Online Dating Background Checks -
This week, a 24 year old man was accused of impersonating Guess model “Bree Condon” on internet dating site, SeekingMillionaire.com. The 24 year old was deceiving wealthy men by posting photos of the model in order to obtain money. Model “Bree Condon” hired a private investigator to disclose who the suspect was, and found Justin Brown who was then indicted on a felony theft charge.
At a private investigation company, we see similar cases to this regularly. Many men and women think they are dating the person of their dreams, and are left only to find that they have been humiliated and taken advantage of. Here are some tips from licensed private investigators to help you avoid being heartbroken, scammed, and deceived on the internet:
Watch out for anyone who seems too good to be true. Start with chatting online and on the internet before immediately meeting in person. See if there are any odd behaviors you notice, or any lies you begin to catch. Remember to trust your instincts and if the story you are being told is too elaborated, chances are, it probably is.
Common Sense: Do not think you are ‘dating’ someone you have never met. Is the person telling you they are having financial problems? Do they always have some sort of excuse when you try to meet with them? Are they saying they want to meet you but cannot afford the trip? Do not lend out money to strangers! Are they lying? Internet lovers are said to lie about themselves more than half the time – do not believe anything without facts!
Request a Photo: See if the photo of the person is real. Though this is not always possible, if the person
Chat on the Phone: Make sure they don’t have you calling a 1-900 number or something in another country. These numbers can bring your telephone bill up to hundreds of dollars. Also, just because the person sounds legit on the telephone, this still does not verify the story they are telling you.
Meet in Public: While this may seem like common sense, you would be suprised how many times people end up on the first date in a private place. By meeting in public, you are able to leave at any time and it is always the safer option of the two.
Verify their Information: A background check will help verify the persons name, where they live, their criminal record(s), date of birth, properties owned, vehicles owned, professional licenses, marital status, and much more.
Without conducting a background check to verify the facts, there is no way to determine if what your ‘dream date’ is saying is true. Often times on dating sites, con artist will take on different identities and live a ‘double life’ – lying about their name, using a pre-paid telephone number, and never letting you know anything with factual substance about their life.
Background checks for online dating may seem like overkill, however, in the long run it can save you from being scammed and having your heart broken.
The writing here are great. Thanks for having them. I really get a lot out of reading web sites about the topic of criminal background record programs. There are so many programs. Which one have you found the most flexible? I don’t comment on many web sites but had to on yours. I don’t have time to read all the articles here right now, I found your site while I was looking for criminal background record something else on Google but I have bookmarked the homepage and will return soon to read your latest updates. Visit my site if you’d like to read more. Thanks again – great site! Thursday
hi, your blog is helpful, just came across it today in Yahoo, definitely come back again, thanks.
Private investigators, now a days are very helpful for solving all the problems in day to day lfe.
There are websites that offers instant background checks on people but i guess it’s not that reliable as hiring a private investigator, but it sure does help anyway.
I agree Carl – some sites that do instant background checks are EXTREMELY helpful. They can however, be quite dated!