If you are in the online dating game, you are not alone. According to a research done last year, fifteen percent of American adults use or have used online dating services as a means to find a partner. This accounts to almost 50 million people only in the United States. Out of the huge online dating market, Match.com claims to be responsible for more dates, relationships, and marriages than any other dating site in the world. Match serves users in 24 countries and hosts websites in 15 different languages. But not only they have the reputation of being the largest company in the online dating industry. They have lived up to this reputation since launching in 1995 and have figures to support their success: Match owns the largest member bases of the online dating industry and is one of the most profitable as well, with a revenue of $285 million in the first quarter of 2016.

However, the online dating industry isn’t all about romance and finding love. It is mainly about making money like any other business does. For companies that sell dating services like Match.com, it’s an extremely competitive world where each company has to find a way to continue expanding and getting more and more users. Every new member means more profit, and none of the dating platforms really care about where their clients come from as long as they pay their membership. Internet scammers all around the world take advantage of the lack of control that online dating sites have over their users and they use it in their favor to open fake profiles and commit their crimes.

How to avoid being a victim?

International private investigators at Wymoo have been helping thousands of people around the world verify if their online partners are who they claim to be. John Wallace, Director of Background Checks, mentions that the first step is to acknowledge that the risks exists, and that being deceived is something that could happen to anyone.   Some people think it couldn’t happen to them, when in reality, internet criminals are very sophisticated, and even the most skeptical can be victims.

“In the experience of our private investigation team, those who are skeptical and cautious are a lot less susceptible to online scams”, explains Wallace. If from the beginning of an online relationship people are aware of the risks and willing to invest in a professional dating background check investigation, the chances of getting caught in a scam are very low. If on the contrary, they ignore that online scams exist or decide this is not something that could happen to them, there are a lot more possibilities of being scammed. This is why getting informed and sharing all the prevention tips available is so important.

Another thing to consider is that paying a membership does not exclude anyone from the scammers list. Online criminals pay memberships too. After all, they make quite a big profit out of deceiving people online. This is the main reason why Match.com and other dating websites are not so interested in getting rid of them. Thieves invest a portion of their profits so they can obtain the contact information of their potential victims. Once they start communicating with their targets, they will most likely suggest other means of communicating that will not require any payment.

Verifying an individual you’ve never met in person, or obtaining clear evidence on an individual in another country requires the skills and resources of a trained international investigator.  Don’t try to verify and play detective on your own, as the results can be a costly mistake.

Last but not least, keep your eyes open to any suspicious behaviors. Early manifestations of love or money requests are major red flags. Even though the relationship has been going on for a while, it is very important to stop and verify the facts before taking any action. Online criminals can be very convincing, and they have resources to trick people. Forged and fake documents are just part of the game. Some cases may require local investigation or even surveillance to obtain enough evidence, but in any case, the help of a professional international investigator will be very useful.

Have you met someone online?  Get the truth today.  Contact us!

C. Wright
© 2016 Wymoo International

© Copyright 2016 Wymoo International.  All Rights Reserved.  This content is the property of Wymoo International, LLC and is protected by United States of America and international copyright laws.  Wymoo® is a registered trademark.