International journal of cyber criminology

IntroductionThe rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the prevalence of the internet offer an alternative venue for romantic endeavors. Internet daters experience excitement when they interact with other people through new, digital mediums. Four factors make online dating attractive to customers. First, individuals do not have to leave their homes or workplaces to date. Matchmaking sites are open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing daters to remotely scan profiles at their convenience. Second, the anonymity feature of the internet allows individuals to participate privately in dating without the oversight of others or the fear of stigma. Third, interactive online dating allows customers to experience new forms interaction, such as live chats, instant messaging, flirtatious emoticons, nudges, and winks (Fiore & Donath, 2004; Wang & Lu, 2007). Fourth, online dating sites serve up 'perfect matches' quickly. By using advanced search engines, 'scientific' matching services, and proprietary algorithms, dating sites instantly find compatible matches based on values, personality styles, attitudes, interests, race, religion, gender, and ZIP codes (Mitchell, 2009). These digital environments of anonymity and flexibility allow daters to test pluralistic ways of being that are instantaneous, alterable, and open to interpretation, making online dating attractive and stimulating to customers (Hitsch et al., 2005; Wang & Lu, 2007).Not surprisingly, these qualities have resulted in the proliferation of the online dating sector since the mid-1990s, so much so that there are approximately 1,400 dating sites in North America today, such as Match.com, eHarmony.com, Chemistry.com, and Lavalife.com to name a few (Close & Zinkhan, 2004; Scott, 2009). US daters spent approximately $245 million on online personals and dating services in the first half of 2005 (OPA 2005). The online dating industry generated revenues of $957 million in 2008, making it the fourth highest grossing intern...

What's Love Got to Do with It? Exploring Online Dating Scams and Identity Fraud