In 2015, a major data breach at AshleyMadison.com — the dating site targeted at cheaters — exposed information for some 36 million accounts. The company has now entered into a deal that settles federal and state charges that Ashley Madison: misled users about data security and failed to protect user information; charged users to delete profiles (but didn’t); and used fake profiles to lure in customers. While the settlement has a price tag of $8.75 million, Ashley Madison will actually pay significantly less than that. [More]
dating sites
Ashley Madison’s Penalty For Exposing Details On 36 Million Users? About $.04 Per Person
By 12.14.16
Ashley Madison Offering Profile Photo Masks, Rendering Users Completely Unrecognizable To Their Loved Ones
By 2.2.16
Isn’t it creepy when your husband/boyfriend leaves the room for a second, and then a stranger with a mask over his eyes enters it right after, and you’re like, “Whoa! Who are you and what have you done with my husband/boyfriend?!” Because everyone knows that disguises that only cover half your face can fool loved ones into thinking you’re a total stranger, Ashley Madison is offering users new tools to keep their identities secret. [More]
Ashley Madison Says It’s Secured All Customer Data After Hack Attack
By 7.21.15
After a group of hackers posted a sampling of user data stolen from AshleyMadison.com, the parent company of the dating site for cheaters says it’s secured all customer information that was allegedly leaked. [More]
AshleyMadison.com, Dating Site For Cheaters, Hacked; User Info Posted Online
By 7.20.15
The parent company of AshleyMadison.com, a dating site that brazenly declares “Life is short. Have an affair,” is the latest subject of a massive data breach. Over the weekend, hackers posted a sampling of user data stolen from the site. [More]
Single Ladies In 50s And 60s Prime Targets For Online Romance Scammers
By 7.17.15
Single ladies in their fifties and sixties are really in demand on dating websites. Unfortunately, they’re not popular in the way they might prefer. They’re prime targets for scammers, and victims typically lose $40,000 to $100,000. Once they realize what happened, they’re often ashamed to tell their families. That means word about this crime doesn’t get out. [More]
Report: Match.com Sign-In Security Flaw Could Be Putting Millions Of User Passwords At Risk
By 4.17.15
Sure, love might be in the air — but that doesn’t mean tens of millions of Match.com users’ passwords should be floating around like so many bits of easily grabbed flotsam and jetsam. A new report says that due to an apparent security flaw in the dating site’s log-in process, millions of users are at risk for having their passwords stolen. [More]
Latter-Day Saints Church Says Dating Site Can’t Match Mormons Because “Mormon” Is Their Trademark
By 6.3.14
A businessman wants to launch a new website. Like a Christian Mingle or a JDate, its purpose is to let members of a particular religion find love with one another. In this case, the target is members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, better known as Mormons. But he’s running into a snag with the name. When is a Mormon not a Mormon? When he’s a “Mormon®.” [More]
Site Scrapes Data From 250K Facebook Profiles To Mock Site
By 2.4.11
The proprietors of a satirical dating site culled info from 250,000 public Facebook profiles (including real names) to construct mock dating profiles in what they claim is an effort to expose the social networking giant’s dark side. [More]
Is This Captcha Code Trying To Tell Us Something?
By 1.21.10
A Consumerist reader writes, “So it’s been a while. I’m starting to get desperate. Why don’t I check out a new dating site I just heard about? My first concern is always, ‘Is it a scam site or is it real? What happens to my credit card info if it is a scam?’ So in the process of signing up, I received this warning.” Look on the bright side, OP, at least it didn’t make you type “Herpes.” [More]
EHarmony Reunites Customer With His Money, Apologizes
By 3.6.09 — Updated: 9.4.15
David, who we noted earlier this week was out an extra $140 because eHarmony decided to open a second account in his name, has written back with an update.
