Corra Group are not in favor of the proposed legislation making it mandatory to conduct background checks on every prospective member of an online dating service, Aside from the privacy and civil rights issues, it s fair to say we have enough laws on the books that are difficult or impossible to enforce. That said, we can’t advise strongly enough that individuals take it upon themselves to order at least minimal online dating or singles background search on everyone they are planning on dating. The recent article in the Kansas City Star provides an excellent case in point to the value of background checks.
The article sites a 55 year old woman from Sonoma County, California who was alert enough to recognize that a man she met on True.com was the same guy with whom she corresponded a year before on Match.com The man, Robert Wells, was a convicted sex offender who had his physician’s license revoked by the medical board. True.com has since taken Wells to court for fraud.
Needless to say this is not the kind of man you want lurking on your online dating site. This is not the man you want in your house or near your kids. In this case, there was no real damage done. In other cases, the prospective paramours and their families aren’t nearly so lucky. Not only does a sexual pervert pose serious physical and financial risk to the victims, his actions can cause permanent psychological damage and leave lasting emotional scars on everyone concerned.
Many companies offer a variety of background checks. If you are planning on dating someone or even corresponding regularly with that person over the Internet, we can’t urge you enough to run a background check. True.com claims less than ten percent of its membership applicants get around their mandatory background checks. Sometimes the names aren’t posted correctly, that particular county doesn’t make these records public, or there are so many similar names and birthdates the bad guys get lost in the shuffle.
At Corra we try to reduce the odds by looking over your background report and if necessary even providing red flag warnings. We believe our combined twenty odd years of investigative and research experiences help us pick up the suspicious elements or inconsistencies in a background report. We are hands on company that actually orders the report and reviews it. When requested, we will take the time to note or discuss the inconsistencies with our clients. We attempt to separate similar names so that the report accurately reflects the actual person in question.
I would advise all to read the article from the Kansas City Star. Unfortunately, it is one of many. And remember, for the price of a decent haircut or a week’s worth of mocha lattes, you can conduct a background check on prospective paramours. Most times on the day your order the search, we can return their criminal records and their financial and professional histories. There are no guarantees in life. But a thorough background search helps avoid the con artists and sexual predators lurking on the Internet.
You have one heart. Use it wisely.
An article in the CONTRA COSTA TIMES – WALNUT CREEK – Robert Wells advertised himself on an online dating service as a semiretired physician who enjoys wine tasting, “The Sopranos” and reading science fiction.
But a woman surfing the Web site recognized the Walnut Creek man from another dating site she’d used a year earlier. She told the current service, Dallas-based True.com, that Wells was lying. Not only had the medical board revoked his license, according to a lawsuit, but he also was a convicted sex offender.
“Before I went out with anyone, I always checked their backgrounds,” said the Sonoma County woman, whose name is being withheld because she fears her safety is at risk.
The company sued Wells earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Texas, alleging Wells committed fraud by misrepresenting himself when he agreed, during sign-up, to a contract stating he was not a felon. Wells was one of what True.com officials say is less than 10 percent of people who get around the company’s background check.
“I make a promise to my members,” said Herb Vest, True’s chief executive officer. “If you are clever enough to get around our site securities, I’m going to prosecute.”
Wells said he did not intentionally misrepresent himself and does not recall agreeing to a contract.
“I don’t think (the suit) has a basis,” he said. “There was no representation of anything at any time. I just signed up.”
True.com is suing Wells for at least $200,000. The suit comes at a time when several state governments, including California’s, are considering laws to ensure online dating services conduct background checks or tell visitors that the site does not conduct background checks — a move that blocks revenue from potential members who get screened out.
Now some sites including Yahoo Personals, eHarmony and Match.com include a contract that asks members to state that they are not convicted felons.
The sites also warn members to date at their own risk.
“(Background checks) are not infallible,” said Match.com spokeswoman Kathleen Roldan. “It just gives people a false sense of security.”
Rather than background checks, Match.com staff members monitor communications between members to help make sure people don’t post offensive photos and notes. The site also includes safety tips, and members can contact the staff if they perceive a problem.
Few online dating companies conduct background checks, leaving members to independently beware, said Parry Aflab, executive director of Wiredsafety.org.
“That cute 40-year-old guy you’re cyberdating might not be cute, 40 or a guy,” she said.
True.com which uses the background check as a marketing tool on its homepage, is lobbying in favor of the proposed law in each state.
Match.com and eHarmony have joined other Internet companies opposing the laws.
Vest said his company conducts background checks about each person who signs up. The checks try to confirm that the potential member is unmarried and has no felony convictions. The weeding-out process causes Vest’s company to lose about 10 percent of its business right off the top: about 5 percent of applicants are married and another 5 percent are felons.
Certain background-check companies get only limited information.
Rapsheets.com, the company True uses, gets data from four of California’s 58 counties, according to the Rapsheets.com Web site.
“If you live in a place that doesn’t have open criminal records, your criminal history might not show up,” said Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel with the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center. “If you have a common name, you might show a criminal history that doesn’t belong to you.”
The 55-year-old Sonoma County woman who identified Wells first met him in 2004 on eHarmony.com. The woman thought the ophthalmologist was “creepy.”
“In his profile, he talks about how he’s a ‘sensuous person.’ That sends out bells,” she said. “I kept writing because I wanted to see if there was something wrong with him. … If my feeling was right, I wanted to make sure somebody like that wouldn’t be online.”
She corresponded with Wells until he revealed his last name. With that, she checked his background and learned he was convicted of “attempted lewd and lascivious act with a child under 14” in 2001 in Stanislaus County.
According to court documents, Wells had met a fictitious 13-year-old girl in a chat room during a sheriff’s department sting operation. He served three years of county probation and lost his medical license.
“He would ask me questions about if I had fantasies of being abducted, kidnapped and raped,” said sheriff’s detective Ken Hedrick, who pretended to be the girl.
Wells declined to comment about the case.
The Sonoma County woman contacted eHarmony, which removed Wells from the site, she said. She then saw him on Match.com and True.com in October. True sued him a month later.
“If anyone who’s married or has a criminal conviction thinks they can get on our site, go ahead and try me,” Vest said.