More scam agency

[Bruno]

As wrote Reuters, online daters sue Match.com and Yahoo for fraud.

Match.com, a unit of IAC/Interactive Corp., is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees. In some instances, the suit contends, people on the Match payroll even went on sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy.

"This is a grossly fraudulent practice that Match.com is engaged in," said H. Scott Leviant, a lawyer at Los Angeles law firm Arias, Ozzello & Gignac LLP, which brought the suit.

Match "promotes the policies of integrity to protect members, and yet they themselves, we allege, are misleading their entire customer base," he said.

The company said it does not comment on pending litigation. But Match spokeswoman Kristin Kelly said the company "absolutely does not" employ people to go on dates with subscribers or to send members misleading e-mails professing romantic interest. The company has about 15 million members worldwide and 250 employees, she said.

In a separate suit, Yahoo's personals service is accused of posting profiles of fictitious potential dating partners on its website to make it look as though many more singles subscribe to the service than actually do.

Yahoo did not respond to requests for comment.

The suits, which both seek class-action status, came as growth in the online dating industry has slowed, although Web matchmaking still remains a big business.

U.S. consumers spent $245.2 million on online personals and dating services in the first half of 2005, up 7.6% from a year earlier, according to the Online Publishers Association. That's a slower growth rate compared with several years ago.

At the same time, competition among online dating services is fierce, with some sites offering newfangled features such as extensive compatibility surveys to match up people with similar temperaments and outlooks.

Allegations of 'date bait'

The Match lawsuit was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by plaintiff Matthew Evans, who contends he went out with a woman he met through the site who turned out to be nothing more than "date bait" working for the company.

The relationship went nowhere, according to his suit. Evans says Match set up the date for him because it wanted to keep him from pulling the plug on his subscription and was hoping he'd tell other potential members about the attractive woman he met through the service, according to Leviant.

His lawyers said Evans, of Orange County, California, was not available to comment, but described him as a working professional in his 30s.

Leviant said his client found out about the alleged scam after the woman he dated confessed she was employed by Match. The lawsuit also claims the company violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, a law best known for being used in prosecuting organized crime.

The Yahoo suit was filed last month by Robert Anthony, of Broward County, Florida. The suit, brought in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, accuses the company of breach of contract, fraud and unfair trade practices.

Anthony's lawyer, Peter McNulty of the McNulty Law Firm in Bel Air, California, did not respond to requests for comment.

And who will be the next? May be, matchdoctor.com? Apart to be known as a site where any woman has big chance to meet with sexual harassment and other kind of online volence, it seems, it becomes the biggest online repository of fake members. As soon as the service provided by matchdoctor.com became paid, the site administrators blocked from the site FSU countries but for some unknown reason did forget to delete profiles from these countries and even keep them active. Isn't it interesting? This fact makes all these profiles fake as their owners don't have the possibility to even delete them. How you would call a dating site with thousands of fakes profiles?  As we know, when you talk about marriage agency with fake profiles, you call them scam-agency.

And how much of these women who cannot remove own profile are now listed in anti-scam site ? So, guys, if you find a Russian woman on Matchdoctor.com , don't use money for write her, she will never reply... and in case you receive a reply, it is not from her !!!

[SANDRO43]

What a wonderful piece of news ! At last someone is reacting, and possibly hitting back on hitherto almost unchallenged and spreading foul practices. Might have a beneficial effect on US-based agencies, to begin with.

[FSUrookie]

Good INFO Bruno!
Looks like we have only seen the tip of the iceberg!
You know, I work in education, and I see politics and greed screwing up the children of the community. All in the name of greed. Nothing is sacred any more. If politicians and greedsters will screw the children just to take kick-backs and money under the table, nothing is safe. Nothing.
Ooops, I started getting emotional there. Anyway, it is about time there is some regulation with these agencies and web sites. Too easy to make a quick buck unethically......And it makes the legit agencies look bad..... This is what I and others on this board have been preaching; It is time for accountability. Sure, you will never totally eliminate scam, but something needs to be done.....

[ConnerVT]

Spam on a 2 year old post.

Just got to love it!   

[ConnerVT]

It is when you post the same exact message in 10 different threads (some of them over 2 years old), promoting your business.

[tim 360]

brend babe,  Your post is SPAM.  Take it elsewhere.

[OlgaH]

brend babe,  Your post is SPAM.  Take it elsewhere.

tim 360,

babe brend is an agency 

Gentlemen:
 We are an agency...

More scam or spam agency?   

[ConnerVT]

Why not?  We like playing with spamming forum trolls, while we wait for the forum moderators/administrators to come in and clean out your mess.

[BillyB]

I have already written. 

You've written again and again and again. Brend, spend some time here and read and participate by answering people's questions in a helpful way. You have a business of making money just as scammers do. It does not look good here if your only interest is making money instead of helping others with useful advice free of charge.

[Mod7]

It not a spam!!!

It IS spam, and you just got BANNED for posting it repeatedly .

This your opinion. I do not answer groundless charges.

It is also the Mods' opinion, and we found the charges groundFULLEST .