In the past few days I have received larger than usual "Reference Request" activity. I have received texts and calls from a lot of girls asking for references for guys and their phone numbers of people I have NEVER seen before. These gentlemen are telling each of these girls they have seen me before.
Please do NOT just take a potential client at his word when he uses a girl as a reference. You should ALWAYS contact that provider to verify that guy is telling the truth, no matter if you have to make that client wait to set up an appointment.
SAFETY First... Always!
I have had this happen to me a lot in the past when I used to rely heavily on provider references for my screening. The "shady" ones would continually give me the name of a very well known and reputable provider as their reference. I would contact her, and she would say she'd never seen them before.
She said the "shady" ones do this a lot in attempts to trick providers into just taking them at their word. "They" assume most of us will not directly contact that lady to verify that she has actually seen them before, especially if that provider is well known and respected.
I will reiterate this... Do NOT take potential clients at their word. ALWAYS contact me when/if someone uses me as a reference.