Abstract
This report investigates the safety risks of online dating, and what users can do to protect themselves. With the incorporation of the internet in everyday life, the dating scene has risen to a whole new level as millions of singles flock to online dating networks to find love. But with the growing number of users comes the growing risk of these users being victimized. Currently, 10 percent of registered sex offenders use online dating sites, which they use as tool to prowl for new victims. These websites are also used by scam artists, who pose as Americans living abroad or traveling overseas who have tricked thousands of unsuspecting victims out of millions of dollars. Communicating primarily through email or instant messenger, these scammers establish a friend-like relationship with their victims, and then ask for money to help pay off various debts. But users can avoid being victimized by these criminals by limiting their use to sites with nationally recognized reputations, such as eHarmony, Match.com and faith and ethnicity-based sites operated by Spark Networks. These sites recently declared their intention to protect their users and set an example for the industry by signing a joint statement of business principles that include background checks of users with sex offender registries. Additionally, users need to be on their guard, but can also be their own detective by using search engines as a means of looking up names for background checks, and insisting to move communication from email to Skype or some form of video chat.
Eric Kambach 