Hey Lovie, I am not a fan of fear mongering when it comes to online dating or love of any kind, but a goddess does need to be smart. Trust mama! The phenomenon of people trying to dupe others when it comes to romance was not created by the internet, but the ease and anonymity does make it more widespread. Nev Shulman’s “Catfish” revelation and football star Manti Te’o’s unfortunate situation may seem extreme, but it’s good for us all to pay attention.
Do your due diligence and research the person you’re dating. Start with Google or Bing and take it from there. The good folks at miicard digital personal verification system provide today’s guest post about why someone might wanna be careful. Thanks to “Katie” for the videos. And don’t forget to check out this week’s Love Class at Mommy Noire when I discuss “The Power of Being Single.” Happy dating, lovies — watch! -aa
The Rise of the Catfish
This time last year we came across the Nev Schulman “Catfish” movie. The story follows Schulman who sets off on a road trip to meet his virtual love “Megan” face to face, only to discover that his virtual girlfriend is a completely different person than the one who he fell for online. We were quite surprised to learn about this phenomenon, but broken hearts and disappointment in the world of online dating is far more common than we like to think. The MTV “Catfish” reality series, based on the movie, shows just how widespread this problem really is.
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Red Flags to Look for from Modeling to Extreme Disasters
Social Frauds of Love.
Every day we’re seeing more and more people falling victims to fraud in online dating. As we all know, Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o made headlines with his own “Catfish” scandal, after he was reported to have been duped into an online relationship with a fake girlfriend.
Statistically, Speaking.
According to the latest figures, there are around 54 million single people in the US and about 40 million of those are active on online dating sites. With estimates as many as on in 10 profiles are fake, this is clearly quite a concern. The cost of online dating fraud was $65.5m last year and if it continues to grow at the current rate is predicted to reach $144m by 2015.
All of this supports the need for greater trust and safety in online dating. With so many fake identities out there, how can you be sure that the person on the other side of the browser really is who they say they are?
One Way to Know Who You’re Talking To
Apps like MiiCard aimsto bring trust to online dating. Their identity verification service claims to prove “you are who you say you are” purely online. Right now miiCard is offering memberships free for life. You can sign up here.
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