Falsely accused

[aconcernedprof]

CA,

So i got a text message from a random number telling me that I had and should remove a profile that was apparently mine on exposingjohns.com. I checked it out, it has my name and number, and some screenshot of texts that appear to be from my number, but I never sent any such texts. Although they may have been sent by whoever stole my phone, either way, the site said that I was a solicitor of prostitution, which i am not. I read the screenshot texts and whoever was texting this person from my phone only said, "what time are you available this weekend?" and thats the entirety of the screenshot messages. So I don't see how this is even classified as soliciting prostitution as that is all that was texted from my phone. They don't have a picture of me on the site...yet. But obviously this is a false accusation and i want this to be taken care of, what do I do?

 

[Proserpina]

CA,

So i got a text message from a random number telling me that I had and should remove a profile that was apparently mine on exposingjohns.com. I checked it out, it has my name and number, and some screenshot of texts that appear to be from my number, but I never sent any such texts. Although they may have been sent by whoever stole my phone, either way, the site said that I was a solicitor of prostitution, which i am not. I read the screenshot texts and whoever was texting this person from my phone only said, "what time are you available this weekend?" and thats the entirety of the screenshot messages. So I don't see how this is even classified as soliciting prostitution as that is all that was texted from my phone. They don't have a picture of me on the site...yet. But obviously this is a false accusation and i want this to be taken care of, what do I do?

Can you show who actually created the ad?

 

[aconcernedprof]

Can you show who actually created the ad?

no, all posts are "anonymous", they don't ask for any information to post and you can post anyone's information that you want.

 

[quincy]

Did you ever report your phone as stolen?

 

[aconcernedprof]

Did you ever report your phone as stolen?

no i didn't because it showed up later the same day i had lost/had it stolen.

 

[quincy]

no i didn't because it showed up later the same day i had lost/had it stolen.

Well, that doesn't bode well for you.

Have you tried to identify to whom the "random telephone number" belongs?

Without an identity - who sent the message, who created the profile - there is very little you can do other than to remove the profile, which I recommend you do soon. And change your telephone number.

 

[aconcernedprof]

Well, that doesn't bode well for you.

Have you tried to identify to whom the "random telephone number" belongs?

Without an identity - who sent the message, who created the profile - there is very little you can do other than to remove the profile, which I recommend you do soon. And change your telephone number.

the telephone number has been since changed, the problem is though, the website say's you have to pay $400 to get your profile removed. and from what i've read from other people who have the same problem, those who have tried to pay to get their profiles removed have actually not only been billed, but ALSO their profile was not only not removed, but the company used their credit card information to further expose the person. I thought about contacting the person who's number the text was to (i still have it on my phone) but when i snooped around the website itself i went through the process that one would have to do to create a profile, and it is ridiculously ananymous, ie: hypothetically speaking, an ex could go put up her boyfriend's name and cell number and use a fake app or something to make a screenshot of fake texts to say that her ex was soliciting prostitution. then once a profile has been created, it can't be deleted, not only that, but there is zero, i mean ZERO information necessary about the submitter.

Apparently, from what others have said about similair situations, their profile facebook pictures are on their too, mine doesn't have a picture...yet

 

[quincy]

the telephone number has been since changed, the problem is though, the website say's you have to pay $400 to get your profile removed. and from what i've read from other people who have the same problem, those who have tried to pay to get their profiles removed have actually not only been billed, but ALSO their profile was not only not removed, but the company used their credit card information to further expose the person. I thought about contacting the person who's number the text was to (i still have it on my phone) but when i snooped around the website itself i went through the process that one would have to do to create a profile, and it is ridiculously ananymous, ie: hypothetically speaking, an ex could go put up her boyfriend's name and cell number and use a fake app or something to make a screenshot of fake texts to say that her ex was soliciting prostitution. then once a profile has been created, it can't be deleted, not only that, but there is zero, i mean ZERO information necessary about the submitter.

Apparently, from what others have said about similair situations, their profile facebook pictures are on their too, mine doesn't have a picture...yet

Ah, that is a problem.

I do not recommend you pay any money to have a profile removed. Do not provide your credit card information. The $400 would be better spent on an attorney, who can help you navigate the mucky waters of online phony profiles. And, if you haven't already, remove photos of yourself (and of anyone else you care about) from publicly accessible website locations.

California has made some headway in trying to stop websites like "exposingjohns" from operating with the pay-to-remove conditions. I would have to investigate further to see what the status is on this, however, to see if you have any other options available to you.

 

[aconcernedprof]

Ah, that is a problem.

I do not recommend you pay any money to have a profile removed. Do not provide your credit card information. The $400 would be better spent on an attorney, who can help you navigate the mucky waters of online phony profiles. And, if you haven't already, remove photos of yourself (and of anyone else you care about) from publicly accessible website locations.

California has made some headway in trying to stop websites like "exposingjohns" from operating with the pay-to-remove conditions. I would have to investigate further to see what the status is on this, however, to see if you have any other options available to you.

I understand, and the biggest problem that i am seeing others are having is that this website is so sketchy that it's adress is actually a P.O. box in Florida, and it is actually hosted out of india. So from other threads I've seen, people have been saying that one would need to try to sue in indian court not U.S. court, which ultimately may be way too expensive for me. I mean, from the messages that this person sent from my phone, as far as I can tell there is no talk of any sort of prostitution, it literally is just asking the person's availability. So i don't think that 1) i could ever get charged with soliciting prostitution on this basis, and 2)I don't really see how that would even be considered soliciting prostitution in the first place.

All of that being said, i just really don't like my information on the internet, I have since deleted my facebook account, changed emails, phone number etc. But i'm concerned that there are still pictures of me out there on the internet (ie. google search). I believe what they are doing is called libel, and it's messed up. I don't like how they can say i did something that 1) i didn't and 2)even if they caught the person who DID send the message from my phone, could they even do anything to him?

Either way. this website is partaking in defamation of character. By the way, the number that the text was from was *******, i looked it up and it's somewhere from texas, if you just google it a bunch of hits about female escorts come up, tried calling it and it said that my call could not be received.

 

[quincy]

I understand, and the biggest problem that i am seeing others are having is that this website is so sketchy that it's adress is actually a P.O. box in Florida, and it is actually hosted out of india. So from other threads I've seen, people have been saying that one would need to try to sue in indian court not U.S. court, which ultimately may be way too expensive for me. I mean, from the messages that this person sent from my phone, as far as I can tell there is no talk of any sort of prostitution, it literally is just asking the person's availability. So i don't think that 1) i could ever get charged with soliciting prostitution on this basis, and 2)I don't really see how that would even be considered soliciting prostitution in the first place.

All of that being said, i just really don't like my information on the internet, I have since deleted my facebook account, changed emails, phone number etc. But i'm concerned that there are still pictures of me out there on the internet (ie. google search). I believe what they are doing is called libel, and it's messed up. I don't like how they can say i did something that 1) i didn't and 2)even if they caught the person who DID send the message from my phone, could they even do anything to him?

Either way. this website is partaking in defamation of character. By the way, the number that the text was from was XXX-XXX-XXXX, i looked it up and it's somewhere from texas, if you just google it a bunch of hits about female escorts come up, tried calling it and it said that my call could not be received.

Remove the phone number from your post, please, or your post will be reported and the number deleted for you.

 

[aconcernedprof]

Remove the phone number from your post, please, or your post will be reported and the number deleted for you.

sorry about that

 

[Proserpina]

I understand, and the biggest problem that i am seeing others are having is that this website is so sketchy that it's adress is actually a P.O. box in Florida, and it is actually hosted out of india. So from other threads I've seen, people have been saying that one would need to try to sue in indian court not U.S. court, which ultimately may be way too expensive for me. I mean, from the messages that this person sent from my phone, as far as I can tell there is no talk of any sort of prostitution, it literally is just asking the person's availability. So i don't think that 1) i could ever get charged with soliciting prostitution on this basis, and 2)I don't really see how that would even be considered soliciting prostitution in the first place.

All of that being said, i just really don't like my information on the internet, I have since deleted my facebook account, changed emails, phone number etc. But i'm concerned that there are still pictures of me out there on the internet (ie. google search). I believe what they are doing is called libel, and it's messed up. I don't like how they can say i did something that 1) i didn't and 2)even if they caught the person who DID send the message from my phone, could they even do anything to him?

Either way. this website is partaking in defamation of character. By the way, the number that the text was from was *******, i looked it up and it's somewhere from texas, if you just google it a bunch of hits about female escorts come up, tried calling it and it said that my call could not be received.

What exactly do you wish to accomplish?

 

[quincy]

sorry about that

Thank you.

If the site is operating out of India then, yes, you would have to take legal action against the owner in India under Indian laws, unless the owner is found to be living in the U.S.

I would not worry, at this point at least, in being charged with soliciting a prostitute. The harm to you comes from being connected to this site. DO NOT MAKE ANY MORE CALLS TO THE PHONE NUMBER!

I would report the site to the Attorney Generals in both California and in Florida and let them investigate.

Of course, if you discover you are under investigation for prostitution solicitation (seems unlikely under the circumstance you describe), then you will want to consult with an attorney in your area. Do not speak about lost phones or text messages to anyone but your attorney should this happen.

Good luck.

 

[aconcernedprof]

Thank you.

If the site is operating out of India then, yes, you would have to take legal action against the owner in India under Indian laws, unless the owner is found to be living in the U.S.

I would not worry, at this point at least, in being charged with soliciting a prostitute. The harm to you comes from being connected to this site. DO NOT MAKE ANY MORE CALLS TO THE PHONE NUMBER!

I would report the site to the Attorney Generals in both California and in Florida and let them investigate.

Of course, if you discover you are under investigation for prostitution solicitation (seems unlikely under the circumstance you describe), then you will want to consult with an attorney in your area. Do not speak about lost phones or text messages to anyone but your attorney should this happen.

Good luck.

Alright, thank you for your help, and just to clarify, you're saying that I simply shouldn't do anything about this, other than contact the attorney general about this site, unless i am told that i am under investigation for solicitation, in which case i should only tell my attorney, at this point i shouldn't tell anyone that i am being falsely accused like this, correct?

 

[aconcernedprof]

What exactly do you wish to accomplish?

Ultimately, i want my old phone number and fake profile removed, as this has the potential to ruin my career, for the line of work that i am in. that being said, i'd hate to be fired on something that i never did! And i need to know whether i should tell someone about this or just leave it alone, because it is a scam, and i wonder whether not paying attention to it would actually do more.