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November 21, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
True.com spends who knows how much money over the course of a year to sue a sexual predator and now Markus at PlentyOfFish helps get a murderer captured in a few hours. Good job Markus. This brings up the issue of how sites deal with sharing personal information about members with police and whether or not these circumstances are adequately covered by the PoF terms of service.
Another quality quote from Markus:
I've made 112 million introductions since the site started. One in 8 million people get hit by lightning in the U.S.
I need more coffee to understand that.
Technorati Tags: plentyoffish
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October 24, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Job hunting after college is exciting. Your first real job. But then, on the eve of finding out if you scored that plush job at that Forturn 500 company, you get an email from your head hunter saying you have been dropped from contention. Then they send you a list of Myspace and Facebook web links with photos of you 1/2 naked, drinking beer or smoking illegal substances.
Well yes, you were not so smart to fall into to voyeurism trap facilitated by social networking, but what to do next? Hint, the technical term is adjudication.
Pete @ Mashable does a nice job explaining Reputation Defender:
So what does it do? Well, ReputationDefender tracks mentions of you across various sites. They monitor a range of social networks including MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, Bebo and LiveJournal, plus blogs, news sites, media sharing sites like Flickr, Webshots, Photobucket and YouTube and many more sites across the web. They then send you a monthly update showing what they’ve found - if you’re a prolific blogger, that update could be fairly lengthy.
Opinity, Trufina (past and present clients) Rapleaf, iKarma and other companies are trying to come up with various business models to support the need for better online identity tools and services. ReputationDefender comes out of nowhere, off in their own niche, essentially betting that whatever services are launched to protect your identity, somewhere, someone will always screw something up.
Aggregation, protection and adding value to nets of personal data online is going to be a huge business. Several companies are looking for the secret sauce of service differentiation and finding a niche that works for their business models. If they execute well, Reputation Defender could own a significant chunk of the emerging reputation management market.
I wonder if they will have a dating-specific offering, for Truedater and the other rate-a-date sites.
I agree with Pete that I too would pay to stop people from republishing my blog content and wrapping it with Google ads. When you start to think about it, there are lots of services that ReputationDefender could launch.
Technorati Tags: reputation defender, reputation
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October 18, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
This really should be subtitled "How To Build a Dating Site Part IV."
I will treat dating sites with respect when they do the same for their members. I try hard to say nice things about the industry, but it's difficult, and I am generally a positive person.
Dating sites think singles are sheep with credit cards tattooed on their foreheads. I look forward to the day when dating and social networking sites begin to respect their members and cater to their deeper, more evolved needs.
I have belonged to 50+ dating sites and have read over 3,000 profiles for research projects. Right now I don't belong to any dating sites, a protest against the current state of the online dating experience which gets me thinking about other things for a while.
Why is it that the sites that make the most money selling banner ads and buying inventory on social networking sites are the sites most likely not to give a crap about their members?
I'm constantly blown away by all the money dating sites are leaving on the table. Millions of people waiting at your doorstep, yet the door remains closed.
Mainstream dating sites make all the money, while more and more people are meeting on local or niche sites. The problem is, I want to belong to both, without paying multiple times.
I will pay a hell of a lot more than $20 to meet my future wife. The problem is, there is not one single site or service in the US that I would, or could, give my money to that caters to my demographic and that I have a reasonably high level of confidence in. Totally depressing. Where is the $500 hands-on service?
Where is my 7-day pass to a network of dating sites? I want to check out Yahoo, several Spark Networks properties and a few others, free and paid. Let me create a single profile that works across all of them.
Event-based dating sites are taking off, this is good to see. I made three event dates this week, that's huge compared to the usual hunt and pick on most dating sites.
Mspace is hurting the online dating industry, for now, but only a portion of it, young 20-somethings that will never make it to paying dating sites because the value proposition is so off for them. Nobody can be cool on a dating site. Who the heck wants to be a voyeur, paid or otherwise, on a dating site when we have Girls Gone Wild on Myspace?
Blogging gets boring from time to time, it's difficult to stay charged up all the time about the next new dating site. Look at Onlinepersonalswatch, Mark works in the diet industry now, scans news feeds and writes about YouTube. It's hard to stay focused when most industry news is a snooze. Social networking stole online dating's thunder, from a media and revenue standpoint. Go ahead, start another blog about social networking. When do you have time to get any work done?
PlentyOfFish is a great media story, although I often wonder how long Markus will rule the free dating world. I'm dying to check his server logs, same goes for Mate1.
Dating sites need to grow a pair and put programs into place to get rid of stale profiles. Six months is stale. Match, Yahoo and everyone else on down the line have been misleading consumers for years. Clean up your act and your database. Less profiles will lead to more money. Embrace the dynamic nature of the real-time web. A dating site database is not a card catalog, it should be a guided, rich multimedia experience, with a profile stream that flows like water. If you don't understand the concept, it's time to get smart. Email me learn more.
Europe is learning the lessons the US dating market learned 3 years ago. This was to be expected. Why then, as I thumb through the Amsterdam iDate conference proceedings, is everything about mobile dating? Haven't we been through this before? Sure, EU singles use their phone more, but why are 1/3 of all presentations about mobile dating? How big is the leading social network in Estonia and why was the CEO speaking? Why is it important to convert males to customers? Aren't females the minority?
Profile helpers are coming out of the woodwork. They all work off the same script, zzzzz, and they certainly don't scale well.
People don't join a dating site because of an expert. I would like to see how much more money sites make when they hire said "experts."
Where is the next generation of personality testing? How come I can't collaborate and take a test *with* someone?
The technical minutia of personality testing is lost on 100% of online daters, who tend to judge effectiveness on results, not weighted averages. How does one testing service differentiate from another when the mechanics and algorithm are not taken into consideration?
User-created video posted to free sites like YouTube will be huge. Major sites need to add video back into the mix. What they didn't do last time was provide privacy and progressive communication controls. Everyone emails the blonde with the big boobs, so give her the tools to protect and manage her suitors. Where are the scripts, the helper-apps to make creating a profile and video easier? Why do I have to pay someone to help me with that? There is a strong argument it should be part of the service offering from dating sites. Yup, there goes some of your margin, but the upside will be huge. Background checks I'm not so sure about adding into the monthly price, seems like an added-cost for the time being.
Speaking of background checks, how many women need to bilked out of their money or assaulted before dating sites start offering their services? I just heard from a women who was bilked out of six figures by a scammer on Match. And she wants to sue. I have a hard time sympathizing with people who get scammed. Being lonely certainly lowers the defenses.
Dating site executives often do not belong to multiple sites. That's crazy! That's as bad as singles not checking out the same-sex competition to see how they stack up.
What ever happened to live events? IRL went kaput pretty fast and Match Events fizzled for a reason. Time to try again.
Anonymous calling, Background checks, voice/chat providers, time to get in bed together, on your own you're not going anywhere fast. Userplane not included, they are the gold standard for integration and advertising models, although I don't feel comfortable with chat interface, but 125,000 websites do, what do I know.
If you work in the dating industry, go brainstorm something useful and cool for your site, create a new ad campaign, market to a new niche or tweak your search algorithm or find a new way to entice people to sign up for your site. Do something extraordinary that differentiates you from the competition.
If you're single, go outside and do something outside your comfort zone. Talk to a stranger that catches your eye, strike up a conversation with new people, they are often more likely to connect you with someone than your friends.
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October 13, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
It took a year, but True.com finally sued a convicted felon.
In November 2005, TRUE took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against a convicted felon and registered sex offender from California who applied for membership with the company, misrepresented his felony status, and improperly accessed TRUE's database, all in violation of its policies. TRUE's primary objective in the lawsuit was to obtain a permanent injunction preventing the convicted felon from accessing the TRUE Web site and its members, no matter how long it took.
The felon is banned from True.com, he has to do community service and pay some sort of monetary damages. Is it me or is this too lenient?
I wonder how much this guy is going to have to pay? The maximum fine is $250,000, and True is donating the entire? amount to SODA, the Safer Online Dating Alliance. SODA press release says TRUE.com is considering donating all funds from the settlement to further SODA's legislative and education initiatives.
How much did the litigation cost True? $50k? $150k? If they spent that for one case, what will the cost be to litigate potentially thousands of members? It will be interesting to see how the legality of background checks comes into play into the courtroom.
More at PR Newswire.
Technorati Tags: safe dating, soda, true.com
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September 29, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Mark Brooks over at onlinepersonalswatch thinks liars are hurting not only themselves but also the online dating industry.
Lies are always good for the short term and bad for the long term. Singles need to hold themselves to a higher standard of integrity. I advise anyone who goes on a date and finds themselves in front of a liar to immediately excuse themselves from that date. "Sorry, I'm not comfortable continuing with this date because you lied to me. It was a pleasure meeting you however. Thanks, bye."
Can you imagine if people did this? Bars and coffee houses around the nation would be littered with overturned chairs by people leaving in a huff.
Approximately 35 million people have tried online dating in the US. Taking various reports (research and anecdotal) into account, about a third of them are lying through their teeth, a big reason why online dating is foundering against the shoals of social networking.
One would think people paying for dating sites would be more truthful, such is not the case.
This is the primary reason why social networks can be more effective than dating sites to meet people. People tend to be more honest about themselves on social networks.
Here's what I think is going to happen. Dating sites will drag their feet until they are forced to offer background checks. In the meantime, the spammers, scammers and wackos are migrating to social networking sites. Because Myspace is owned by a global conglomerate which must squeeze as much revenue as possible before fickle kids move on to the next big thing, they will adopt privacy standards, terms of service and security measures far beyond anything the dating industry is willing to implement at this time.
Interesting that a romance coach is the only commenter who used the word trust. I'd rather see people argue the merits of establishing trust as opposed to approaching the issue from the white lie perspective.
A background check may keep you from having coffee with an ex-con, but hardly make people more honest. Background check companies (clients of mine), have been working to develop a value proposition that appeals to dating sites as a win-win situation.
Dating sites want to see the money, they are not interested in increasing the level of trust and the overall quality of members on their site. This somewhat myopic yet understandable perspective will gradually shift as dating sites begin to take into consideration the quality and reputation of their members. Especially when it comes time to be acquired.
As I have stated often, the dating industry need to establish a set of common trust protocols, sharable across different sites. Several companies are close to coming up with various solutions which all sites can use. These are not the typical rateadate sites currently vying for people's attention. Rating sites, while fun to peruse, don't have the traction, features or reliability to be truly useful, although progress is being made.
Not many daters take advantage of profile services or romance coaches and they certainly don't take advice from dating columns on dating sites or newspapers. These are reliable source of information, and pieces of the trust puzzle, but the complete solution continues to allude the industry as a whole.
Technorati Tags: trust
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September 8, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Shore Network Connections LCC is offering paid members of its dating site,
TheBadge.org, free access to background check provider investigationsnow.com.
TheBadge members are mostly cops, firefighters and EMTs can use the service to find out if that special someone is a murderer, sex offender or even worse, married.
Background checks cost anywhere from $15-$50 depending on the desired level of scrutiny and number of databases searched. For a site pulling in around $3,000 a month from subscriptions, this could be a good loss-leader which is sure to increase signups.
Investigate now offers services similar to Trufina, BackgroundChecks, Verified Person and many other verification services.
From the Datingpro blog.
Technorati Tags: background+checks
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September 6, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
According to Tech Crunch:
There has been an overwhelmingly negative public response to Facebook’s launch of two new products yesterday. The products, called News Feed and Mini Feed, allow users to get a quick view of what their friends are up to, including relationship changes, groups joined, pictures uploaded, etc., in a streaming news format.
Many tens of thousands of Facebook users are not happy with the changes. Frank Gruber notes that a Facebook group has been formed called “Students Against Facebook News Feed”. A commenter in our previous post said the group was closing in on 100,000 members as of 9:33 PM PST, less than a day after the new features were launched.
Digging into the comments on various sites, it seems people are a) freaked out by change, b) not paying attention to how the Facebook privacy features worked, c) feel they are losing control over their data, which does not in fact appear to be the case.
Just wait until Myspace does something similar. A savvy politico could launch a political career my representing Facebook and Myspace users.
Reminds me of the uproar over the FriendFinder integration of SpringStreet a few short months ago. Blog and message boards rattled for days over the supposedly b0rked changeover to FF systems. I actually cancelled my account recently due to the fact that it appears the FastCupid (was SpringStreet) site has been left to slowly die off.
With Heyletsgo taking over the social aspects of Craigslist Boston, I'm basically off Myspace and Tribe, which have been rendered moot for me.
Fred Stutzman of ClaimID fame has more great insights into the situation. Fred is a total academic stud when it comes to covering Facebook.
As Scott McNealy said to the consternation of many: "You have no privacy. Get over it."
Technorati Tags: facebook, privacy
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Posted by Dave Evans
According to Tech Crunch:
There has been an overwhelmingly negative public response to Facebook’s launch of two new products yesterday. The products, called News Feed and Mini Feed, allow users to get a quick view of what their friends are up to, including relationship changes, groups joined, pictures uploaded, etc., in a streaming news format.
Many tens of thousands of Facebook users are not happy with the changes. Frank Gruber notes that a Facebook group has been formed called “Students Against Facebook News Feed”. A commenter in our previous post said the group was closing in on 100,000 members as of 9:33 PM PST, less than a day after the new features were launched.
Digging into the comments on various sites, it seems people are a) freaked out by change, b) not paying attention to how the Facebook privacy features worked, c) feel they are losing control over their data, which does not in fact appear to be the case.
Just wait until Myspace does something similar. A savvy politico could launch a political career my representing Facebook and Myspace users.
Reminds me of the uproar over the FriendFinder integration of SpringStreet a few short months ago. Blog and message boards rattled for days over the supposedly b0rked changeover to FF systems. I actually cancelled my account recently due to the fact that it appears the FastCupid (was SpringStreet) site has been left to slowly die off.
With Heyletsgo taking over the social aspects of Craigslist Boston, I'm basically off Myspace and Tribe, which have been rendered moot for me.
Fred Stutzman of ClaimID fame has more great insights into the situation. Fred is a total academic stud when it comes to covering Facebook.
As Scott McNealy said to the consternation of many: "You have no privacy. Get over it."
Update: Facebook Followup.
Technorati Tags: facebook, privacy
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September 5, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Dating site eRomance is fighting online dating scammers with a sophisticated 7-layer filtering system, aimed at containing online scammers that seek to victimize other community members.
“The system has been created to keep the community safe and to keep the scammers out,” says Neal Cabage, founder of eRomance.com.
Neal commented on the system here.
In talking about the new filtering system, Collaboradate says:
I remember a while back Dave Evans of Online Dating Insider had mentioned a black list of email and IP address that would be shared between sites. I love this idea , and because I loved it so much I have started to design an API for just this solution. As soon as I get it ironed out I will share more of the details here.
Glad to hear it, looking forward to seeing what you come up with. hopefully this is the beginning of a new breed of scam filtering systems.
Via Yahoo News.
Technorati Tags: eromance, safe+dating, scammers
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August 31, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Pendulum Communications has launched a scam and fraud consulting service.
Scam Vigilante will focus exclusively on assisting online relationship providers who are concerned about this crisis and the outcome it will have on their ability to keep membership levels growing, maintain a strong brand name, meet revenue projections and keep shareholders and investors happy.
Founder Greg Moore:
We confidentially, audit the entire operation of the site from the IT, customer service, security and web development departments and make defensive, restructuring, decisions based on our knowledge of how scammers from Russia and Africa are able to get onto dating sites to scam innocent men, women and younger people, even when these countries are blocked from registering to any U.S.A., Canadian and UK date site. We provide a complete analysis, setting new operational standards for dating sites based on preventing scammers from ever entering your site.
Unlike mainstream security providers and consultants who focus on background checks, criminal and marriage records of registering members. Pendulum business model is to service online relationship service providers seeking to rid their site of Russian and African romance scams. The "Scam Vigilante" consulting service will be offered to service providers and to online members who may need assistance with determining if the member or online profile they are involved with is a scammer.
I briefly spoke with Greg about Scam Vigilante. Greg is pretty hush-hush about existing clients and exactly how he goes about auditing and providing services to dating sites, for good reason.
I have talked to several others purporting to offer similar services, and walked away mildly freaked out by the black-ops/military/mystery sketch factor (me in office with guy who is packing a 9 mm firearm, not necessarily a high-comfort level). As I get to know Greg and the services he provides I'll share more. Until then, scammers should know that there is a whole new wave of security teams out there watching your every move and starting to pre-empt your insidious tactics.
Technorati Tags: dating+fraud, scam, scam+vigilante, dating+scam
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July 19, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
 Anonymous phone calling services continue their attempts to penetrate the online dating market. Jangl is the latest company to enter the niche, raising an additional $7 million from Silicon Valley firm Cardinal Venture Capital. The round included Storm Ventures and Labrador Ventures, the two firms that first led a $2 million round into Jangl last year.
Jangl is YAAPS, Yet Another Anonymous Phone Service. There are so many players in this space, it's not entirely clear to me why VC would unleash $9 million on a company with little to differentiate itself from competitors and initially focused on the dating market.
I've talked about anonymous calling many times in the past: Anonymous Calling, Background checks = FUD, Skype Will Own Part Of Click-To-Call Market, Vivox, the next big thing in online dating?
For dating, Yahoo, MSN and Skype provide plenty of anonymous calling features, and with an installed base of hundreds of millions, why wouldn't people use their existing IM client?
For e-commerce, user verification is important, something existing IM clients do not offer. Still, quite a niche in a crowded marketplace. I will withhold further judgement until I see the Jangl Myspace widget.
I wouldn't be surprised if the major telco carriers offered anonymous calling capabilities in the future, it's a step further than blocking caller ID and just another line item in your monthly bill.
GigaOM goes into detail about Jangl and Silicon beat has more on the the company and the funding.
Technorati Tags: anonymous+calling, jangl
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June 29, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
 Edward at Other Singles has been using Google Trends to track the popularity of the term "dating" according to geography.
Check out the graph. It shows Google search terms related to dating from regions of the world. Searches related to "dating" on Google eclipse all of the other countries combined. Granted Google Trends is still in Beta, even if the results are off by 50% there are still a lot of Nigerian "daters" looking for "dates". I have to wonder how many dating sites are using AdWords and not filtering out where their AdWords display (exclude Nigeria for example).
Edward outs scammers from OtherSingles.com on his blog. I would like to hear more dating sites talk about the idea of a shared whitelist or blacklist, which are popular in today's email systems.
As I've said many times, rate-a-date sites are as good as the data they publish and the number of people using any one site. I believe something along the lines of a shared blacklist would improve the quality of participating dating sites and be good for online dating industry as a whole.
The solution could be as straightforward as XML formatted messages containing information about blacklisted members. Of course there is a lot more that needs to be figured out, that's where background checks and other identification systems come into play. At Identity Mashup a few weeks ago there were people talking about this kind of solution, only they weren't talking about online dating.
This idea needs more perspective from inside the dating industry. How many sites would be open to discussing sharing this type of data between competitors? Does the potential for increased revenue from a clean member database outweigh the cost of putting such a system in place? How about the effect on the industry overall? Or do you think customer service reps will continue to be able to stay on top of scammers and spammers and consumers won't care one way or the other? I say let the machines do it.
Technorati Tags: google+trends
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June 8, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
According to an article in The Washington Post, The Online Laws of Love, everybody is blond and skinny in cyberspace. The article begins with classic examples of online dating scammers. Russian brides, prisoners and progresses with brief mentions of the suits against Match and Yahoo, the Mail-order bride legislation as well as the ongoing background checks initiative started by Herb Vest at True.com.
Lawsuits against Internet dating sites for the false statements of other customers have mostly gone nowhere, in part because Congress basically immunized such Web sites with the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which says providers can't be held liable for the lies of third parties.
A good read with links to additional information. I'm still waiting for my contact close to the investigation to send an update about the Match and Yahoo situation, supposedly there is a lot of evidence that will turn the heat up in the investigation.
Speaking of True, have you seen the True ads? They appear to be going head to head with Adult Friend Finder.
Technorati Tags: lawsuit, legislation
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May 31, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Matchmaker Orly Hadida has been ordered to pay client Anne Majerik $2.1 million USD for psychological damages after Majerik forked over $125,000 for Hadida's matchmaking services. Orly counter-claims Majerik is a serial suer of matchmakers. Court documents reveal Orly has been in court for kidnapping and arson and was acquitted on both counts.
I want to know how a social worker in Erie PA can afford a $125,000 matchmaker, including $25,000 for consulting services and another $50,000 for the money-back-guaranteed Billionaire Search.
Orly is counter-suing for $700,000, or roughly 6 clients fees.
I've been asked about matchmakers many times and I never even try to recommend one over another past a general mention or introduction, there are simply too many variables for a third party to take into consideration when recommending a matchmakers. Perhaps a copy of the Matchmaker Report will come in handy for those looking to avoid such costly miss-steps, although as with all matchmakers, your mileage may vary.
I can see all communication between a matchmaker and their client being audio-taped from here on out, it's the only way do defend against these kinds of claims.
Is a matchmaker really 1,250 times better than a dating site? If you like to snuggle with millionaires it appears so.
Link to story.
Shout out to Sam in Brazil for the tip.
Technorati Tags: matchmaking, orly
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May 9, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
The title says it all: "Female-Name Chat Users Get 25 Times More Malicious Messages."
Technorati Tags: obvious
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May 8, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
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May 5, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
iKarma will be offering PhoneConfirm's identity verification services.
Paul Williams, iKarma's CEO:
We selected the PhoneConfirm.com solution from Across Communications after a nine month search. We found that credit based identity solutions required too much personal disclosure, and anonymous key based solutions weren't practical for our service industry user base. PhoneConfirm.com provides a quick and easy solution that works in over 200 countries, so it fits well with our plans for international expansion.
This may make more sense for PhoneConfirm than going after the online dating market, which is notorious for resisting integrating third party services. One deal, one company, potentially many more customers.
Dana Consulting Inc. developed the Across Communications platform. PhoneConfirm is a wholly owned service of Across Communications.
My same argument holds true from my last post. When is a phone-callback verification service enough of a deterrent to evildoers and when is a background check more appropriate? It depends on the situation and context. A background check is often perceived as a heavier, more intrusive process whereas a phone call may not be considered a big deal. It's really up to the consumer to decide which service they will go with. Until now, they have voted no to both, at least in the online dating space. Identity management is a whole other ballgame. Research into consumer adoption rates of both options would be welcome.
Press release.
Technorati Tags: ikarma, phoneconfirm
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Posted by Dave Evans
PhoneConfirm has announced the launch of its Phone Identity Verification (PIV) service for the online dating industry.
The dirty little secret in the dating industry is that many dating profiles are fake and the industry doesn't want the issue to see the light of day. That and the fact that up to 30% of some dating sites members are married, but that is a story for another day. PhoneConfirm aims to bring the issue to the forefront by linking profiles to verified phone numbers during the signup process.
One of the reasons Myspace removed 200k profiles is because they were going to be outed on national television and decided a Chief Security Officer was needed. In their case, the press was driving the issue of security amongst the 60 million + teens and twentysomethings on the site.
PhoneConfirm may work for paid dating sites, it's going to be an uphill battle for free sites, which often do not require identifying information past an email address. Sating site executives understand that it's imperative to make the signup process as smooth and hiccup-free as possible, otherwise visitors don't become members as often. Will the verification process be a welcome addition or a hassle which drives users away?
There are many ways to thwart phone verification systems. Throwaway phone numbers, anonymous calling services, Skype, etc. If anything, the service may bring peace of mind to online daters.
One thing seems clear, phone verification systems seem easier to implement and less expensive than background checks. I think I would rather know if someone was an axe murderer or pedophile as opposed feeling warm and fuzzy that they have a cell phone.
I definitely want to demo this and go through the entire process.
Technorati Tags: phoneconfirm
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March 20, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
According to Mark Brooks, iDate is having a conference for background checks in San Francisco on July 13-14. No link to conference from his blog, and when I went to iDate, I don't see a link to the event page either. Not the best way to promote an event.
Besides learning that Verified Person raised $12 million in January and that Pat Mangiacotti has left Trufina and is now at Backgroundchecks.com, not much has been happening in regards to background checks being implemented at major dating sites.
There is a new crop of companies who have jumped into the space during the last year including Honesty Online. My money is on one of these three companies having the best chances at landing deals with the major sites.
Everyone else is simply too late to the party, arriving fresh-faced and eager, albeit with undifferentiated offerings. A successful employment screening business does not mean you can walk into a meeting with the Yahoo Personals Biz Dev team and secure a pilot program. Many companies have tried and failed at that in the past.
I don't care how good your data is, that's not the main selling point. Sites that gush about databases will never win, data are only one part of the winning mix.
The company that wins must have a rock-solid web-based service, intimate knowledge of the online dating industry and a business model that works, including pricing, marketing and customer service. No one single company has been able to deliver on all three counts.
To make matters more difficult, for several reasons, dating sites don't like the idea of background checks and have said over and over they are not interested in offering the service. With a hostile audience, it's an uphill battle all the way. Even the recent media hoopla or the effects of legislation efforts made by certain dating sites has hasn't done much to accelerate the adoption of security-related services for dating sites.
I'm sure a few west coast companies will have a presence at the iDate event, but if you're a dating site that appears even remotely interested in background checks, you've no doubt already had discussions with the primary vendors. I'll post more when there is an actual link to conference information.
Technorati Tags: background checks, honesty online, idate, verified person
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March 15, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Michael Arrington over at Techcrunch gets a lot of deserved heat for his glowing review of TrustedID.
I've been following the ID verification, identity management, background check market
for quite some time, advising companies like Trufina and talking to the providers of the SSO (single Sign On) frameworks that will use these types of services. There is definitely a need for enhanced security on the the internet but this kind of rushed reporting is what gives bloggers a bad name. Mike's faux pas aside, the background on ID theft is sobering.
Ten million people per year fall victim to identity thieves - and sometimes it takes years to track down what’s happened, shut down fake credit accounts in victims’ names and restore their credit and name to good standing. Shredding mail and other personal documents is not enough to protect yourself, either. Last year, over 50 million consumer data records were lost by corporations. The FTC estimates that identity theft costs our economy about $50 billion per year. This is where TrustedID comes in. First, they are fighting the federal legislation and trying to expand state level consumer protection laws. And second their new product, IDFreeze, will help consumers protect their credit.
TrustedID could be an interesting partner for a dating site in conjunction with dating sites under the guise of providing tools and services to online daters and showing they care about their safety and security. Judging by how long it's taken background checks and ID verification to take hold in the dating industry, maybe I'm being overly optimistic.
I'm still looking for a branded service out there that takes care of all my online security needs, focusing on dating market is too small, I want a one-stop shop at a reasonable yearly cost.
Technorati Tags: trustedid
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February 17, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Myspace and several dating sites have reported predators going after members and the media is doing it's job scaring consumers into being more careful.
Background check companies have been around for years. Profile enhancement and authentication companies, click-to-call and photo services as well. Honesty Online will even send someone to your house to take blood samples, photos and perform a background check. Good intentions, small market, a service that doesn't scale well.
I see Myspace buying an online safety company at some point. Hiring drones to scan profiles for 56 million people is ridiculous. Background checks obviously won't work for Myspace like they would work for dating sites. Better to hack together some artificial intelligence and use a skin-finder like Riya. Call it Your Mother, as in, would your mother let you go out looking like that?
The business case dictates that removing the opportunity to be a voyeur and freely view R-rated content on social networking would result in a huge drop-off in popularity, hence less advertising. At this point there are several other social networking sites swooping down to fill in the gaps left by MySpace and Friendster, expect a mass exodus at some point as the buzz moves on to the Next Big Thing.
Technorati Tags: background+checks
Comments (1)
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February 15, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Representative John Bradley of Illinois has introduced the Internet Dating Disclosure and Safety Awareness Act.
Requires an online dating service provider offering services to residents of this State to disclose clearly and conspicuously, to any member who provides a billing address or a zip code in this State when registering with the provider, that the online dating provider either initiates a background check of felony and sex offense convictions on each member prior to permitting any member to communicate with a member in this State or that the online dating service provider does not initiate such a background check.
If a dating service allows felons and sex offenders, they have to have a scarlet letter on their profile and in any communication with other members. No problem having criminals on dating sites as long as the site announces it performs background checks. Bizarre.
I'm not clear on how intra-state or worldwide communication between members is being addressed. And why are ISP's with less than 1,000 members exempt when right above that, all ISP's are exempt?
Technorati Tags: safe+dating
Comments (11)
| Category: Legal | Safety
February 9, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
I was reading an interview with Phonematrix's CEO. Phonematrix is the latest of a long line of companies trying to sell anonymous calling to the dating industry. I've also heard from several background check companies "excited at the positive response" they received at iDate.
It's interesting to see how many previous vendors who attended iDate last year were nowhere to be found.
Anonymous calling and background check companies are pure FUD marketing plays. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
Services such as anonymous calling and background checks are valuable services clearly needed by the industry. I will argue this point far past what is considered reasonable bounds.
I want to talk about three reasons why anonymous calling and background checks have not been received well by the dating industry.
1) Problems pitching the value of their services
2) Greed - lack of partnerships
3) Legal issues
What is the core value proposition to the dating site? What is the proposition to customers? The answers to these two questions should be quite different.
These calls and background checks are most likely going to be costs absorbed by the dating sites or rolled into the subscription cost.
By missing the mark on the value proposition, they lost any chance of being taken seriously.
Dating sites remain resistant to services that are not offered in a well-developed and easy to understand bundle. Selecting from myriad vendors to deliver several features and functionality is difficult under the best of circumstances.
A la cart services tend to be a lot more expensive in terms of resources and money and integration than package deals.
See Verified Person, DateNumber and other companies with perfectly good products that never took hold in the industry. DateNumber was cool, I really liked the service and the fact that I got my messages as MP3's in my inbox. They got smart and went after the auction market, where the revenue opportunity dwarfs dating.
Yahoo and Match had to bring in experts to do due diligence on background checks. That was like showing people a space ship who have never seen an automobile.
Why doesn't Phonematrix do a deal with a background check and photo ID company? Building a partnership like that is simple.
The only free competitor to background checks is reputation management. The problem with anonymous calling is that it's not the only game in town.
Calls can be made for free in any instant messaging client, including Yahoo, AOL, MSN and iChat messengers. During the past few weeks I've been spending at least 3 hours a day using Skype instead of my cell phone at my home office. Consider me a convert. Call cost is free if both parties have Skype. Yahoo charges a few cents a minutes to make calls from their messenger client.
Why would I pay several dollars to make a call when I can do it for free? Dating sites don't share this information with members because then they lose them. In fact, many dating site will not let you mention your IM or email address. This is totally backwards. You're getting my $20, why do you care how I choose to communicate with other members?
Vivox uses the phrase graduated communication. I agree with Markus, a viop call from IM is the highest likliehood of success. There needs to be an intermin step, like what Vivox is doing. View profile, send wink/email, text chat, then voice.
Other companies get this as well. I spent an hour in the new Userplane multi-party audio/videochat client yesterday. Impressive. Why not install that with a few lines of PHP or Javascript. Bingo, free anonymous calls for your site's members.
Many ways exist to bring additional levels of safety, security and comfort, and yes, even revenue, to dating site. It requires a new approach to serving customers, both from vendors and dating sites themselves.
Technorati Tags: fud, skype
Comments (2)
| Category: Safety
January 19, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
According to AlarmClock and Red Herring, background-check firm Verified Person has raised $12 million.
The money came from Sevin Rosen Funds and Rho Capital Partners. Verified has raised a total of $14.5 million since it was founded two and a half years ago.
CEO Tal Moise found out how difficult online dating can be the hard way, when found out his first date was married, from her husband.
Verified tried to enter the online dating space two years ago, along with competitors such as Trufina. Most of the background check companies have gone on to other markets after running into myriad issues trying to offer their services to dating sites.
Verified's focus is currently on the corporate world and government agencies.
It's mystifying why online dating sites have dragged their heels when it comes to background checks. Here's an opportunity to make existing members feel safer, gain new members who want a safer dating experience, and increase revenue.
I've heard arguments about integration costs, which have plummeted. Then there is the concern of the validity and coverage of the data-sources. No service is going to be 100% accurate, but no dating site should choose a background check company based on solely on their data.
Cost to customers has been an ongoing concern as well. Casual daters are much less likely to purchase background check services. Serious daters have shown they will pay. Market the services to your paying members first, bundle background checks during signup and upgrades, or strike a deal with a company to provide free checks for a certain number of your members.
Many in the industry believe background checks are too complicated for something as simple as online dating for the time being. It's also difficult to provide solid metrics that show that offering safety services will increase revenue, which is all dating sites really care about in the end.
True.com was smart to be the first popular dating site focus on safer dating, it was the execution, legal tangents and poor marketing that hurt them in the end.
My crystal ball sees a simpler, more cost-effective safety check bundled with other services in 2006. Dating sites that market background checks effectively stand to win business from other sites. Which large dating site will stand up and be first remains to be seen.
[tags: verified+person]
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January 18, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
It was only a matter of time. I got my first MySpace dating spam in my inbox last week. It follows the usual "not my account, contact me at yahoo" line and entices with promises of a good time. Sorry chinita_mania1987@yahoo.com, I would never date a woman who doesn't know how to attach a photo to an email. May the spam bots harvest your email address and deliver you v1agr4 ads for ever.
[tags: myspace]
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January 3, 2006
Posted by Dave Evans
Back from Holidays in Vermont. Sore from snowboarding and about 5 lbs heavier from all the eggnog.
Yahoo Personals has a security hole which was uncovered by Bennett Haselton. The problem appears to be minor. Basically, someone could grab a dater's pet name or birthday from their personal ad and use that information reset the password, in effect taking over the account. CNET News.com alerted the company to the issue.
Yahoo plans to change the way it updates the age field in members' profiles. Yahoo is not alone when it comes to security issues, Match, Lavalife and American Singles exhibit the same weakness and I'm sure other sites without dedicated security staff could come under attack if hackers deem the opportunity worthy of their skillz.
[tags: safe+dating]
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December 27, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
What is up with the Safer Online Dating Alliance (SODA)? According to an ODI reader, all that's known is that it's run from a P.O. Box in Austin, you have to provide a lot of info to be able to even contact the organization and there doesn't seem to be a detailed listing of current members. I've heard and read press releases at True.com, which is a member, along with 130 others such as the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, the International Union of Police Associations, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Organization of Women-Florida Chapter.
Does anyone reading this belong to SODA? If so, leave a comment or email me at devans at corante dot com.
[tags: safe+dating, soda]
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December 8, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
I received an email from Yahoo Personals which says that changing your profile nicname to your given name will make other members "more likely to contact you, reply to you and want to meet you."
I had to look at the raw source of the email to make sure it wasn't a phishing scam. The email comes from yahoo-email.com, not yahoo.com. The jury is out about this.
After that unsettling experience, my profile provided a link to a personality test, which I had already taken. The test is titled "Yahoo Personals Premiere, but I'm not a premiere member. Sloppy oversight.
Anybody at Yahoo Personals care to clear the air? Is this a scam or not?
Update: Rochelle at Yahoo tells me it is not a scam. "You can see the new field from the profile page (look at anyone’s profile) under the “About Me” section--it’s just another optional information field in the profile. "
[tags: scam, yahoo personals]
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November 14, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
I recently was invited to join a group called Anti-scammers at Yahoo Groups. Members share experiences, screen names tips and tactics for dealing with scammers on dating sites.
Perusing the group, I found photos of fake passports, photos of scammers and information/ratings on how polluted various sites are with scammers, spear-phishers and other nefarious characters. This is a classic example of the organizational power of grassroots collaborative efforts to identify the profiles of people who are actively preying on others on various dating sites.
I did an interview with TheStreet last week about what dating sites are doing to combat faksters and scammers. Short version, not nearly enough.
Other resources: RateOrDate Rateanddate Date-and-Rate Date and Rate Rate-Date.
[tags: anti+scammers, spear+fishing]
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November 10, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
It was only a matter of time. True.com made it's name as a website dedicated to safer dating. Now, it's fighting to keep a convicted sex offender off it's site.
True reportedly took quick action, reporting the offender to the authorities and filing a suite against him. The get around to mentioning that the offenders profile was removed from the site 3/4 through the press release, and this was reported via Brooke Benson, who reportedly has seen the lecherous creature on several other websites.
True being True, takes a swipe at Eharmony by fabricating a quote from Ms. Benson stating she felt that eHarmony was not "aggressive enough" when it came to dealing with a sex offender on eHarmony.com.
This is the one they caught, who knows how many others are on True.com or any other website. I would guess thousands.
Vest wants to "See convicted felony records opened to the public in all jurisdictions to better protect our consumers and our children." I hope he means for sexual predators and not run of the mill B&E or lesser crimes.
Press release
[tags: safety]
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September 19, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Fellow Corante blogger Dominic Basulto, who blogs about New York City, writes about a widow who was scammed out of $100,000 by a New York man on JDate.
[tags: jdate, scam]
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July 20, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Received this in my inbox this morning. I signed up as part of my Russian Brides experiment.
On STOP-SCAMMERS.COM site you'll find always the freshest information about known scammers involved in dating fraud with complete information and photos, scam reports, scam and reliable agencies, forum, different scam scenarios, warning signs, resources for reporting and much more... New reports this week (to view the full list of new reports click here): Name: Tatiana Novikova Age: 25 Location: Kansk (Russia) see complete profile Name: Irina Russkih Age: 27 Location: Yoshkar-Ola (Russia) see complete profile Name: Olesya Mynina Age: 25 Location: Samara (Russia) see complete profile
They even have a forum where you can post about scam scenarios, how to catch a scammer and other tips related to Easter-bloc dating.
[tags: scammers]
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April 13, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
MSNBC.com has a piece on national commercial database searches(thanks Markus!).
[Update: According to the NY Times, Reed Elsevier, owner of the LexisNexis databases, said (reg req'd) today that Social Security numbers, driver's license information and the addresses of 310,000 people may have been stolen, 10 times more than it originally reported last month. Seisint states that so far, 2 percent of the individuals contacted about the breakin have responded, and none of those have experienced any form of identity theft.]
Rhonda Taylor, CEO of Intellisense Corp:
Spotty participation by the nation's 3,100 county courts, along with a hodgepodge of data formats, make national crime databases vastly incomplete.
We've done tests, and the national databases have a 41 percent error rate," she said...there is a glaring issue related to a false sense of security if that information is relied upon with no other investigative tools.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., hosting a Senate Judiciary hearing Wednesday on "Securing Electronic Personal Data: Striking a Balance Between Privacy and Commercial and Governmental Use."
Jeff T. Collins, CEO of Integrated Screening Partners:
...If people get an (electronic) criminal background check and think their problem is solved, they are fooling themselves.
Nothing beats a blend of background checks, Googling and street smarts. Just yesterday a female friend, who I consider very intelligent, said she was going to sell something to a random stranger on Craigslist and wondered if she should have him come by her house to pick it up! My European friends all think it's fine to have a first date come by and pick you up at your place. Cultural norms are at play as well.
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April 1, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Streaming video of Rich Gosse, founder of the IADW, and Herb Vest, founder of True.com on Fox News is here. Vest states that True pays for all background checks, each one costing $1.50, resulting in 5% of True.com members being rejected. Be sure to post your comments after you've watched the clip, I'm sure an interesting discussion will ensue.
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March 23, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
I received this from Paul Bunting, president of Pretrieve:
Pretrieve is a public record search engine designed to help make finding and researching public record information from free sites on the internet faster and easier for everyone. Pretrieve is a Deep Web search engine, not a web crawler. Our engine is designed to query third party databases on the users' behalf to retrieve specific information related to the business, person, or address they are researching. We're not just a "List of Links" that dumps users off at the front page of a website to let them navigate their way to the information they seek. We present our users with a categorized menu of information options and take them to their search results in one click - no more redundant data entry. You can use the quick search to see if the business or individual is listed in an online phone directory and start your research, or you can use the "Advanced Search" function and enter more specific information about your subject to get more refined results.
We feel that free web based public records is a valuable information resource that most researchers and consumers fail to take advantage of because it takes too long or they simply can't find them. We believe that we can help our users make better decisions about the companies and people they choose to do business by helping them make better informed decisions.
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Posted by Dave Evans
gNumber has launched Date Number, the first two-way identity protected add-on phone service for online daters. DateNumber let's users select unique phone numbers they can use when they don't want to provide their real phone numbers. The numbers, chosen from local or national exchanges, supposedly work on all phones and plans. When someone calls your Date Number, the call is routed to your chosen number, providing an additional level of safety and comfort to online daters.
Managing calls is easy. Call rules are configured using a standard web interface. Calls to your Date Number are saved as audio files and emailed to you. Audio quality is fair, somewhat worse than a decent phone connection.
Feature list included Identity Protection, Outbound ID Cloaking, Inbound Call Filtering and Call Redirection. Date Number is priced at 100 minutes for $9.95.
More information at Date Number.
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March 18, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Digital ID World
May 9-12, San Francisco, CA.
Details
Digital ID World is the industry event for learning how to help manage your business with identity. Leading thinkers and managers solving business challenges with new identity solutions come to exchange ideas and see the latest security technologies in action. The 2005 Conference is packed with 40 insightful hours - workshops, tutorials and panels to give you all the knowledge and perspective you need to bring identity to your business.
Digital ID World puts the benefits of this rapidly changing and fast growing security marketplace into clear focus. You will leave armed with the strategic and tactical knowledge necessary to make sure your identity initiatives succeed.
Comments (0)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Dating Events | Safety | conferences
March 15, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
LexisNexis has been hacked, details from the Washington Post:
Identity thieves have penetrated another company that collects and sells personal information on millions of U.S. consumers, the latest in a series of breaches that is throwing a spotlight on the practices and safeguards of a booming data-collection industry.
LexisNexis, a worldwide provider of legal and business data, announced yesterday that information about 32,000 consumers was fraudulently gathered in a series of incidents. The data include names, addresses and Social Security and driver's license numbers.
The breaches occurred at the company's recently acquired Seisint Inc. subsidiary, a Florida firm that sells data amassed from extensive public records searches to law enforcement agencies, businesses, private investigators and others.
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March 8, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
The International Association of Dating Websites has issued a press release announcing opposition to proposed legislation that would require all dating websites to either do criminal background checks for all of their members, or post a very large disclaimer on the website's home page saying that no background checks are being performed.
Rich Gosse, Founder of IADW:
This is unfair to the online dating industry. No other websites are required to do background checks. Most offline dating services and matchmakers do not perform background checks, nor do speed dating, other singles organizations, and newspaper personal ads. Only a tiny percentage of the many hundreds of thousands of organizations and associations in America do criminal background checks. So why single out the online dating industry?
IADW believes that every dating website should caution its members about safety issues. But requiring a criminal background check would be costly. One of the main reasons that the online dating industry is able to provide quality service to so many millions of singles is because the process is inexpensive. Criminal background checks can easily double the cost, making it too pricy for millions of singles. Offering criminal background checks as an option (at additional cost) is the proper way to address this issue.
Anyone wishing more information may visit www.iadw.org or call 415/507-9962.
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March 2, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Herb Vest responded to comments made by his son on Declan Mccullagh's story on News.com:
As always your opinions are well thought out and succinct. The opinion on this blog seems to be that TRUE is pushing for safer dating legislation for purely self interest reasons only.
As you know, your grandfather was murdered in 1946. You know first hand the effects of criminal predation on the victims and survivors of crime.
If some of the commentators seem unsympathic to the reduction of crime, it may be because they have not experienced its devastating effects and may underestimate the emotional impact on the victims and their families.
Some of the comments on this blog are valid. They point out ways in which criminals can circumvent the background search. However, they may be unaware of the thousands of ex-felons who are caught and prevented from preying on our members.
Moreover, our subscribers must represent that they do not have a felony conviction. If that is a misrepresentation they have committed wire fraud, criminal fraud, and an assortment of other crimes and torts.
TRUE will press for prosecution of any subscriber, attempting to communicate with another member, who has a prior felony conviction. We also will pursue civil remedies. Whether we win or not, the defendent will have extremely high legal fees to defend.
I am very proud of you. As always, you are very respectful of the opinions of others, while at the same time defending your own views vigorously.
Your Dad,
Herb Vest, CEO of TRUE
P.S. This article is extremely well written and interesting, even if the author is a little misguided (in my view). He did hit one nail squarely on the head, I am a scrappy entrepreneur (and proud of it).
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March 1, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D - Agoura Hills, CA), is the latest lawmaker to support labeling dating sites that don't perform background checks with a piece of text on their home page that says "WARNING: WE HAVE NOT CONDUCTED A FELONY-CONVICTION SEARCH OR FBI SEARCH ON THIS INDIVIDUAL." The more I read about this the more I shake my head at the groundswell occurring behind this legislation. Latest example- each state will have final say over the wording of the actual alert. The internet is global and people date across state and country lines all the time. Who in the world is going to police all 800+ dating site home pages? Don't forget social networking, business networking and other markets which may fall under the umbrella wording of the legislation.
Comments (2)
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Posted by Dave Evans
There is a lot of talk throughout the dating industry about identity verification and background checks. We've heard a lot about how important safety is to online daters, as well as the minutia concerning data retrieval issues and the adjudication process.
As a service to you our loyal readers, ODI is throwing down the gauntlet and inviting several ID verification companies to demo their services in our testing lab.
An independent investigator will go through the ID verification and background check process for each vendor. The goal of the shootout is an unbiased review of ID verification vendors. The idea is to review the process, reliability, effectiveness and overall user experience of the verification process. We'll also take a close look at the data sources used by each service. Because the benchmarks for measuring and comparison differ from vendor to vendor, we will attempt to create a review format that works for all involved.
Several companies have already agreed to participate. If you would like to have your company considered for the review, contact me to learn more.
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February 28, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Declan McCullagh, who covers poli-tech, writes about True.com on News.com.
Hightlights:
A California bill introduced last week covers any Web site offering "compatibility" or "social referral services"--a sweeping definition that encompasses everything from high-school reunion site Classmates.com to a matchmaking site for a tennis doubles tournament. Under the California proposal, social referral services Friendster.com and Google's Orkut.com would be on the hook for fines of millions of dollars a day if they declined to post a warning similar to the one above on California members' ads or profiles. The proposed Michigan law, which cleared the state House but died in the Senate, similarly regulates companies providing "social referral services primarily through the Internet."
Match.com spokeswoman Kristin Kelly:
They're trying to legislate their business model, and quite frankly it's a weak business model, It would be just as easy to argue that True.com should be required to post labels on each page: "WARNING: TRUE.COM'S BACKGROUND SEARCHES WILL NOT IDENTIFY CRIMINALS USING FAKE NAMES. AND THE COST TO RUN THEM MAY BE PASSED ON TO YOU."
According to CEO Herb Vest, True.com now boasts 2.3 million members and is growing by 8,000 to 10,000 new members per day.
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February 22, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Choicepoint is now saying that up to 145,000 records may have been compromised. It took several months for Choicepoint to publicly report that they were tricked by nefarious characters who set up 50 companies get access to Choicepoint out of data, what else is going on at other info silos like Seisint that we don't know about?
Lt. Paul Denny of the [Los Angeles County] sheriff's department on the increase in the number of potential victims:
We know that there is a national number that is much larger than that. We've used the number 400,000, but we're speculating at this point.
More from the blog Emergent Chaos:
Well, first take a look at the business-to-business management services that ChoicePoint is into and the value of the private data derived from such "middleman B2B activity"! For example ChoicePoint manages drug testing services for airport personnel (e.g. SFO?) and acts as a third party administrator for many employer healthcare plans, each of which is a goldmine of data for building out its profile on your virtual self that it has in its massive national databases. ChoicePoint’s customer is usually another big business. The customer is rarely the individual whose data ChoicePoint uses in the process of providing such business management services, so ChoicePoint probably cares little as to what your, the profiled individual, concerns are regarding ChoicePoint’ use of your private life data. Of course it has to comply with certain new California privacy laws and the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule (since it might be a “business associate” under HIPAA to the employer health plans). But it might be able to get around those by simply removing the key 18 personally-identifying HIPAA data elements on you (first name, last name, telephone, etc.) and then picking up the other 150 or so “deidentified” data elements it has on you (amount in your bank, health condition, etc) from the particular B2B middleman management service and give the file of 150 data elements the same file identifier number as the file it has already got on you from other sources, including the “big three credit reporting agencies.” I suggest, however, it would be severely bending the law, if not breaking it, were it to take such an aggressive view of current California privacy laws and federal laws, such as HIPAA and GLBA, and, of course, it would be hugely controversial were it shown to be itself violating anti-identity theft laws!
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February 16, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
From Reuters:
Alpharetta, Georgia-based ChoicePoint maintains personal profiles of nearly every U.S. consumer, which it sells to employers, landlords, marketing companies and about 35 U.S. government agencies. Choicepoint also provides the data for several identity verification companies looking to enter the online dating space.
In California, the only state that requires companies to disclose security breaches, ChoicePoint sent warning letters to 30,000 to 35,000 consumers advising them to check their credit report.
U.S. investigators notified the company of the breach in October, but ChoicePoint did not send out the consumer warnings until last week. The company says it has since tightened its criteria for access.
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February 9, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
No, I do not make this stuff up. From BoingBoing:
Two Jordanians had a torrid online romance and, after several months, decided to get married. When they met F2F for the first time, they were shocked to discover that they were already husband and wife. The rekindled romance ended immediately after they discovered the truth.
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February 7, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
An article in the Southern Illinoisan about a company called Trustadate.com caught my eye. Jeremy Maloney and Brian Chapman are co-owners of My Background Instantly, a business designed specifically for pre-employment background checks for businesses. The article states the they have "landed four partnerships with dating service giants like eharmony.com, match.com, date.com and perfectmatch.com." I'm assuming that they are talking about advertising deals, can't imagine these sites have agreed to integrate their services, especially since Trustadate has been online for only a week.
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January 23, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
Gettogethersafe announced the selection of Intelius, Inc., as the exclusive provider of their site's Identity Verification and Background Check program. Under the agreement, Intelius will provide Getogethersafe.com with the Intelius InteliSign -- an identity verification service, which allows users on the site to confirm that they are in fact, who they claim to be. In addition, Getogethersafe.com users will have access to Intelius Background Checks, which will include comprehensive criminal record and sex offender checks.
The ID verification space sure is getting crowded. SafeDate got a lot of exposure in Miami last week (and threw a nice party too). Trufina gave a good presentation educating dating sites about how their service works. As I've said before, there is room for a major player or two to take on the tier one sites and another to grab the majority of the primo market share. The rest of the pie will be divided between a number of smaller players like Intelius.
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January 17, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
I met Jeff and Tamara of SafeDate at SITRAS in December and we had an long conversation about identity verification and the safety of online dating. Disclaimer- They also gave me a nice SafeDate t-shirt. Safedate launched their website today. If you're a dating site looking for a service differentiator you should have a look at what they have to offer. We're going to be talking a lot more about companies like Trufina, SafeDate and Verified Person in the coming weeks. Identity verification is a hot topic, and it's going to get even hotter once dating sites understand the benefits to members, it's affect on conversion rates and revenue generation. Be forewarned, identity verification is a short-term play. The major players are already in talks with the top 10 dating sites, leaving a select few to sew up the tier-two market. In 6 months we'll have moved on to something else, but right now the dating safety vendors have center stage.
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January 12, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans
From the Daily Yomiuri:
A Yokohama-based group of gangsters, motorcycle gang members and former computer software programmers swindled about 10,000 people out of a total of about 1 billion yen ($10M US) in charges for more than 100 fictitious dating service Web sites it set up, sources said. Out of more than 100 members, the Kanagawa prefectural police have decided to question about 20 they believe are central figures within the group, the sources said. The police believe the crime is one of the largest cases of fraud involving charges for dating services in the country. The group allegedly opened an office named Nihon Global System in Seya Ward, Yokohama, as an operator of dating service Web sites.
Prospective male customers were sent self-introductions from young women that were actually written by male part-time employees, the sources said. To see women's photos and receive their e-mail addresses, the male customers were told they had to pay an annual membership fee. The group is suspected of having swindled each customer out of about 50,000 yen ($488 US) in such fees. There were about 600 notices from fictitious women on the Internet bulletin boards. When customers were unable to contact the women, many complained to the operator, but the group allegedly changed Web site addresses and names on receiving such complaints.
In addition, the group reportedly called its members, falsely claiming that they had not paid their fees for other sites and defrauding them of about 300 million yen ($3M US). The group also is suspected of having called people they did not know and asking them to deposit money into a bank account to settle traffic accidents out of court that they said involved the people's relatives. Motorcycle gang members in Kamakura in the prefecture opened bank accounts and withdrew any money that was deposited, the sources said.
Dating service Web sites have been seen as a hotbed of crime, including child prostitution, robbery and murder. In September 2003, a law to regulate such Web sites was enacted to prevent them from being used as a method of soliciting prostitutes.
It's only a matter of time before this sort of thing happens in the US and EU. I've heard talk about scams but nothing as substantial as this.
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November 23, 2004
Posted by Dave Evans
A US matchmaking service has been ordered to pay financial damages for introducing a Ukrainian woman to a future husband whom she says beat her. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded Nataliya Fox more than $430,000 after she sued Encounters International (EI) for negligence. EI specialises in matchmaking women from the former Soviet Union with North American men online.
Link
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| Category: Legal | Safety
October 25, 2004
Posted by Dave Evans
I was checking out FriendFinder and all it's associated sites and came across ConfirmID, which is providing identity verification to the FriendFinder network. ConfirmID provides exclusive 3rd party verification services for many of the leaders of online personals. I've started a Safety category to filter identity verification and security posts, as this segment is going to pop over the next few months.
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Posted by Dave Evans
Bugaboo Incorporated announced today the launch of a new web site that enables individuals to share feedback on people they have met through an online dating service. The site, called theDateScoop.com, is believed to be the first dedicated as a dater feedback forum and is available for viewing at thedatescoop.com.
This feedback will include the chance to reveal an assessment regarding the honesty of an online profile. Additionally, members may express a number of other opinions about their date, including positive feedback, fun facts, and humorous comments. Members may also pay for additional services, including the ability to view details from the feedback database on themselves and other online daters. Like eCRUSH and a few others.
Instead of paying for a subscription that gives you access to services for a limited time, their credit system allows you to spend them whenever you like. 15 Credits for $ 7.95, Unlimited/6 Months for $32.95.
There are a lot of issues with these types of services. Disgruntled dates, ever-changing screen names, multiple memberships to several dating sites, etc. The real cellar-dwellers will always be able to foil these services, it remains to be seen if they can get enough traction where people will fill out post-date forms. Reputation management is the next big thing in online dating, prepare for an onslaught of services catering to this niche.
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April 22, 2004
Posted by Dave Evans
USA TODDAY has an article about client certification.
snip... companies in this booming business are beginning to offer background checks and other client certification options.
I question the effectiveness of some of these companies, they're only a few weeks old! Probably still waiting for phone lines to be installed. And what's up with scouring public databases?
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| Category: Safety
December 3, 2002
Posted by Dave Evans
"Wouldn't it be great if you could just punch in all the qualities you wanted in a girlfriend?" asks the computer dating Web site Ineedanewgirlfriend.com. "Now you can!" But a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court accuses the service of defrauding users - not to mention breaking their hearts. Read more
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| Category: Safety
November 13, 2002
Posted by Dave Evans
The Boston Globe ran an article about the problems people are having reporting abusive or fraudulent behavior on dating sites. Seems like a lot of people's complaints are falling through the cracks. Someone should develop a reporting blacklist to warn people about the undesirables out there.
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| Category: Safety
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