Leolist.cc Petition

[Lindsayxo]

I dont know how to change poll
- photo ID is NOT in the petition


My frustration isn’t about competition.
It’s about trust. Clients are losing faith.

Providers are losing time, money, and reputation.

All we’re asking for is action and accountability so this platform can be safer, more credible, and worth paying

Please sign especially if youre a lady. Its time to defend the men who support us.
They deserve our back up. Time and money wasting fakes.

https://www.change.org/Leolistforchange

If you are a ttrustworthy provider you'll agree with this petition.

 

[westwoody]

ID checks are dangerous to anyone who values privacy. Nobody knows how carefully LL will safeguard your data.
Eros gave the feds all their data.

 

[Lindsayxo]

I've spoken to many police regarding my work, im fully aloud to be in operation.
I would never ask my clients to verify

To the minimum we need the map API
Prove we are even been around the city.

Its way to scammy I have tons of proof of who's fake on Leo's/advertising with someone else's photos.

I just had a client get ripped off 1500.00 between 2 different providers.

ID checks are dangerous to anyone who values privacy. Nobody knows how carefully LL will safeguard your data.
Eros gave the feds all their data.

 

[Lindsayxo]

My petition is not regarding ID, id like to redacted that from the poll.

My main is photo verification
Map API
Maybe its even agreed that we use a city landmark with photo verification.

ID checks are dangerous to anyone who values privacy. Nobody knows how carefully LL will safeguard your data.
Eros gave the feds all their data.

 

[westwoody]

The landmark verification is a good idea.
The pics LL uses now could be taken anywhere.

 

[VivaciousVivian]

I absolutely agree, LL needs to do better, but personally I don’t think they actually care about scammers because real or fake, they still get paid every time an ad gets posted or bumped. Scammers are a huge part of their revenue, so they have no real incentive to shut them down.

However, the volume of scammers really is ruining their status as a reputable website and many providers and clients are taking their business elsewhere, which will eventually tank their bottom line. So they SHOULD care.

I love the idea of a petition to try and get their attention! So many of us have been yelling into the void of their feedback form for years and all we get in return is a canned response that they’ll pass our feedback on to the appropriate department, and nothing ever changes.

I like the idea of photo verification, Tryst does that and it has mostly worked well for them, they also require ID but they aren’t great at spotting fake IDs so scammers are starting to sneak in over there too… but I think LL would need some really good privacy protection for providers to feel comfortable providing a verification face photo.

I also like the idea of map API and/or landmark photos, the downside I can see with that is it would limit the ability of traveling providers to advertise ahead of their tour dates to get prebookings, as they aren’t yet in the location they want to advertise. But it’s better than nothing, which is what’s happening right now! 😉

 

[Lindsayxo]

I absolutely agree, LL needs to do better, but personally I don’t think they actually care about scammers because real or fake, they still get paid every time an ad gets posted or bumped. Scammers are a huge part of their revenue, so they have no real incentive to shut them down.

However, the volume of scammers really is ruining their status as a reputable website and many providers and clients are taking their business elsewhere, which will eventually tank their bottom line. So they SHOULD care.

I love the idea of a petition to try and get their attention! So many of us have been yelling into the void of their feedback form for years and all we get in return is a canned response that they’ll pass our feedback on to the appropriate department, and nothing ever changes.

I like the idea of photo verification, Tryst does that and it has mostly worked well for them, they also require ID but they’d aren’t great at spotting fake IDs so scammers are starting to sneak in over there too… but I think LL would need some really good privacy protection for providers to feel comfortable providing a verification face photo.

I also like the idea of map API and/or landmark photos, the downside I can see with that is it would limit the ability of traveling providers to advertise ahead of their tour dates to get prebookings, as they aren’t yet in the location they want to advertise. But it’s better than nothing, which is what’s happening right now! 😉

I don’t want to create unnecessary barriers for women who travel for work.
Even a one-time verification per city would be enough.

For example, when I worked in Medicine Hat, I ran an Alberta ad. A simple verification such as taking a photo with a recognizable local landmark could confirm that a provider is physically present in the advertised location. Once verified, that status could remain active for that city.
Platforms make more than enough money to support a system like this.

As a provider who has paid into this platform for over two years, I’ve personally seen the damage caused by unchecked scams. Clients regularly arrive after being ripped off elsewhere, and providers are left doing hours of unpaid emotional labor reassuring, proving legitimacy, and undoing the harm caused by fraudulent listings.

The constant “courting” and reassurance required just to prove we are real services is exhausting and unnecessary.
This situation needs to end.
Either the platform takes responsibility and implements basic verification tools, or providers deserve credits or compensation for the additional unpaid work we are forced to do due to platform failure.
There is a significant amount of real labor happening behind the scenes, and it needs to be acknowledged.

https://www.change.org/p/paying-pro...ed_by_id=b0fc0c50-a8c4-11f0-886e-8bb4f4f95a10

 

[VivaciousVivian]

I agree, it truly needs to stop! Sadly, after 8 years of advertising there and watching them sell out twice, with each new owner being worse than the last, I don’t hold a ton of hope that they will actually change, even with pressure.

Since 2017, their ad price has more than doubled, and the cost of bumps has risen over 8000%! We are also being forced to bump more often just to remain visible, but we aren’t even competing with each other, we’re competing with scammers and sponsored ads, many of which are other websites owned by Leolist. They are using their own companies to gouge us, and it’s working. Many of us use LL because we don’t have many other advertising options available to us and boy do they know it. I hate it, and I’m happy to stand with you and others to at least try to make a change!!

 

[Lindsayxo]

I agree, it truly needs to stop! Sadly, after 8 years of advertising there and watching them sell out twice, with each new owner being worse than the last, I don’t hold a ton of hope that they will actually change, even with pressure.

Since 2017, their ad price has more than doubled, and the cost of bumps has risen over 8000%! We are also being forced to bump more often just to remain visible, but we aren’t even competing with each other, we’re competing with scammers and sponsored ads, many of which are other websites owned by Leolist. They are using their own companies to gouge us, and it’s working. Many of us use LL because we don’t have many other advertising options available to us and boy do they know it. I hate it, and I’m happy to stand with you and others to at least try to make a change!!

Thank you, I was very worried making this but I had no doubt REAL providers would be backing me. This is refreshing, I like standing for something... especially when it comes to our defenseless clients.

 

[Forum mod]

leolist says it operates with community moderation and reporting of posts. Everyone needs to register an ID and flag every scam post, every day and see if it does anything. I doubt it will but it would be a start. The scammers are paying a LOT of money to them, dozens of ads in dozens of geographies every day, so Leolist has no incentive to do anything other than keep the flow of money going. Unless it's made painful for them, it will just keep getting worse, not better.

 

[bothro]

Thanks for posting this Lindsay. Do you have data on the percentage of ads that are fake/scams? I have wondered. LL should be used cautiously. I don't see anyone who isn't either reviewed or is advertising on Perb. I have only seen a couple that are not confirmed in some way and they are typically not likely scams. In no circumstance should a "purchaser" provide id or funds to anyone who themselves are not confirmed (positively reviewed and verified on secondary sites.

B

 

[Noob888]

I just had a client get ripped off 1500.00 between 2 different providers.

That's their fault for not doing their homework. Not sure if it's allowed on LL to mention actual review sites, but forewarning customers in your ad will go a long way. More and more gullible and credulous people are being scammed in every day life thanks to social media and bots/AI.

 

[Ratbert_2008]

A simple verification such as taking a photo with a recognizable local landmark could confirm that a provider is physically present in the advertised location. Once verified, that status could remain active for that city.
Platforms make more than enough money to support a system like this.

This would be trivial to defeat with AI

 

[masterpoonhunter]

Other than a recap of the amount of false shite on leolist I really don't think any petition will make a difference. Or reporting for that matter. They are making money and don't care how they do it.

 

[Lindsayxo]

Other than a recap of the amount of false shite on leolist I really don't think any petition will make a difference. Or reporting for that matter. They are making money and don't care how they do it.

LeoList’s own privacy policy confirms that the platform automatically collects IP addresses and uses cookies to track user activity and devices. This data reveals where ads are being posted from and allows the platform to recognize repeat behavior.
Despite having this information, LeoList does not use it to verify whether an ad’s claimed location matches the poster’s actual location. As a result, fraudulent and fake ads are allowed to remain active, while clients are scammed and legitimate providers bear the consequences.
This is not a technical or legal limitation — it is a choice.

Please sign the petition and click the option where you can hide your name!

https://www.change.org/Leolistforchange

 

[Okanaganguy1985]

Scammers often don’t even use their own cards they use stolen cards to post ads and then scam more people with it .

The only way is to use facial recognition to confirm if you’re male or female posting and somehow are authorized that way

but the make a shit load of money so it will never happen it will just be remade and rebranded somewhere somehow.
Leolist is the man thing in Canada right now people use so it’s not going anywhere

leolist says it operates with community moderation and reporting of posts. Everyone needs to register an ID and flag every scam post, every day and see if it does anything. I doubt it will but it would be a start. The scammers are paying a LOT of money to them, dozens of ads in dozens of geographies every day, so Leolist has no incentive to do anything other than keep the flow of money going. Unless it's made painful for them, it will just keep getting worse, not better.

 

[Lindsayxo]

!!!

 

[SmikeSmith]

Fully support the petition. I think you make really good points, and have a good proposal. I think the biggest challenge is that there is such a range of providers, and one portal.

To add to that, there are a lot of ethical issues within the SW, different kinds of service providers, etc.

and as others have pointed out, some of the business models of sites may actually depend on the scammers, plus given the legality or perceived risk from banks or businesses, I’m not sure putting that faith into a website is really the way forward. But it’s a really good conversation!

 

[Forum mod]

I appreciate the thought and efforts here, but if you think Leolist cares about a petition with 16 signatures, I am afraid you are setting yourselves up for disappointment. They wouldn't care if it had 16000 signatures. They are a private business, the .cc domain is based overseas. What they might pay attention to is a hit to the pocket, a boycott from providers and pooners alike would be the minimum to get their response. If you are truly serious, I'd suggest posting this on TERB and MERB and other places, to gain more exposure.

 

[SmikeSmith]

I appreciate the thought and efforts here, but if you think Leolist cares about a petition with 16 signatures, I am afraid you are setting yourselves up for disappointment. They wouldn't care if it had 16000 signatures. They are a private business, the .cc domain is based overseas. What they might pay attention to is a hit to the pocket, a boycott from providers and pooners alike would be the minimum to get their response. If you are truly serious, I'd suggest posting this on TERB and MERB and other places, to gain more exposure.

I’ve seen it posted other places already. I agree, in part, that it may not push the needle, but at the same time, I think there’s been good discussion here about what the problems are, and some good suggestions about how things might be better. The action itself is important, not just whether we see change.