Smiting Fake Dating Accounts with Righteous Background Checks

Do a background search on your own

So what should you do to avoid a nasty heartbreaker? First of all, stay vigilant while chatting with your partner. Pay close attention to the details he or she shares. Location, state of origin, parents, places he/she visited, occupation, or any bite-sized information that slips their mind can be recycled later on. It’s also important to guess the person’s real name, even if they use a nick. When doing a background check, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the most convenient starting points, to verify some of the basic elements. But scammers know this, so make sure to check how “natural” these social media pages are. Fake profiles usually have very little activity; the photos are all uploaded in one batch (and have little to no likes); and the lifespan of such pages is suspiciously short. You would be surprised how much information may come up when using traditional search engines. Typing in your partner’s name, or even his/her nickname, brings up surprising results from old forum threads or articles. And don’t forget to run a check on their criminal record! The online database is searchable in most states, so doing so is completely legal.

Background check solutions

For those who don’t have the time or will to dig knee deep into online archives, there is a more extensive but also easier alternative. Sites, such as GoodHire, CheckPeople and Backgroundchecks.com all offer a refined algorithm that searches all available criminal history and sex offender registries on the internet. Some of these services are even customizable to some degree, so they even run a check on the person’s alias. There are two problems with automated background check sites: first, they ask a hefty fee ranging between $20 and $30. If you date a lot of people, doing a search on all of them can make you bankrupt. The second problem is the algorithm. Experts regard the inner working of these sites as lousy at best, not to mention they often overlook key information. Luckily for us, there is an innovative new startup under the name of Aste, where a team of analysts accomplish the same task but in a creative, resourceful way. Their service isn’t cheap either, pricing one background report at $29.95 and ten reports at $26.95 per report. Aste is however entirely focused on screening online daters, making it one of the most suitable solutions for background checks on potential romances. Work history, social media profile checks and sex offender status are a few of the elements captured in their reports.