happythoughts 0 #1 November 20, 2005 fraud QuoteNEW YORK (Reuters) - It's not easy finding love in cyberspace, and now some frustrated online daters say they were victims of fraud by two top Internet matchmaking services and have taken their complaints to court. Match.com, a unit of IAC/Interactive Corp. (Research), is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees. In some instances, the suit contends, people on the Match payroll even went on sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy. QuoteIn a separate suit, Yahoo Inc.'s (Research) personals service is accused of posting profiles of fictitious potential dating partners on its Web site to make it look as though many more singles subscribe to the service than actually do. Posting fictional profiles? I thought that was the subscribers duty. It has been estimated 30% of subscribers are married. The statistics on other qualities are harder to determine because "athletic build" is more subjective . QuoteThe suits, which both seek class-action status, came as growth in the online dating industry has slowed, although Web matchmaking still remains a big business. U.S. consumers spent $245.2 million on online personals Kurt Vonnegut once said that loneliness is the largest problem in the US and if you could ever make a business out of it, you'd become vastly wealthy. Maybe so. Strip clubs and online dating. Quote His lawyers said Evans, of Orange County, California, was not available to comment, but described him as a working professional in his 30s. "...who has an athletic build, likes walks on the beach and snuggling on the couch..." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
