Dating

It seems that online dating has fast become the new way for singles to meet that special someone. A recent study, published in Online Dating Magazine, suggests that more than 120,000 marriages occur each year as a result of online dating. I mean, who doesn’t know someone that met their significant other online? This new online Mecca for singles is not however, foolproof. We are all aware of the risks – article after article is published cautioning online daters not to give out personal information on online dating sites and  to meet their date the first few times in a public place. The fact is these concerns could all but be rendered unnecessary if online dating sites ran consumer background checks on all their members.

In a recent scandal surrounding Match.com, convicted murder Abraham Fortune set up a seemingly normal profile on the popular online dating site. The retired San Antonio, TX salvage yard owner was looking for love, that is, until a local reporter recognized and outted him.  Busy singles aren’t the only ones flocking to online dating sites – criminals and the already married are also acting on the trend. In fact, Dave Evans, editor of Online Dating Post, told the San Antonio Express that “every single dating website out there has child molesters and murders.”And yet, according to Stephaney Alexander whose website womansavers.com allows women to research a potential mate for free, despite the fact that many online dating websites don’t perform background checks, users feel relatively comfortable that they won’t run into criminals on the sites. “I can understand why daters are getting a false sense of security – they are paying a fee to be on their site.”

Many are hoping that this will lead to a revolution in the Online Dating industry. Julie Spira, cyber-dating expert and author of "The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online," told ABC that it would be helpful for sites to at least give users the option to do a background check on other members. But until this happens online daters need to take their safety into their own hands.

When reviewing potential matches on online dating sites take the following precautions before arranging to get to know any of your potential partners any further:

• If you’ve emailed back and forth with a potential partner a couple of times through a dating site there is a fair chance that you know their name, their age, and the city they live in. This is all the information you need to run a full consumer background check on Intelius.com. Intelius background check services have been recognized by Top 10 Reviews as the #1 background check service. These reports will provide you with any aliases that person may have, their marriage and divorce records, their criminal records and more.
• Use your potential partner’s name, city, and screen name to try and find their profile on other social networking sites. This can help you figure out if their online dating profile is consistent with the self they present on other networks.

These tips are designed to help you avoid criminals, married men and women, and sex offenders and  to help you determine if a person’s profile is an accurate representation of themselves. However, the only way you can know for sure if the person you’ve met online is the one for you is to get to know them.  Good luck!

The wait is finally over! Voting has closed, hundreds of votes have been tallied, and the winners of the $1000 DateCheck Dream Date contest have been determined! After narrowing down our list to 16 video and 16 essay finalists we turned the voting over to the public. Here's who you picked to be the grand-prize winners:

Grand Prize Male Video Winner: Mark Taio Kines

Mark's video, "A Very Animated Date", features hand-drawn depictions of himself and the lucky lady on their dream date. Mark's date would include brunch in the forest, riding the rollercoaster on the Santa Monica pier and getting the best seats in the house for a show in downtown L.A.

Grand Prize Female Video Winner: Angela Heine

"A Whale of a Date", Angela's stop-scene video, details how, for her dream date, she would buy round-trip tickets to Seattle to go kayaking in the San Juan Islands with Orca Whales. Her video cleverly ends with, "And the next morning...back to peanut butter sandwiches."

Grand Prize Essay Winner: Elizabeth Williams

Elizabeth's essay, "Love Finds a Way," lays out some very clear instructions to her long-distance boyfriend: fill her apartment with vases of tulips, a new dress for their special evening, and an ultra-romantic dinner for two at the restaurant where they had their first date.You can read Elizabeth's entry here.

Each winner will receive a $1000 giftcard to be spent on their dream date and a private relationship analysis worth $750. Each entrant received a FREE Intelius DateCheck coupon code, a comprehensive relationship report from MatchMatrix & a Fleurish Hat Chocolate Box from Seattle Chocolates.

Again, congratulations Mark, Angela, and Elizabeth on winning the Dream Date contest grand prize!!! Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry!

In our final featured video we hear from Conner McCabe. In his video Conner describes his dream date. On his dream date Conner would spend the money to fly to pay a surprise to visit his girlfriend at her college. Together they would enjoy a beach picnic and watch the sunset. Check out Conner's video now!

Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Time is running out, check our all our video entries now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.
 
*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!
 

Today's featured video was submitted by Shelby Lanting. In her video Shelby describes a date with her husband. The two are too busy for time together so they would take advantage of the prize money to enjoy some alone time at Disneyland. Watch Shelby's complete video today!

Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Time is running out, check our all our video entries now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.
 
*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!

Our next featured video was submitted by Tyla. In her video Tyla is catching some rays in her backyard but dreams of a more exotic vacation with her boyfriend. Watch Tyla's complete video now.
 

 
Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Follow our blog to see our daily video features or check them all out now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.
 
*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!

Our feature video of the day was submitted by Sean Goode. In his video Sean explains how he would rent out a recording studio to record their favorite love song together, make a few CD's to share with their friends and family. Watch Sean's video now!

VOTE NOW!

Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Follow our blog to see our daily video features or check them all out now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.
 
*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!

This featured video was submitted by Chad Williams. In his humorous video Chad describes his dream date. On his dream date Chad would rent his own rocket ship, fly he and his date to the moon and together the two would share a picnic on the moon. While this sounds expensive Chad assures us that he would use a discount rocket travel agency. Watch Chad's video now!

 VOTE NOW!

Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Follow our blog to see our daily video features or check them all out now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.

*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!

Our next video submission is by Breeze Chanaud. In her video Breeze explains how her busy life hardly leaves time for fun. To her surprise her dream date shows up at her door and the two enjoy a night of dinner and dancing. Check our Breeze's video now!
 

 
Make sure you watch all 16 of our finalist videos! Follow our blog to see our daily video features or check them all out now at http://bit.ly/DateCheckVote.
 
*Remember, you can vote once a day so keep those votes coming!