New York Post & Background Investigations

In their section called "Pulse," my interview about background investigations with the New York Post came out this morning. It looks like it'll land me on the Today Show tomorrow. We'll see.

The article focused heavily on online dating. Because of the frequency of calls we get about online dating, I decided to do something about it. As much as 50% of the posts you find on online dating sites are exaggerations, if not outright lies. People lie about their looks, age, marital status, and their employment.

So, a couple of years ago I started an online dating site. The unique feature of the site was that every member underwent a background check. If we found that they lied about something, we kicked them off.

I lost my shirt with the dating site. I got out before I lost my pants, too. The project was underfunded, and I don't know the business of online dating sites. However, I do know about background investigations. So, I decided to stick with that.

Now, background checks are becoming quite common on online dating sites. I heard about one company that does background checks for $25. That's like jumping out of a plane using a handkerchief for a parachute. I don't see any way a $25 background check would be of any use.