Perils of Online Dating Prompt Safety Efforts

REUTERS -- Mar 21 -- Josie Brown never had a chance against her 6-foot-6-inch killer.  John Gaumer, confessed and led Baltimore County police to Brown's body on February 7, listed his height and other attributes in his quest for dates on MySpace.com.  "There are millions of people we're dealing with here and somehow people think they are all preachers," said Paul Falzone, CEO of Together Dating, a brick-and-mortar company that performs background checks on all members. Falzone says background checks result in 10% of applicants being rejected.  For most of the 40 million people using Internet sites for dating and socializing each month, a disastrous 15 minutes over coffee at Starbucks is the worst they will suffer.  Only a small percentage of "intimate partner violence" -- nearly 700,000 such incidents were reported to the U.S. Dept of Justice in 2001 -- originate from Internet dating, according to Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch, which monitors the dating industry.  "To think a felon could find a victim, especially for a heinous crime, gives me the heebie-jeebies. I do all I can do to prevent that," said Herb Vest, TRUE.com CEO.  So far, California, Florida, Texas and Michigan have considered (background checks) legislation.  Yahoo! and Match.com, the industry leaders with 6 million and 15 million monthly visitors respectively, continually stress dating safety.  "The Internet has its dark side and they are not doing everything they can to keep sexual predators and gold diggers off these sites. If you don't police yourselves, the government will come in and police you," said Michigan state Sen. Alan Cropsey.  "There are other ways to get to who that person is, rather than have the government ram a business model down your throat," said Abe Smilowitz, CEO of Webdate.  Webdate uses real-time video as a safety measure, allowing prospective dates to chat and get a look at each other via Webcams.  Companies like Safedate and Honestyonline are springing up to run background checks for individuals. According to Dr. John Gray, education is the solution.  "The warning signs often come out right away. Beware of someone who can solve all your problems or who comes on really strong," said Gray. 

Comments

[Binks]

I get the heebie-jeebies when dating sites like True make outrageous claims they are the safer dating site. True has hundreds of felons and married people on there site and Vest isn't suing them.

Their tests are required. True uses information from these test without disclosing the true purpose, which is to race profile for their marketing purposes. Nor does True's so called Free trail offer reveal the billing scam going on.

Never do any of the test at True, nor give them a credit card. Free should mean you don't need to put up a credit card. True free offer will cost you months of frustration and cash.

I have found the one making the big claims is usual the one to look out for.

[Binks]

For detail of True deceptive and sleazy business practices.

Go To BigmouseBinks.blogspot.com

[James Henry]

I would be careful with all online dating sites. If your going to do it then run a background check on the person your going to meet. Better safe than sorry.

[Free Background Checks]

I agree with James...you never know whos out there.

[Oksana Boichenko]

Background check is a good thing - in spite of the fact that all scam profiles are rejected, dating sites' admins can check the criminal background - I think it's necessary.

[Greg Lander]

I have to say yes and no! If you want a service that does the background checks you will pay alot for thedating site fees and no one wants to pay for dating sites.So i think most people are carfull within todays society,knowing that ther is a chance you may meet someone crazy.

Greg Lander
http://www.v3Dates.com

[Beth]

Online dating can be scary. I know in my personal experience I have had some close calls with men that I have met offline. My friend told me about being proactive and doing background checks on the men BEFORE we meet in person. I wasn't really sure how that worked, do I hire a PI? She said that there are sites out there that will do a fast easy and cheap background check and all you need is the persons name and email address. She uses BeenVerified so I went to their website www.beenverified.com and for like $10 I did a criminal check on a new guys I was talking to. They can check the persons identity, criminal past, marriage/divorce certificates and its super easy. I highly recommend taking charge of your safety and do background checks before you meet someone for the first time.

[Jennifer]

I'll just stay single for a while. Went on 2 internet dates in my life. One was mental, the other bizarre. Luckily, I didn't meet a sociopath or homicidal maniac. However, with my luck this year, it could only be a matter of time.

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[Courtney Brand]

I didn't realize that online dating could be so risky. But background checks can be costly. I have read about many happy dating experiences and sites in forums so it can't all be bad.