Online dating has a dark side that not a lot of people like to think about.
Prowling your dating-app-of-choice to find a potential match is supposed to be fun and exciting. A world of possibility is within your reach, and you have thousands of opportunities to connect with interesting people who might have never caught your attention before. Hopefully one of these people ends up being your soulmate.
Society has gotten so comfortable using technology that we tend to trust it more than we should. Online dating apps are often revered because they help bring happiness into the lives of their users, and society loves a good love story. But online dating isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, it can be dangerous and sometimes fatal.
You have heard the risks of catfishing and the risks of romance scams that prey upon the emotionally vulnerable. These are very serious cases of fraud. The FBI even issued a cyber alert for Americans after seeing a 70 percent increase in online scams resulting from online dating apps. But there are also darker sides to dating online.
It’s reported that internet predators commit over 16,000 abductions, 100 murders, and thousands of rapes every year across the United States. We also know that around 10 percent of sex offenders use dating apps to find their next victims. But no one is talking about this, and singles who use dating apps aren’t doing much to protect themselves online. The real problem, however, is neither are the online dating companies themselves.
Match Group screens for sexual predators, performs criminal background checks, and uses identity verification tools on Match.com, but they don’t do this on any of their other sites, which includes Tinder, OkCupid, and PlentyofFish. PlentyofFish’s terms of use states that it “does not conduct criminal background or identity verification checks on its users or otherwise inquire into the background of its users.” A spokesperson for Match Group even acknowledged this glaring oversight, saying: “There are definitely registered sex offenders on our free products.”
At MyLife.com, we don’t believe verifying your potential date’s reputation is also the responsibility of the people using the dating apps. That’s why we offer people the tools and resources they need to stay safe when online dating.
MyLife has over 325 million verified Reputation Profiles, covering just about every adult in America. All you need to do is visit our website, type in the person’s name, and within minutes you’ll be able to uncover important information about them. If you recently matched with someone online, search and analyze their Reputation Profile before going on your first date. You could uncover pertinent background details like criminal and civil court records, even their real age, marital status, and other things that someone might misrepresent on a dating profile.
Finding love shouldn’t have to be dangerous. Dating apps don’t have your backs, but MyLife does. Be safe out there.
