Fake Profiles are the scourge of the online dating world. These are the “filler” people that dating sites often include on their site to skew the membership numbers and attract more people. If you’ve ever seen a dating site launch that somehow has thousands of members, you begin to understand where the problem begins. Some may consider this to be a harmless practice—one of the necessary requirements to building an online dating community. Yet it becomes very easy to see how companies could turn a benign act of membership padding into an aggressive and mischievous money grab from would-be members.

You need not look far for evidence that fake profiles exist. You can run Google searches for companies selling dating software and you'll see that some come complete with members already installed. Employees of certain dating sites admitted to me that they had thousands of fake profiles when they started. Once you get your head around how the game is played, you can be a smarter, savvier dating consumer.

"The last thing anyone wants to do is drop money on a fake profile."

It would be nice to say that fake profiles are easy to spot – but they’re not. They can come complete with an articulately worded essay, a whole list of hobbies and accomplishments, a flirtatious tag line and even a quality picture in their profile. If you don’t have a picture up or haven’t really said anything in your profile of interest and you’re getting emails asking you to pay to communicate with someone, I’d be very leery. Mind you, I believe that men and women are very different. A woman is more likely to be approached by a man even without a photo than a man is by a woman. It’s just the way our world works. If this is the case, I’d say that worry about fake profiles is secondary to the danger of going out with a man who is grasping at profiles without pictures on dating sites. There just aren’t many decent people around who are willing to take such a shot in the dark. If you have a picture up or have really written something witty, then maybe it will be a bit more difficult to tell the real profiles from the fake ones. But if you are a guy and all you have is text in your profile and no picture, watch out because you might soon see what fake profiles are all about.

The last thing anyone wants to do is drop money on a fake profile. This isn’t always easy to avoid. There are generally two different kinds of payment systems that are used on dating sites today: paid monthly membership and credit-based systems. The most popular by far is a set monthly fee where you can contact unlimited members during the duration. This system has its pros and cons. If a fake profile contacts you and wants you to pay to contact them, it’s a one-shot deal. The down side is that you pay the piper a large set fee and they play your song for a month. The up side is that you can then go crazy and contact anyone you want during that time, real and fake profiles included. With a credit-based system, it can be harder to hold on to your money. Fake profiles from aggressive companies could continually bombard you with requests to chat, and if you’re willing, you could spend an endless amount of money talking with hired help as opposed to possible connections. One way to get around this is to be selective. If someone hits you up to chat, never, ever pay, no matter how cute they are. You’re worth the $2 or whatever it costs to chat so let them pay to talk to you. Avoiding fake profiles in their entirety might be next to impossible, but the good news is that there’re sites out there that really can connect you with living, breathing people in your area.

Online dating is fun, exciting and allows you can connect with people in your area that you'd never meet otherwise. You shouldn’t be frightened away by the possibility of fake profiles—just be aware. Start by joining some of the more reputable sites or by asking friends which ones they’ve had success on. Although fame and fortune aren’t always the best ways to make decisions when it comes to dating, certain sites are doing it right. Read the reviews here on Cupids Reviews for some of our top picks and best of luck keeping those fake profiles at bay!

Tell others what you thought about this article. Please keep it civil.

Comments by: Brian
love sexy date also appears to be totally fake keep away.

Comments by: Aware
Yet another fake of a site id Amateurmatch.com. Lots of good looking ladies sending generic emails saying they liked my profile, please contact me. One problem is that when I check to see whoi has viewed my profile there were NONE! Also, they are all from the same large cities in NJ like Jersey City and Newark which I can tell you is a fake right away.

Comments by: MTO55
I also agree with your comments about these sites, when you do get an e mail reply it is always one or two lines of drivel. If a proper site was set up it would do well, makes you wonder how much these fake female contacts make.

Comments by: Mandinga Man
Well, fake or not, I have had two real Good) dates from Horny Matches. And I still make real contact with local people. Yes, there are some contacts that I do suspect as phony on Horny Matches, but for the most part I am satisfied with the results I have had there. My profile there is Mandinga Man.

Comments by: Wilfredo
Horny-matches.com has fake profiles. At the beggining when I was not a regular member I receive a lot of visitors. Once I became a member nobody visited my profiles and I sent at least 100 emails to thoses profiles of women and no a single responde. Fake web site for sure

Comments by: mike
YES ITS ONE BIG FAKE! they generate automatically emails and send them to the members, NEVER EVER get a payed membership here, your money is gone and you never get a real contact!!!!! STAY AWAY FROM www.erotikdating.com

Comments by: skydumont
yes i think www.erotikdating.com, only fakes there

Comments by: mike
I just want to say be carefull also for this site (erotikdating.com) Its one big FAKE! Profiles are faked and also the mails! Never ever get a memberhip there, they ask 35 EURO!!

Comments by: B2T
I suspected fictitious members on a site I joined 1 week ago. I joined as a standard member, received loads of interest and then after paying a monthly fee and emailing these interested people - Nothing. That was on horny-matches.com . Also, when I am at work and visit the site, it says I am Online now . I always delete cookies on my work machine before opening their site. !!!!!!!