Searching for love online is no easy feat. You might even fall victim to a sophisticated scam, with the culprits being none other than two of the world’s leading Internet “matchmaking” services.
From disappointment to rage, many victims have filed lawsuits directly against these services. Match.com is accused of enticing members to renew their service subscriptions by having … employees create sentimental emails and “fake profiles” to send to customers. In many cases, Match employees even pretended to date members as a marketing tactic.
“This is truly a blatant act of deception by Match.com,” stated the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. Match.com has not commented on the lawsuit but has firmly denied hiring individuals to date or sending flirty emails to customers. Currently, Match.com boasts around 15 million members worldwide and approximately 250 employees.
Simultaneously, the tech giant Yahoo is also accused of posting fake profiles on its website to create the illusion that many singles are using its service for dating and friendship. Yahoo has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Both lawsuits arise at a time when the online “matchmaking” industry shows signs of stagnation, despite still being a massive money-making machine. In the U.S. alone, during the first half of 2005, $245.2 million was spent on online dating and friendship services, a 7.6% increase from 2004. Naturally, compared to a few years ago, this growth rate has significantly decreased. The competition among service providers is indeed fierce: some sites have introduced new features like “compatibility quizzes” to match individuals with similar personalities and life perspectives.
The lawsuit against Match.com was filed in Los Angeles court earlier this month by Matthew Evans, a 30-year-old intellectual who had used the service. Evans reported that he had dated someone through Match.com who turned out to be a “dating expert” working for Match.com. Obviously, this relationship went nowhere. According to Evans, the reason Match went to such lengths to set up a date for him was to encourage him to continue paying for the service and to advertise for free to others about the “attractive girl” he had just met through Match.com.
Evans only realized he had been duped when the girl, having a conscience, confessed to him that she was being paid by Match.com to go on the date.
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