Looking for love has never been easier. Today, singles needn’t worry about making an appearance at the local bar.
You’re one mouse click away from meeting your soul mate–Or not. Cyberdating sites like match.com seem to be the best thing since fudge brownies, yet maybe you better think twice about giving your address to the dapper, young man you’ve been chatting with for two weeks. Subjecting your latest sweetheart to a background check may be disheartening, but perhaps not a bad idea.
You never know if America’s most wanted man is masquerading as your potential Mr. Right. Recently, the FBI suggested that people should think twice about trusting someone from an online dating site. A notice, issued on Valentines day suggests that so-called sweetheart scammers are trolling cyberdating sites for unsuspecting victims who finance their schemes in good faith. One major red flag is a person who claims to be a U.S. citizen working abroad, especially if he wants you to send him money. Beware of multiple no-shows due to seemingly tragic circumstances if you plan to meet in person.
These are useful tips for protecting yourself while dating online, but wouldn’t your head ache a lot less if cyberdating services subjected their users to mandatory background checks before beginning to mingle? With most cyber-dating services, you’re on your own regarding background checks, but according to ABC News, true.com is a dating site that prides itself on checking its clients’ backgrounds.
Protesters of background checks on dating sites argue that it isn’t a foolproof strategy anyway. Most people lie in their online profiles. Statistically, women tend to lie about their weight, while men embellish their financial status and muscular abilities. Then there’s the occasional murderer or rapist in every cluster of soul mate searchers, right? Anyone can fake an identity online.
That’s the point made by the protesters. That members would have to pay extra to subscribe to sites that implement background checks is also a turn-off. Free background checking services are scarce, but you can find out if your prince is really a frog in the price range of $12-$50. BackgroundFerret.com is on the cheaper end of the spectrum, while Intelius is one of the top-rated background checking services available, priced at $49.95. BestBackgroundChecks.com is a site where you can find and compare background checking services.
Though running your dates through a background check may seem overboard, caring for your safety is not. Don’t ever readily trust a stranger behind a computer screen when it comes to your personal well-being.
NOTES: I am a writer and I do some articles and blog posts for BestBackgroundChecks.com, a free online resource to find and compare background checking resources.
Mark Boyd writes about a wide range of topics including music, marketing, background checks, business and travel. He is a father of 3 and enjoys time with his children, being a geek, making music, traveling and hiking.