Question for the experts

First off I am very new to all of this so any input that can be provided would be appreciated. I was recently texting back and forth with a provider whose ad I found on backpage. She had a couple reviews on another site so it would appear that she is real. After going around and around to set a time she drops the news that she only doing outcalls. Then she disappears for an hour with no replies to my messages. So it is now the time we originally agreed to meet. Finally she returns, saying her phone died. We discuss meeting in about a half an hour. She then requests that I send her a picture so she can be sure I am not a cop. I ask her how a picture will help and she tells me that she can look at a picture and kinda tell if someone is a cop or not. Is this normal? It seemed like a very strange request and her reasoning didn't make a lot of sense to me. Due to all the issues I was having getting something set up with her, I politely told her I didn't think it was going to work out and I apologized for taking up her time.

Just wondering if was normal for a lady to request a picture of a guy before the meet up or if I was getting set-up for something.

Good call - you should never give out personal information or pictures of yourself, ID, etc. You were thinking with your big head, a difficult thing to do considering the situation that you described. Just remember, if you do not feel comfortable, follow your gut. What's the worst thing that can happen? A lot! Get arrested, catch a STD, wife/SO find out, lady blackmails you... So to answer your question, it is not normal - part of your research should be the lady's verification process...so again, good job.

No, it is not normal to ask for pictures of yourself or anything else. The proper response to all such requests is to hang up.

I wouldn't do it. If she wasn't a cop....then yeah, it might make "her" comfortable. But you have to do what makes "you" comfortable too.

Why didn't she ask for it at the beginning of her screening process? The fact that she wanted it a half hour before is what swayed me to a "no".

Depending on how many reviews she had and so on, she may not have been a cop. I would agree with plainjoe that sometimes if someone wants a picture, it might be for future blackmail reasons.

The fact that she disappeared for an hour...maybe she was getting ready or had another appt. or whatever. Doesn't mean she was up to no good during that time.

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate having both client and provider perspectives on this.