Being Aware Of Online Dating Profile Fraud
Something I firmly believe if you're considering online dating is the need for complete honesty. Personally I will not suffer dishonesty when it comes to online dating profiles. Unfortunately there are some very deceitful people in cyber space, guilty of one of the worst Internet match making crimes, profile fraud!
It's a crime that goes unpunished because there are either very few or no laws governing honesty in online dating. I'm quite passionate about this particular subject, as you can most likely tell. It really gets my goat!
I wouldn't know what the level of fraud is among the male profiles as I simply haven't taken the time to investigate. Some girls along the way have told me that the guys too are quite liberal with their personal descriptions. What I can tell you through experience however is that some women actually set out to deceive in order to lure you in. It's true! Like the black widow spider that lures her pray in with the offer of sex, has her way and then promptly devours him. At times I have felt like a male black widow. On more than one occasion in the past I have found myself exchanging communication with someone over the course of a couple of days until you finally get a picture out of them and they look nothing like what their profile describes. Complete outright fraud!
I recall one particular incident with a 32-year-old woman who should have known better. There was no picture displayed on her profile and she had described herself as attractive, tall and slim as well as horny, very horny! Well, what did I have to lose? She had contacted me, which was a positive as it meant I had just the faintest hint of control over the situation. I was also quite excited, she really did appear to be a good match. Unfortunately it was to be far from the case.
Once we finally had a chance to exchange photos I discovered she was in fact older than she had stated, short and grossly overweight. At best she looked nothing like what her profile had described! You have to ask yourself why? Why waist peoples time because essentially that's all your doing by deceiving potential partners. This was not the only occasion either where something like this happened. It occurred with frightening regularity and as it turned out I chose to let them know about it given the opportunity.
The main types of profile fraud to keep an eye out for are:
As far as false descriptions go the best advice I can give you is "Ask questions!" If you ask enough of the right questions you will soon work out if the profile they have provided is as accurate as you would like. For example, if someone includes slim and athletic in their profile, ask them what their interests and hobbies are. If you get a response like "I like to relax and sit around watching TV" you may begin to question the slim and athletic nature of the person. Subtle questions will quite often minimize the uncertainty.
The same thing goes for locations. If you know the area a person suggests they come from ask a few subtle questions relating specifically to the area. Something about a local shop or park or similar will usually do the job.
In my early days of searching for a partner online I learnt the hard way so I am hoping these few basic tips will assist you to avoid the same mistakes I made. In future articles I will address another related topic, "The Online Dating Scam". There are many, and not really just an issue of petty fraud. These scams are often cruel and costly for the unwary. I hope the knowledge I can provide you with will see you avoid such situations so keep an eye out for my upcoming articles.
Until then I wish you the best of luck with your searching.
Something I firmly believe if you're considering online dating is the need for complete honesty. Personally I will not suffer dishonesty when it comes to online dating profiles. Unfortunately there are some very deceitful people in cyber space, guilty of one of the worst Internet match making crimes, profile fraud!
It's a crime that goes unpunished because there are either very few or no laws governing honesty in online dating. I'm quite passionate about this particular subject, as you can most likely tell. It really gets my goat!
I wouldn't know what the level of fraud is among the male profiles as I simply haven't taken the time to investigate. Some girls along the way have told me that the guys too are quite liberal with their personal descriptions. What I can tell you through experience however is that some women actually set out to deceive in order to lure you in. It's true! Like the black widow spider that lures her pray in with the offer of sex, has her way and then promptly devours him. At times I have felt like a male black widow. On more than one occasion in the past I have found myself exchanging communication with someone over the course of a couple of days until you finally get a picture out of them and they look nothing like what their profile describes. Complete outright fraud!
I recall one particular incident with a 32-year-old woman who should have known better. There was no picture displayed on her profile and she had described herself as attractive, tall and slim as well as horny, very horny! Well, what did I have to lose? She had contacted me, which was a positive as it meant I had just the faintest hint of control over the situation. I was also quite excited, she really did appear to be a good match. Unfortunately it was to be far from the case.
Once we finally had a chance to exchange photos I discovered she was in fact older than she had stated, short and grossly overweight. At best she looked nothing like what her profile had described! You have to ask yourself why? Why waist peoples time because essentially that's all your doing by deceiving potential partners. This was not the only occasion either where something like this happened. It occurred with frightening regularity and as it turned out I chose to let them know about it given the opportunity.
The main types of profile fraud to keep an eye out for are:
- Inaccurate or false photographs.
- Deceptive or false descriptions.
- Deceptive or false locations.
As far as false descriptions go the best advice I can give you is "Ask questions!" If you ask enough of the right questions you will soon work out if the profile they have provided is as accurate as you would like. For example, if someone includes slim and athletic in their profile, ask them what their interests and hobbies are. If you get a response like "I like to relax and sit around watching TV" you may begin to question the slim and athletic nature of the person. Subtle questions will quite often minimize the uncertainty.
The same thing goes for locations. If you know the area a person suggests they come from ask a few subtle questions relating specifically to the area. Something about a local shop or park or similar will usually do the job.
In my early days of searching for a partner online I learnt the hard way so I am hoping these few basic tips will assist you to avoid the same mistakes I made. In future articles I will address another related topic, "The Online Dating Scam". There are many, and not really just an issue of petty fraud. These scams are often cruel and costly for the unwary. I hope the knowledge I can provide you with will see you avoid such situations so keep an eye out for my upcoming articles.
Until then I wish you the best of luck with your searching.
Richard Connery would like to invite you to visit his website at http://www.richardconnery.com/ to find out more information about his latest novel "Web Games: Hearts & Minds" and to submit the 'Contact Us' form at http://www.richardconnery.com/Contact_Us.php to be kept up to date with release dates, news and information about all products available from Richard Connery Productions.
(c) Copyright - Richard Connery. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
(c) Copyright - Richard Connery. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
