Carrie Thompson didn't know what she'd find when she decided to give online dating a try, but she definitely didn't expect to be the target of an international scam.
She met a man, wrote back and forth with him, and then started getting requests to exchange money orders for cash — and then he asked for an outright loan. And after a while, it seemed the conversations always turned back to the money.
Once she started doing some digging, she found her situation sounds a lot like the “sweetheart scam" version of the Nigerian scheme that takes all sorts of forms.
She hopes her story will help keep others from falling for a ploy that appears to prey on love to get to your money.
When the tall, not-bad-looking 40-year-old man wrote lines about love, she didn't fall for them. read more
She's looking for some E-harmony. He just got out of E-block at the penitentiary.
Online dating services would have to tell you whether or not they at least tried to find out if your perfect match is also a match in a criminal records check, under a bill approved by a Senate committee.
It's a perennial bill, pushed by one online dating company, True.com, that does background checks and tells members that on their site.
Opponents of the measure say True.com is just trying to get a marketing advantage over other companies who — if they don't do background screenings — would have to say so prominently on their site under the bill (SB 1536). It was approved in the Senate Commerce Committee over the objection of those who said it offers a false sense of security. read more
Starting April 1, 2008, www.therightbreed.com will be actively on the air. Geared towards single pet owners and animal lovers, the online dating website offers instant messaging with webcam, a graphic intense unique chat room, emails, flirts, searches by region, age, animals and breeds, blogs, forums and an online magazine on pets and dating. Sign up now… it's free and The Right Breed is also offering the potential to win one year's worth of pet food. A site like this is long overdue. read more
