How to Recognize Trafficking Red Flags, and What To Do If You See Them

This is the most important article on our site, and the one I hope you never need. Consenting adults making their own choices is one thing. Someone being controlled, threatened or underage is something else entirely. Here's how to tell the difference and what to do.

Why This Is Everyone's Business

There's a reason hotlines and investigators talk about clients as potential witnesses. In a lot of cases, the people who end up face to face with a trafficking victim aren't police or social workers. They're ordinary people who answered an ad. Plenty of trafficking cases have started with a tip from someone who simply noticed things weren't right and said something.

I'm not asking you to be a detective. I'm asking you to keep your eyes open, and to put a human being's safety ahead of your own awkwardness if something feels wrong.

Trafficking Red Flags in Context: What the Numbers Show

It helps to know how big this is, because "it probably doesn't happen around here" is the thought that keeps people quiet.

United States. The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 9,606 trafficking cases in 2023, involving 18,181 victims (one case can involve several people). Of those cases, 5,567 were sex trafficking, 1,558 labor trafficking and 1,018 both.
More recent US figures. According to the Congressional Research Service, in fiscal year 2025 the hotline received 187,863 signals (calls, texts, chats and online reports) and identified 13,623 potential trafficking situations.
Canada. Women and Gender Equality Canada reports that women and girls were 93% of identified victims in 2024. Public Safety Canada notes that among victims of known age, the largest group (41%) was aged 18 to 24 and 22% were under 18. Most police-reported cases (85%) happened in census metropolitan areas. In an RCMP Gazette article, the RCMP's Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre said 95% of its cases involve domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation, so this is not mainly about people brought in from overseas.

Two things stand out to me. First, these are only the cases someone reported, so the real number is higher. Second, the age profile overlaps heavily with the people who appear in adult listings. That doesn't make every young provider a victim. It does mean the red flags below deserve your attention.

Red Flags in the Listing Itself

Language suggesting youth. Words like "young," "new," "fresh," "barely legal," or school-related references, especially combined with photos where the face is hidden or the person looks young.
Multiple women, one number. Several listings with different photos that all share a phone number or the same writing style.
Constant moving. Ads that say "just arrived" or "in town only a few days" and pop up in a new city every week.
Third-person ads. Listings that say "she" and "my girls," or ask you to text someone other than the person pictured.
Unusually low prices or "anything goes." Independent adults set boundaries. An ad with none can be a sign someone else is setting the terms.

None of these alone proves anything. Some independent providers travel, and some share a booker. It's the combination, and the pattern, that matters.

Red Flags During Contact or a Meeting

Someone else is answering the phone, setting the price, or arranging the details.
She seems afraid, rehearsed, or keeps glancing at someone or her phone as if being watched.
There's a person waiting outside, in a car or in the hallway.
She doesn't know where she is, what city she's in, or the address of where she's staying.
She doesn't hold her own ID or money, or says she has to hand payment to someone.
Signs of injury, exhaustion, malnourishment or untreated illness.
She appears to be, or says she is, under 18.
She says anything suggesting a debt she has to "work off" or that she can't leave.

If You Think Someone Is Underage

Leave. Don't hesitate, don't negotiate, don't stay to "check." Nothing about the situation is ambiguous enough to stick around for. Once you're safely away, report what you saw. There's no grey area here, legally or morally, and every legitimate platform, including ours, treats it as an absolute line.

What To Do If You See Red Flags

Don't confront anyone. Trying to "rescue" someone yourself can put both of you in danger. Traffickers are often nearby and can react violently.
Leave calmly. A simple "I'm sorry, something came up" is enough.
Write down what you can remember. The phone number, the address, the listing link, descriptions of people or vehicles, the date and time.
Report it. Use one of the contacts below. You can usually stay anonymous.

Who to contact

United States: National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733. Confidential, 24/7, many languages.
Canada: Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-833-900-1010. Confidential, 24/7, in more than 200 languages including 27 Indigenous languages.
Suspected child exploitation (US): NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org.
Suspected child exploitation (Canada): Cybertip.ca.
Immediate danger, anywhere: call 911.

"Will I Get in Trouble for Reporting?"

This is the question that keeps people quiet, so it deserves a straight answer. The trafficking hotlines exist to help victims, not to investigate the people who call them. You don't have to give your name. The details you share go to people trained to handle them. Whatever your worries about your own situation, they don't outweigh another person's freedom or a child's safety. That's not a hard call, even if it feels like one in the moment.

For honesty's sake, here's how it actually works. The Canadian hotline, run by the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, says on its site that it is not the government or law enforcement and that what you share is confidential. Statistics Canada adds that it reports tips to law enforcement in certain circumstances, which is the point when someone is in danger. Its focus is safety planning and connecting people with support. The US hotline also takes anonymous tips. Either way, sharing what you saw is what matters, not who you are.

What We Do About It

On Skip The Games, every provider verifies before her listing goes live, and we look for many of the same patterns described above when reviewing ads. Listings we believe involve coercion or a minor are removed and reported. If you see something on our site that worries you, contact us through the about page and we'll act on it. Verification makes a real difference, but no system replaces the judgement of someone who's actually there.

If This Is About You

If someone is taking your money, holding your documents, threatening you or your family, or telling you that you owe a debt you have to work off, you are not in trouble and you are not alone. The hotlines above can help with safe housing, legal support and getting out, confidentially, any time of day or night. You can call even if you're not sure what you're experiencing "counts."

What Coercion Can Look Like From the Outside

One of the hardest things to understand about trafficking is that it rarely looks like the movies. There are usually no chains and no locked doors. Control is far more often psychological and financial. A "boyfriend" who started out generous and now takes every dollar. A debt for travel, rent or a phone that somehow never shrinks. Threats against family back home. Confiscated passports. A person may even defend the people controlling them, because fear and dependence work that way.

That's why the signs above are about patterns rather than proof. You won't always see anything dramatic. You might just notice that she isn't the one making decisions, that she seems frightened of her own phone, or that her story doesn't add up. You don't have to be certain to report. The people on the other end of the hotline are trained to work out what's actually going on. Your job is just to pass on what you saw.

Polaris, the anti-trafficking nonprofit, makes two points I think every reader should hear. First, people in trafficking situations don't always want help getting out, at least not right away. Seeing yourself as a victim happens "along a continuum," and fear, isolation, guilt, shame, misplaced loyalty and expert manipulation can keep someone from asking. So if she turns down help, that doesn't mean nothing is wrong. Second, men and boys are trafficked too, and Polaris says LGBTQ boys and young men are seen as especially vulnerable. The red flags apply whatever the gender of the person in the listing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common signs of trafficking in an escort ad?

Language implying youth, several listings sharing one phone number, ads written by a third party ("my girls"), a new city every few days, and no stated boundaries. One sign alone proves nothing. It's the pattern that matters.

Can I report anonymously?

Yes. Both the US National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888, text 233733) and the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline (1-833-900-1010) take tips without requiring your name.

What if I'm wrong?

That's fine. Hotline staff are trained to assess what you tell them, and a report made in good faith that turns out to be nothing harms no one. Not reporting a real situation can.

Is every provider who travels or uses a booker being trafficked?

No. Plenty of independent adults tour or share admin help. What matters is whether the person in the listing seems to be in control: of her own money, her own ID, her own phone and her own decisions.

Where do I report suspected child exploitation?

In the US, use the NCMEC CyberTipline. In Canada, use Cybertip.ca. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.

One rule above all

If something tells you a person isn't there by choice, or might be under 18, leave and report it. You'll never regret making that call. You might regret not making it for the rest of your life.