When I call local ladies, I don't block my phone. That seems to be sufficient for all of them. No one has ever called me back unexpectedly. I don't always identify myself by my board handle the first time, but I use another alias for privacy reasons.
I think that checking ID's of local clients is way over the line, and very few clients would ever agree to such a request. I've never been asked to do so, and would only agree if the lady showed me her ID too. If I'm seeing ladies I've never seen before, I rely mostly on information on the boards to decide if they can be trusted.
I'm a little surprised at Quimby's suggestion regarding new local clients, since he was recently victimized by a Winnipeg SP. She posted his real name on another board and threatened to expose him to his family. (She was banned here, but may have returned under another handle.)
When I'm out of town and seeing ladies in my hotel room, it's different. I have to give them my real name so that they can call me back in my room. Most hotels require a last name before they'll put calls through. Even though the risks of exposure are much less in this situation, I still rely on the boards to decide if the ladies (or agencies) can be trusted.
Both the escorts and clients have legitimate concerns. For the ladies, it's physical safety; for the clients, it's fear of exposure. One doesn't trump the other. Just because nearly all the ladies on this board would never attempt to blackmail a client doesn't mean that these lowlifes don't exist. Likewise, few, if any, of the clients who post here would ever harm a lady, but such violent bastards exist too.