How to Recognize an Illicit Massage Business and How to Help
1/31/2022
Any legitimate massage therapist can spot the average Illicit Massage Business, or IMB, a mile away. But for those people that are less informed about what is considered normal in massage world, it can be confusing.
First of all let’s explain what an IMB is. These are business fronts that claim to offer massage when they are really offering sexual services. The hard truth is that the workers are usually victims of human trafficking that have been misled, intimidated, and forced into sexual slavery. The traffickers control their victim’s lives, keeping them isolated and broke.
We are publishing the following ten ways to spot an IMB to help to prevent them from hiding in plain sight as they have been, and to help the general public to be aware of the differences between IMB’s and legitimate massage establishments.
.Sadly, there are IMB’s in nearly every community in the country. The traffickers that operate these fronts are experts at blending into communities and presenting themselves as normal businesses. Even in cases where it’s obvious that something illicit is going on, it is difficult to know how to handle the situation. If you suspect that there is an IMB operating in your community and you want to help the people that work there, the best thing that you can do is call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (1-888-373-7888).
To be clear, attempting to personally interfere with these establishments is a really bad idea. Even something as straight forward as giving the employees information about the human trafficking hotline or the Polaris Project can backfire. These places are heavily monitored by video surveillance and the traffickers will pull workers from any location where they believe they’re being helped.
This short list does not include all of the possible indicators of an IMB and some of the points on their own wouldn’t guarantee that a location is an IMB. But any establishment with a number of these points should be viewed with suspicion.
The following points are a compilation of similar lists published by organizations such as the Dept. of health, Polaris Project, and DeliverFund.
• Windows covered, darkened, or blacked out• Massage businesses that are open later hours or those that say workers are on-call at any hour
• Locked front door with buzzer for entry
• Back or side door entrance
• prices significantly below market-level value
• Primarily male clientele
• Workers appearing to live at the establishment or arriving together in one vehicle
• providers are not allowed to handle their own cash
• An excessive amount of security or video cameras
• Providers are there for short periods of time, and new providers show up weekly or monthly
Again, if you think you know of an IMB and want to help, the best thing you can do is contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (1-888-373-7888) or visit the National Human Trafficking Referral Directory to find an anti-trafficking organization near you.
