Fraud in Internet Dating Prompting Regulation

anaesthetica writes "According to the Washington Post, an increasing tide of fraud in internet dating is prompting lawyers and lawmakers to examine possible regulations and consumer protections. Wire fraud scamming, plane ticket ripoffs, fraud perpetrated to fund trysts, fake "date bait" messages -- these are just a few of the issues the courts are beginning to deal with. Dating websites were immunized from lawsuits over false statements by the recent Communications Decency Act. Other attempts to regulate internet dating, such as the 2005 'mail-order bride' legislation, are already being challenged in court, but an increasing number of states are sponsoring their own legislation."

What?

[eclectro]

Who would want to date when you can play Dungeons and Dragons?

Anyway, doesn't everyone here know that all the cute pictures online are fake and you are talking to somebody who weighs 300 pounds and whose real name is "Bubba"?

With regulation, dating sites will look like this:

[SpecialAgentXXX]

Man Seeking Woman

His Qualities

• Age: 30
• Hair: Balding
• Eyes: Bloodshot from staring at PC too long playing MMORPGs; glasses
• Body Type: football... that is the shape, not the athlete
• Education: Trade School - DeVry's Technical
• Income: $25,000 - $30,000
• Housing: Lives with parents
• Social Style: Introverted, shy, nervous around women
• Sexual Behavior: N/A, virgin

Your Qualities

• Age: Barely Legal
• Hair: Blonde
• Eyes: Blue
• Skin: Tanned
• Body Type: Athletic
• Housing: has her own place
• Sexual Behavior: anything past 1st base would be nice

funny

[sxtxixtxcxh]

after reading the title, and skimming the summary, i read "14 comments yro.slashdot.org" as "14 yr old.slashdot.org"

Bring on National IDs and USDA Inspectors

[MonkeyBoyo]

That way I can be sure that I am corresponding with a virgin who just turned 18.

ISO constituent

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

Wise, benevolent legislator seeks voter to guard and protect. Will keep you safe from all harm. My turnons are exotic travel, tax hikes and campaign contributions. LTR preferred.

Obligatory bash.org quote.

[Anonymous Coward]

Welcome to the Internet, where men are men, women are men, and 16 year old girls are FBI agents.

(Paraphrased)

Re:What?

[Vladimus]

Seriously, guys (and gals?), be careful out there. My 250-pound ex wants me to do a little Photoshop work on her pic.

Re:More useless hype ...

[CosmeticLobotamy]

Thank God. The real world is boring as hell.

Dating?

[Vladimus]

What is this "dating" of which you speak?

Re:What?

[innocence18]

Don't knock it till you've tried it alright, Bubba and I are very happy together!

Photos

[IainMH]

I want to see regulation against using photos that were clearly taken BEFORE YOU STARTED EATING LARD BETWEEN MEALS!

Re:Bring on National IDs and USDA Inspectors

[One Childish N00b]

Hey man, just stay on Slashdot - given the standard of bickering here recently, I'd hazard a guess that around half the UIDs in the 9* range are virgins that just turned 18 - you're spoilt for choice!

Re:WTF?

[MyLongNickName]

Lawmakers make laws. That is what they do! Politicians need to be seen as "doing something about the problem"... even if they know that more laws won't help

We should pass a law against this kind of behavior...

Re:WTF?

[corbettw]

This is how legislators keep busy and stay out of trouble.

You misspelled make.

Re:Libertarianism

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for setting the record straight. On a slightly un-PC note, is your name really HungWeiLo? That's up there (or down there, depending on the state of arousal) with the Portland Chinese restaurant HungFarLo!