While the online dating world is so varied now that some sites match couples based on aura colours or by specific age groups, five years ago it took only the simplest of sites to pair one Abbotsford couple.

More than 200,000 people in Britain may have been conned by fraudsters posing as would-be romantic partners on internet dating sites, according to the first study examining the potential scale of the problem.

Anti-fraud groups have warned for some time about scams, in which criminals create a false identity – often an army officer on active service, explaining an inability to meet in person – and develop a close online intimacy with a victim, who is then asked for cash to help their presumed suitor out of a crisis.

It had long been suspected that official figures for such crimes greatly under-represented their prevalence, largely because many victims feel too embarrassed or hurt to go to the police, or never realise they have been conned.

The study by the universities of Leicester and Westminster, working with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), found 2% of people surveyed personally knew someone who had experienced the crime. Extrapolating this to the online UK population means more than 200,000 potential victims.

Monica Whitty, a psychologist and professor of contemporary media at Leicester University, said that the pool of those targeted was likely to be greater still as it did not include people who realised what was happening before they lost money and those who still did not realise they had been conned.Online dating scams.

The researchers had been “shocked” at the numbers involved, she said

There has been an assumption that victims tend to be middle-aged women. However, said Whitty, targets were from both genders and all age groups.

Aside from the financial costs involved – Soca has tracked individual losses ranging from £50 to £240,000 – those conned also faced the heartbreak of discovering that the person with whom they had fallen in love was the invention of a skilled con artist, usually Nigerian or Ghanaian, and often not even of the same gender.

“A lot of people find it very hard to accept what has happened, even if they know the person involved is now in jail,” Whitty said.

“We’ve had male victims who still refer to the other person as ’she’, even though they now know it was a man.

“In a few cases they’ve found the relationship so therapeutic they keep it going, even if they know they’ve been conned.”

Online dating scams often begin with an online dating site profile carrying a notably attractive photo, taken from elsewhere on the internet, and a description of someone in a remote, hard-to-contact location – whether a military base in Afghanistan or, to tempt male victims, a UK or US nurse at a small foreign hospital.

The use of almost exclusively online communication – the criminals occasionally resort to phone calls but these are rare given the extra difficulty of explaining away an accent – can actually accelerate intimacy, Whitty said, allowing victims to project their own hopes and desires on to a warm and empathic correspondent.

“Email and instant messaging can have the effect of being hyper-personal. Lots of people get in touch with someone through a dating site, meet them a few weeks later and this person doesn’t live up to their expectations. With an online relationship this never happens.”

The faked romances can last for a long time – the longest the researchers heard of was five years – with each criminal juggling a series of parallel relationships. At some point comes the request for urgent financial assistance, often to help them out of supposed difficulty.

“They might test the waters by asking for a present, for example saying they’ve lost their mobile phone and need another one. If this happens, they’ll ask for money. It’s like a clever marketing ploy.”

Very few cases are seemingly reported. A spokesman for the UK’s National Fraud Authority said the agency had learned of 730 crimes over the past 15 months, totalling £8m in losses.

The survey, covering more than 2,000 people, found that just over half were aware that such romance scams existed.

While this was a positive sign, Colin Woodcock of Soca said, significant numbers of people remained at risk.

“The perpetrators spend long periods of time grooming their victims, working out their vulnerabilities and when the time is right to ask for money,” he said.

“By being aware of how to stay safe online, members of the UK public can ensure they don’t join those who have lost nearly every penny they had, been robbed of their self-respect, and in some cases, committed suicide after being exploited, relentlessly, by these criminals.”

YanikaDate.com is a new free dating and social networking website that matches funny men and women on sense of humor personality traits. The free dating site offers members a broad-based experience encompassing detailed profile development, advanced search, private/community chat, blogs, forums, groups, and events. In addition, there are relevant articles focusing on advice, tips, questions, and news — all in the context of understanding humor and relationships.

YanikaDate.com also provides a creative portal where users can customize the style and color of their profiles, network with friends, compose and send quizzes, answer poll questions, play video games, and upload favorite videos, music, and photos.

The interactive nature of free dating YanikaDate.com motivates members to participate in multiple activities and chart the site’s direction. Users establish a personal profile comprised of basic background information, physical characteristics, and personality traits. Several unique factors are explored — including dream job, sense of humor style, and personality characteristics. Members are free to add events, create website forums, organize community groups, write blogs, and chat privately or publicly.

YanikaDate.com is being launched as a fresh concept in online free dating and social networking. The free dating site is open to new members and welcomes feedback from the community.

World Cup fever is helping women meet their match on dating websites.

Online dating site FindSomeone said 43 per cent of females on the site used “rugby” in their personal profiles, and the national game had become an increasingly popular subject in online messaging during the World Cup.

FindSomeone manager Rick Davies said girls seeking “Mr Right” were baiting men with rugby.

Almost half of Hawke’s Bay females had rugby in their profiles on free dating, the highest proportion in the country, followed closely by Canterbury females, where 47 per cent cited rugby.

“We think this is driven by the increasing number of women wanting to find someone special during the current man-drought  a situation made worse with so much attention on rugby at the moment,” Davies said.

Statistics New Zealand 2011 population estimates showed more than 50,000 “excess” females aged 25 to 49 over males in New Zealand.

Fill Your Wardrobe with Colorful Dresses from DinoDirect’s Special Occasions Dress Sale

Fall is the season of beauty  an online store, is offering their selection of colorful dresses on sale. Woman are never short of special occasions to attend, and that is why every woman should buy these dresses from the store at the great discount prices offered on them.

The store’s CIO spoke about the sale by saying, “Our colorful clothes cover a wide range of styles which will surprise you! If you order them now, you can immediately enjoy a huge discount of 70% off.” This is all the motivation women need to stock-up on elegant special events dresses.

Many woman shy away from color, yet it is advisable to go a little bit out of your comfort zone and buy a few beautiful and colorful dresses. From wedding ceremonies, dinner parties, cocktail parties, graduations, evening events and proms; you will never be short of an event which requires you to adorn a special dress just for the occasion. If you are a keen follower of trends and like to keep up with the latest dress designs; this is the time to fill your wardrobe with colorful dresses from the online retailer.

Woman are spoiled for choice when it comes to the selection of Special Occasion Dresses stocked by the online retailer. It is definitely difficult to walk away with just one dress from the store, especially because the dresses are available at considerably low prices.

One of the vibrant Cocktail Dresses stocked by the online store will definitely make you turn heads at any event that you attend. Cocktail events are sometimes held so that different people can meet and network and depending on the nature of the cocktail party that you are attending; the store stocks sheath dresses, knee-length dresses, tea-length dresses and mini dresses which are ideal for any cocktail event.

After weddings, proms are amongst the main events in life which women look forward to attending. The store’s collections of Prom Dresses are trendy and available in modern silhouettes. Celebrity Dresses are also quickly catching on in popularity as dresses worn to proms. Celebrities are by default trend setters and the dresses that most of then wear are quickly replicated for mass consumption. The store offers custom tailoring services on their selection of celebrity inspired dresses.

The store also stocks a wide selection of colorful Evening Dresses which are suited for different occasions. If you are looking for a dress to wear at an evening party, date, concert or any other special occasion; get it from the store while the promotional sale on their dresses is still ongoing.

To get the store’s selection of special events dresses at further discounts, you should take up their free cash coupons. The store also allows their registered customers to redeem their accumulated loyal points on some of the dresses. Women who are willing to try out something different should take-up the store’s offer on their range of green, red, yellow, purple and blue dresses. The dresses are available in different shades of the individual colors, silhouettes, cuts and they come with incredible discount rates.

New ‘The Woman in Black’ Trailer Emerges Online

Primetime is packing on the girls power this fall as the majority of shows scheduled for the upcoming television season feature a hot new arrangement of leading girls, bound to bring on the punches, laughs and thrills to small screens in living rooms everywhere.

These ladies include fresh new faces and television alumni royalty, who will ultimately have to bring the prime back to primetime.

This fall marks the return of former ‘90s queen Sarah Michelle Gellar to TV as she stars in The CW’s newest thriller “Ringer.”

Gellar’s comeback includes acting as one of the show’s executive producers while maintaining her primary role as a wife and mother.

Co-star Mike Colter states Gellar’s role within the show is vital for “everyone plays off her” as she portrays more than one character. “Ringer” premiered on Tuesday Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

“2 Broke Girls” appears to be pretty self-explanatory as Kat Dennings and newcomer Beth Behrs literally play two broke girls working as waitresses in Manhattan.

The CBS sitcom is sure to portray the laughs and mishaps that come along with struggling to make end’s meet in this satirical, dynamically duoed comedy.

Dennings, whose appearances includes films such as “The House Bunny,” “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” and recently “Thor,” has proved her versatility within different genres and will sure to make the change from the big screen to television a most successful endeavor, while setting the bar high for co-star Behr.

“2 Broke Girls” premieres on Monday, Sept. 19 at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

This fall marks the resurrection of long-time action favorite “Charlie’s Angels” with a hot new cast and look on ABC.

With Drew Barrymore, star of the successful film franchise based on the original 1970s TV series, as executive producer, the new series features Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh as the newest generation of sexy sleuths whose anonymous boss maintains contact via speaker box.

Set in Miami instead of the usual Los Angeles, these Angels “kick a lot of ass and look good doing it” as writer/co-executive producer Al Gough regards the show as “the lovechild between Jack Bauer and Carrie Bradshaw.”

“Charlie’s Angels” premieres on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

What seems to be a clone of “Mad Men,” NBC’s “The Playboy Club” goes back in time when Hugh Hefner’s infamous Playboy Club was originally created in Chicago in the 1960s.

The majority of the subject material will occur outside the actual club as the politics and intrigue of the ‘60s becomes further developed through some groovy music and the half-nakedness of vintage Playboy bunnies.



Roman at work: the pros and cons. “Office Romance” – a film by Eldar Ryazanov, this romantic story, where the boss single women – and dull gray mouse father – a single transformed overnight, and found his love directly at work! Roman at work, its disadvantages: Your office romance will be discussed by colleagues; If you have an affair with a boss single women, you may be accused of seduction officer or to use his official position; If you have an affair with a staff member, you may be charged with the patronage of his friend in the affairs that relate to business; But the service of the novel, there is another side to this coin. Are five advantages of the novel on the job? 1. About the colleagues and staff, we know a great deal: they are married or divorced, if they have someone, whether they are choosy about the relationship, usually you’re not obsessed with the question, because it already know it or can easily learn. 2. Most men and single women know the whole story of his colleagues, his emotions, tastes and habits. In this case you usually acquainted with the single women / man gradually and do not cherish towards him any illusions.

1. At work you like and your colleagues, well dressed and look perfect, so employees can not only treat you as a responsible employee, but also as an unpopular candidate for the office romance. 2. No need to wait for a phone call or worry about what you can no longer see a man or a women who is (th) like (ACLs). Every working day guaranteed a new meeting. 3. You have common interests, you have a topic of conversation, because there are friends in common and joint work in the company. Plus, that your colleagues can be friends with whom you want to meet you. Romancing the Chief! This is a separate, bright and problematic category of novels on the job. Be prepared for that: 1. Chief may use his position to seduce you. 2. At first the novel with the head may have a lot of pluses, but eventually becomes a burden. 3. Manipulation, a desire to subjugate and control you, – these motifs are usually present in the behavior of the chief. 4. You can have a number of officers and financial benefits; tighten an affair with the boss. Remember, often turn to psychologists, women who were in love and financial dependence on their superiors, to help get rid of these bonds. This novel at work can be derived from mental balance, and need the help of a psychologist. Romancing is the employee. Someone is difficult to imagine that likely flirtation and an affair with a colleague, with whom, and so was a reasonably long time. But the professional interaction with a man or women is very different from personal. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you find time to get to know, learn something about his life outside of work. A great way to learn at work – to organize a softball competition between different offices and invited to participate in the employees of other companies that work with you in the same building. Do not neglect the opportunity to talk in the corridor or lobby, who knows, maybe your partner is – a future candidate for the office romance or simply help you expand the circle of acquaintances. Roman at work can be successful! Office is now a club where he meets and acquire new friends, and not just a place where earning a living. Try to use your work time and make office romance!