International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 105

International Journal on Criminology
Extensive analysis was required to assemble the network since the advertisements
revealed many common patterns that could be ascertained only by iterative
analysis and comprehensively combing the escort advertisement dataset for
potentially connected data points. The Backpage advertisements of the network,
all featuring Asian women, had an easily interchangeable format in the free text
portion of the advertisement, featuring descriptive language of different individuals,
allowing the poster to replicate them quickly. Beyond the connecting entities,
such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and embedded hyperlinks, commonly
noted language descriptors of the network, such as unique persona descriptions,
language advertising specials, common misspellings, and poor grammar, were
used to further construct the network and its operations. 22 Given the limitations
of machine learning classifiers in regards to textual and image analysis, these more
subjective indicators of the network were often classified manually.
Analysis of both the designated call and text telephone numbers of the
linked advertisements through telephone number registration searches revealed
that almost all of the entities used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIPs) providers.
Initially discovered telephone numbers were all registered to the same VoIP
provider, however, after fully mapping the network, the operators were found
to have used additional VoIP providers. Of these numbers, some of the designated
text telephone numbers were registered to a VoIP provider specializing in
SMS infrastructure for call centers, providing companies and organizations with
methods to communicate with customers through text message and other application-based
messaging platforms. When mapping the network, the entities with
the largest number of connections were two WeChat IDs. WeChat is a popular
application-based messaging platform among Chinese populations in China and
abroad. 23 From this information, it was inferred that application-based messaging
platforms, particularly WeChat, and VoIP services were used to schedule and deploy
outcall escort services, potentially from a centralized location. This evidence
supported the conclusion that this network was highly organized, used technology
to efficiently coordinate activity across multiple cities, and was operated by Chinese
individuals, potentially from outside the United States.
Distinct personas of individuals described in the advertisements began to
surface through analysis, although these were suspected to be fake personas. Image
analysis conducted using Google image search of the photographs featured in the
Backpage advertisements and escort agency websites, described below, displayed
22 Elements used to link the advertisements included telephone numbers, designated “text only” telephone
numbers, email addresses, WeChat IDs, strings of unique text, the content structure of the
advertisement, images and photoshopped features within images, advertisement post ID numbers,
locations and physical addresses, persona descriptions, listed external websites, and identities of
potential perpetrators.
23 R. Hollander, “WeChat has Hit 1 Billion Monthly Active Users,” Business Insider, March 6, 2018,
https://www.businessinsider.com/wechat-has-hit-1-billion-monthly-active-users-2018-3.
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