In Search Of Truth, Justice On The Internet
Lucky for me, I met my husband in the days before online dating. But if you know anyone who’s been married in the last few years, you probably know someone who has found the love of their life through sites like Match.com or eHarmony.com.
It’s also likely that you know someone who has a date-from-hell story that involved awkward conversation over coffee.
I’ve never had a friend truly burned by online dating, but I’m sure it does happen. And suspicious online daters in the Worcester area now have someone to turn to for help.
Watching The Detectives
That someone is Susan Lyons, owner of Lyons Investigations of Worcester. She’s been a state-licensed private detective since the 1990s. Last year she handled more than 320 cases, which ranged from investigating cases of insurance fraud to child support and family matters. She’s also seen an increase in work thanks to the foreclosure crisis. Lawyers hire her to check out who’s really living in properties that have entered the court process.
But Lyons is now starting up a new business focused on helping people navigate the intimidating online dating world. She’s developed several packages where people can get background checks at varying levels of depth done on potential mates found online.
“What I’m going to do is verify that they are who they say they are — that the name really does exist… verify the date of birth,” she said.
For those who want the full monty, Lyons has a package that goes deep into public records to find out the person’s employment and real estate records.
Lyons does have some firsthand experience with online dating. She said she tried it a few years ago, but didn’t have much success.
“Quite honestly, it didn’t work out for me,” she said. “After about the third date, I realized I needed to find another way to meet someone.”
Lyons is already experienced with Internet research and accesses a number of databases to help verify identities. Now she’s using those skills in matters of the heart instead of just matters of the law.
After a lively phone conversation with Lyons, I couldn’t help but feel a little crest-fallen when it comes to the intentions of my fellow man. She had several scary stories of people masquerading on dating websites under false pretenses to get quick cash. For example, she knew of one elderly man who was swindled out of his savings by a woman from a foreign country whom he met through an online dating site.
Lyons has some simple advice for anyone who has lingering questions about an online suitor.
“If it rattles and slithers, it’s a snake,” she said.
And I guess that’s good advice for any activity online. We’ve all been on the receiving end of phishing scams, where someone sends you what looks like a legitimate e-mail, perhaps from a bank, that is really set up to steal your personal information and maybe your money. Unfortunately, nothing is necessarily as it seems when it comes to the Internet.
But at least there are people like Susan Lyons out there trying to help us find the truth.
Got news for our Digital Diva column? E-mail Christina H. Davis at cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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