OnlyFans is a platform for content creators who are paid to pretend to like lonely men. A recent Reuters article investigates the dark side of the $1 billion company.

The story leads with Melinda Lam, a 46-year-old pharmacist from Colorado who uncovered her husband’s OnlyFans spending when a credit card payment for their son’s karate lessons was declined. Upon checking their shared accounts, she found multiple maxed-out credit cards and nearly $40,000 drained from their savings. According to Reuters, the total spending on OnlyFans eventually reached $135,000.

The discovery came at a particularly difficult time for Lam, who was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. After doing some research, she learned that her husband had been sending money to an OnlyFans content creator based in Bogotá, Colombia, who claimed to be “the FREAKIEST Girl on OnlyFans.” According to messages shared in the Reuters article, the content creator repeatedly asked Lam’s husband for large sums of money. The husband and the content creator even met for a vacation in the Dominican Republic.

The marriage began to deteriorate rapidly after the discovery. Lam reported multiple instances of physical assault by her husband to the police. These included him allegedly slamming her head against a car window, throwing their 5-year-old son to the ground, and attempting to strangle her. Fortunately, she moved out with her son and was preparing to file for bankruptcy and finalizing a divorce at the time of the Reuters report.

Other stories described in the article include:

• A 21-year-old Seattle woman discovered her most enthusiastic OnlyFans subscriber was her uncle.

• An Australian woman found out her top subscriber was her stepfather.

• Another Australian creator cut off a video-hungry fan when she learned he was a cousin she’d grown up with.

• A Missouri man posted sexually explicit videos on OnlyFans involving his dog, leading to animal abuse charges.

• Multiple instances of stolen identities being used to sell porn on the platform.

• Reports of naked men making porn in public places for their OnlyFans subscribers.

From Reuters:

OnlyFans didn’t respond to questions about Lam’s case or others in this story. On its website, however, OnlyFans says it’s building the world’s safest digital media platform for creators to express “their most authentic selves.” In a speech last year, CEO Keily Blair described OnlyFans as a “real community” where creators and subscribers had “nicer, kinder, more supportive conversations” than on other platforms.

My question is: why doesn’t OnlyFans have a system that detects unusual spending patterns or excessive transactions? Many financial institutions and credit card companies have mechanisms in place to flag potentially problematic spending behaviors.

But we already know the answer, don’t we?

Previously:
• School teacher supplemented $42k salary with $1 million OnlyFans earnings over the summer
• Twitch streamer has grossed $33 million in two years on OnlyFans
• Museums turn to OnlyFans to get around FB’s ‘decency’ filters
• Exhaustive reviews of ceiling fans

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