All you have to do is pay attention to the news to discover that squads across the United States are cracking down on everyone with a pulse, including escorts. While some are investigating human trafficking rings, other vice squads are simply out to make arrests, regardless of the true offense. If your local vice squad or adult entertainment task force is actively seeking area "criminals", you should do what you can to avoid attracting their attention. Even though you are providing legal services to clients, your best bet is to continue to fly under their radar and live as discreetly as possible.

There are several ways to deflect law enforcement attention, we'll focus on just these 13:

1. Never show your face or unique features in your posts and/or online galleries. If police suspect that some illegal activity is derived from your profile or account, having a face to match up with the name makes an arrest much easier. The same thing goes for any photos that include a distinguishing birth mark, tattoo or other scar that is unique to your appearance. If your profile photos do not include any evidence that directly links you to the listing, law enforcement officers have a more challenging time establishing your identity. Additionally, avoiding the use of facial photos provides more discretion for you in many areas of your life, helping to keep your career confidential.
2. Never allow the word "sex" in your communication with clients. When you discuss an encounter with a regular or prospective client, clarify very specifically that the client is paying a fee for your time. Indicate what that fee is and the amount of time your client will receive. Under no circumstances should you indulge conversations with clients about intercourse or specific sexual acts that he will enjoy during that time. If your client suggests something sexual, inform him that he is paying strictly for your time. Tell him that anything that happens during the encounter is determined based on the mutual consent of both of you, for only personal reasons, not related to the initial transaction. But, if possible, avoid talking about sex in any form. Law enforcement officials may attempt to sway your words away from a literal interpretation to a translation of inferred content or intended behavior.
3. Avoid communicating with clients through mainstream email providers. Even though it is a preferred method of contact, discourage your clients from in-depth conversations conducted through email messages sent to Google, Yahoo, Hotmail or any US-, UK- and Canada-based email provider.
4. Pay cash for a prepaid mobile phone to use for business discussions. Mobile phones linked to your personal identity can deliver information about your activities directly to the police, especially if they begin investigating your behavior. However, using a pay-as-you-go mobile phone provides you with some degree of privacy. Your Social Security number and name are not required to set up a prepaid phone. It's much more difficult for investigators to link your cell phone number with any identifying information when you use a prepaid no-contract phone. But, don't feel that the information cannot be tracked. Once they have your number, they can easily subpoena records associated with it and ping its location. While a prepaid phone is a much safer option, it is not a completely secure one if you are under investigation. In 2011, telecommunications companies fielded over 1.3 million requests for subscriber information, and many of them met federal reporting guidelines.
5. Use disposable, anonymous (or nearly anonymous) accounts for your website, email address and other online presences. Provide false information everywhere you can and never use the same account for more than one purpose. If you establish a website, host it in Iceland or any other unusual country that may have better respect for privacy than most Anglo-Saxon countries. As you set up profiles online or carry out online marketing, pay for it using prepaid debit cards and other less traceable methods.
6. Hide your online IP address. Even if you've done a good job of hiding your email address and website account ownership details, your personal information can still be tracked if your IP address is associated with them. Anonymous proxy servers acts to interrupt the association between a home network and the rest of the Internet. As a result, your computer accesses the Internet indirectly through the proxy server, disclosing your true location and information. Several free proxy servers exist on the Internet for use. Other software implementations are available to support anonymous proxies. For instance, Firefox uses an extension called switchproxy that switches between proxy servers at regular time intervals, providing further protection for your IP address. Look up the following words at DuckDuckGo.com: VPN, Tor, I2P2 network.
7. Avoid advertising your services on monitored, US-based sites such as Backpage. Law enforcement have a constant eye on Backpage and other US-based sites with active escort listings. While no escort directory site is completely safe from or impenetrable by undercover officers, those with less attention will cause you much less scrutiny. Associate yourself with offshore marketing sites like Skipthegames.com and leave the policed versions for amateurs.

8. Whether by choice or by chance, you have picked your side in the fight of the state vs the individual. Your work itself is disruptive, there is no need to show off

   Be a boring, inconspicuous law-abiding citizen in all aspects of your life. Don't speed, don't do drugs, don't evade taxes, don't shoplift, have no provocative stickers. Generally, stay out of trouble. Be a model citizen by going out of your way to do right and demonstrate your respect for law enforcement's authority. If you are ever suspected of breaching any prostitution laws, your clean and illustrious legal history will help defend your innocence and discourage officers from investigating your activities further. Stay invisible.

9. Leave no trails. Paper and digital trail may (and the way things are going, will) be used against you. This is advice you should also give your clients. When you're out and about tending to bookings, pay in cash and avoid giving your real name when possible. Don't get parking tickets that would associate you with particular locations at suspicious times. Pay for hotel rooms in cash. Rent your incall under a pseudonym. And avoid sharing more information than necessary, especially personal details.
10. Discretion is paramount. Discretion is many things. The first is to keep information to yourself. That means not disclosing information about any high-profile clients you have, even to other escorts you are friends with. Don't share details about encounters, where you meet clients, how much they pay or anything else. Refuse to divulge personal information about yourself to clients. Even if asked, never tell a client your real name, allow him to find out where you live or provide any other details about your private life or family. In the same vein, discourage your clients from talking about you or the encounters you have with him. Another part of discretion is doing your best to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. If you meet your client at a hotel, dress appropriately for entering the hotel so that employees don't suspect anything fishy. Conduct yourself in a sophisticated manner that demonstrates you belong wherever you are. Efforts to avoid being inconspicuous are integral to avoiding heat from law enforcement investigations.
11. Be a common citizen and mind your own business. Blending in with everyone else in your neighborhood or building is a must. Demonstrate to others that you are one of them by dressing similarly, talking like them and living your life in the same manner. Don't flaunt wealth, unless you live in an area where expensive accessories or belongings are commonplace. Volunteer with local worthy organizations or get involved with activities associated with your children. Indulge in simple hobbies such as gardening or exercise. In other words, appear normal and average, even though you live an exciting secret life as an escort. Average people, according to law enforcement, provide little interest for investigation.
12. Produce a good cover story. If you're bringing in a respectable income through your escorting career, you must provide a good cover story to explain your wealth and flexible hours. Make sure that your story is believable and can be investigated by law enforcement for some level of authenticity. For instance, if you're a "freelance accountant," according to your cover story, make sure that you have a business name and the education to back up your story. If you're a "fashion consultant," keep business cards and a website up so that your endeavor appears legitimate. Make sure that your cover story could produce the income that you receive through your escort client list and maintain bank accounts and credit cards through your business name.
13. Aim for quality, not quantity. When you define your goal as wanting more money, you have already lost – because fiat currencies like the US dollar are someone else's game: the rules will change when you least expect it. Instead, look carefully at all your billing cycles and ask yourself: "I will die once no matter what. Should I really be wasting my energy on generating more power for the already powerful? Or should I aim for what I want? And how do I know what I want?"

Keeping your nose clean and being selective about the clients you visit with will, for the most part, allow you to proceed with your escort career under the radar of law enforcement investigations and stings. However, as task forces are pushed by political reasons and quotas to crack down on victimless crimes, officials look for more escorts to boost their stats and make examples of. As they increase the number of arrests they make, their departments make more money, spend more money, officers get promoted and receive nicer kickbacks, which is highly coveted in the field of law enforcement.

Deliver your services quietly, discreetly, legally, and professionally. Do less. Think less. Talk less. Want less.

Disappear.