Tag Archives: online dating

The Puppy Love Scam

A few weeks back I wrote about love scams (“You Give Love a Bad Name,” WSJ.com) — how scammers are trawling online dating sites looking for suckers. What interested me about the scam is that in some cases the scammers play a very patient game — luring the mark in over a period of months… Read More »

How to Practice Talking to Teenagers

I can’t remember how I got there, but I ended up talking to one of those automated chat things. This one is called SmarterChild, now at least five years old, and still manages to be both obtuse and wise at the same time, while also plying his/her interlocutor with ads, most of them contextually inappropriate.… Read More »

Getting Dating Advice Online

If you’re willing to fork out $20 a month for dating advice, you’re in luck. A newly launched website,  econfidant (“smarter advice for dating & relationships”) does just that:   econfidant can answer all of your dating or relationship questions. No question is too basic or too involved. We can help you strategize how to… Read More »

Set Up Your Own Dating Site

If you’ve ever wondered whether some of these dating/match-making/friend-finding websites are seat-of-the-pant fly-by-nights, here’s a clue: For $150 you can get the software to start your own, with a starter “database of Russian, Ukrainian, Europe and American ladies’ profiles!” thrown in, possibly, for free. Pilot Group’s blurb for its Ready Dating Site Solution says: “Here… Read More »

Valentine’s Day – A Humbug Approach

It’s that time of year, and the marketing folk are back with lame Valentine’s promotions. My first is from Audible.com, where I must have registered at some point, because I got an email with the subject field ‘Someone has sent you a Valentine!’ along with the following message: ‘Get a special Valentine’s day wish (and… Read More »