Like many of you, we have been reading the recent accounts of a woman who was allegedly assaulted by a man she met on Match.com. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victim. Incidents like this are a good reminder of the importance of using good judgment when meeting someone new for the first time, regardless of where you meet them.
We applaud Match.com’s decision to join us and start screening members against public sex offender registries. We’ve been doing this for years with eHarmony subscribers who reside in the United States and it has allowed us to keep many known registered sex offenders off of our service. It’s just one way we are committed to looking out for your safety.
While we’re always looking to do more with the latest screening technologies and resources, it’s important to keep in mind that you also play an important role. Unfortunately, registries can be incomplete or inaccurate, assaults and other crimes often go unreported, and perpetrators of crimes are not always convicted. Relying solely on screening can provide a false sense of security.
So what can you do? If you haven’t looked at our Safety Tips page lately, we suggest going back for a refresher. It contains good information about the precautions you should take when meeting someone new in person, such as:
• Keep your guard up and use good judgment when getting to know someone new
• Take it slow and get to know your matches well
• Always go for your first few dates in a public place
• Let a friend or relative know where you are at all times and check in with them if your date is going well and you’re going to be home later than you had planned
• Never invite someone you don’t know well back to your house
If you ever are concerned about one of your matches for any reason, please send an email to matchconcerns@eharmony.com so we can investigate and take appropriate action. We have a team dedicated to our members’ safety and close accounts immediately when we receive a credible complaint about someone’s suspicious behavior. We’ll notify you whenever someone is removed from the service, so please pay attention to those emails if you ever receive one and stop all communication with that person.
We’re always interested in your feedback. Please drop a comment below if you have ideas, comments or suggestions for how we can continue to provide the best possible eHarmony experience.
Grant Langston — Vice President, Content and Customer Experience
Jeannie Assimos, — Director of Content
Marni Battista — Relationship Expert
Monique A Honaman — Author
Dr. Seth Meyers — Licensed clinical psychologist
Sarah Schmermund, M.A. — M.A.
http://once-fallen.blogspot.com/2011/04/mismatch-dot-com-how-carole-markin.html
I would have believed Markin more if she didn’t write her own press release revealing her identity and referred to herself in the third person like The Rock or call herself “The Erin Brockovich of online dating.” She writes books on bad dates and hocks a reality TV show. The accused attacker is not listed on the public registry like first reported. Something is amiss.
There are good and bad people everywhere. You can meet them in the supermarket, at work, in the street, in bars, clubs, libraries and dating sites. Just because someone is on a dating site does not make them better than everyone else. A bit less suspect possibly. I have met good women on Match.com equally as often as eHarmony. The biggest difference is that most of the matches on Match.com are real or available. The vast majority of eHarmony profiles are free trials that cannot respond back and become similar to orbiting palnets or stars that will perpetually float in your eHarmony match portfolio. They never close or disappear, they are in permanent limbo.
Understand that only about one in ten will ever respond–even if you are George Clooney (well maybe that would be somewhat of an exception).
Good luck to everyone.
Regards,
Mark
I met and dated someone for a year off of E-harmony from Northern N.Y. The light should have come on when he posted his picture as being about 100 pounds different! He was a heavy drinker to boot! The picture issue alone was deception! If they deceive with their photo, they will be dishonest in many other ways! Throughout the year, this man made comments about how he wants to be supported so he can live in Florida, asked me if I was going to support him– and in the end– Asked me to send him a gift card he needed for a retiring employee, letting me know he was sending the money to me, and never did! I may yet get the cash– but likely not! The moral– the gift card was a small loss– he has to pay the price of loss of character and dishonesty! A lesson learned! Be careful ladies– I think about 10% of the men on E-Harm are not phonies! Join active, healthy groups in your communities and get to know people from just spending time around them!