Background Checks in Online Dating

People love to meet on the internet. Networking sites like mySpace and Friendster as well as dating sites like Match.com and eHarmony enable internet users of all ages, shapes, sizes, sexual identities, geographic locations, and - here's the biggie - backgrounds to meet for friendship and dating and possibly more. But when it's so easy for people online to disguise who they really are - post a fake photo, list fake stats, false accomplishments, etc. - how is a person to feel safe meeting up with anyone they first encountered on the internet? The answer: background checks.

As you're probably well-aware, employee background checks are conducted by employers to weed out unsuitable candidates for employment, and many landlords conduct background checks to find good tenants. But did you know that people you meet on matchmaking websites are now using inexpensive and perfectly legal online methods - namely web detectives and detective web sites - to conduct background checks on potential suitors like you?

We've all heard by now of the nightmare stories of sexual predators lurking on networking sites frequented by young teens. But thanks to these web detective services, people can now check the sex offender registry for their state (and maybe even city or county) as well as perform criminal background checks to screen out dangerous elements.

Pressing for Legislation
Since early last year, founder and CEO of dating site True.com, Herbert Vest, has made it his mission to pass legislation in several states requiring all online dating websites to conduct background checks on their members. Either that or post a disclaimer that clearly states they do not perform background checks on their members. (True.com, obviously, already performs background checks on all their members.)

States like California, Michigan, Texas, Virginia, and Florida all have such legislation proposed. Of course as the internet marketplace is a global marketplace, it would be very difficult for one state to impose such restrictions (or at the very least, enforce them) unless every other state also complied.

Many dating services now exist in which all participants consent to a background check before qualifying to join up. And there are even a few online detective agencies catering specifically to the online dating world.

Do It Yourself with Web Detective Services
But most often the responsibility is on you to conduct your own online background checks, perhaps using one of the web detective service reviewed on this site, before setting up a face-to-face encounter with someone you've only corresponded with online (or on the telephone, for that matter).

Using these web detective tools - just like a employer might to run an employee background check - you can find out all sorts of things about the people you meet online. A simple online background check can tell you of a prospective mate's (or new friend's) criminal history, marital history (and status of their divorce, including child support), their scholastic history, and employment history. You can learn the same information about their family too. You can verify each prospective lover's identity, and found out if the tales they've told you about themselves are true or not. You can discover whether they've gone through bankruptcy (or could be liable to soon). You can uncover whether they have any aliases, professional licenses, or civil judgments against them.

Protect Yourself
People can be extremely vulnerable, short-sighted, and trusting when they're lonely. And other people can be prone to taking advantage of those in a vulnerable, short-sighted, trusting state. This is common knowledge. That's why, not only is it advisable to run a background check on people you meet online for your own peace of mind, but for your family's as well. Statistics show that whether or not you run a background check on a prospective partner yourself, some over-protective member of your family probably will (if they haven't already).

Additional Resources:
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