and Report

• do not reply

• do not pay

• do not panic

• save screenshots

• report to the police and local cybercrime channels

• share your experience anonymously on No Scam

  
  

8. You Are Not in Danger — You’re Being Manipulated

The threats feel intense, but the scammers have:

• no real cartel ties

• no reason to target you

• no financial incentive to follow through

Their entire business model relies on fear, not capability.

If you want a quick visual breakdown of how to respond when these cartel-style threats show up, here’s a simple infographic you can refer to. It captures the core steps in a clear, calm way — the same mindset you should keep if you ever receive messages like these.

FAQ: The ListCrawler Cartel Scam

Share Your Experience and Help Others Stay Safe

If you’ve dealt with this scam or anything similar, add your story to the No Scam database. Every shared experience strengthens our collective understanding and makes it harder for scammers to operate in the dark.