Pitfalls of dating sites highlighted in report

A WORRYING number of online dating users are‚ through their profiles‚ placing sensitive information about themselves into the public domain‚ which could potentially expose them to malicious links that infect their device or scammers trying to extort information from them.

This is according to global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab. Its latest research report‚ “Dangerous Liaisons: is everyone doing it online?” was based on a survey in August last year which assessed the responses of 6 458 online dating users from 30 countries – including 500 people in South Africa.

“People share information with others too easily when they are dating online‚ with 25% admitting they share their full name on their dating profile,” the report said.

“One in 10 have shared their home address‚ and the same number have shared naked photos of themselves.

“All of this information‚ in the wrong hands‚ can be used to track online dating users and their families online and offline‚ to crack their accounts by guessing passwords‚ for blackmail‚ and more.

“Giving out this information can mean that a relationship struck up online can enter the real world very quickly, with people going from being strangers‚ to being able to access an online dater’s home address or phone line within a matter of minutes.”

Men are ready to share personal information about themselves much faster than women are.

Female users are likely to share information after several months (25% v 16%)‚ while men are significantly more likely to hand over their personal details after just minutes or hours (16% v 9%).

Overall‚ 55% of people who date online have experienced some form of threat or problem, ranging from IT security incidents to meeting people who did not turn out to be who they claimed.

The data suggest that men put themselves at risk more than women. Twice as many male online daters said their device had been infected with malware‚ spyware or ransomware.

The research also found that those searching for their soul mates on online dating platforms – such as Tinder‚ Bumble‚ OK Cupid‚ Badoo and more – are in the minority‚ with just 10% using online dating to actually find a marriage partner.

That is compared with 50% of online dating users doing it for fun‚ and 19% just looking for sex.

The online dating world is also rife with false information: More than half (62%) of people admitted to lying while dating online – faking information to make themselves look better than they do in real life‚ or even to try to catch their partners cheating.

Andrei Mochola‚ head of consumer business at Kaspersky Lab‚ said: “Like every popular online trend‚ unfortunately there are also people who want to use online dating for malicious purposes.

“Far from advising users to avoid online dating altogether‚ we simply urge them to consider their safety at every step of the way.

“A heightened awareness‚ accompanied with an adaptive security solution that can respond to different situations and work to protect every device used for dating from online threats‚ is the best way to start.” People who date online are most likely to be: ý 33.8 years old on average. ý Working full-time (63%). ý Slightly more likely to be male than female. ý 31% of people who are married or living with a partner are using online dating.

ý 51% of online daters admit to using a device that they use for work to carry out their online dating activities. – TimesLIVE