|
Maria Coder: Posted on Saturday, July 21, 2012 8:53 PM
You just can't make this stuff up...
Apparently a jilted ex-boyfriend created some profiles for his ex-girlfriends on online dating sites. And not just any online dating sites -- he created one on a site for people looking to hook up with prison inmates (and called one of his exes a PORN STAR for fun)!
MyFoxHouston.com reports that 30-year-old Carl Wayne McGraw, Jr. has been
accused by two women of creating multiple fake dating profiles for them
online. To make matters worse, the women say McGraw has been using their real names, e-mail addresses, home addresses and
phone numbers.
The first woman says she found several fake profiles for herself
online after dating McGraw for two months. One of the profiles said she
was a "porn star." The second woman says she broke up with McGraw after five months of dating after catching him in "multiple lies."
MyFoxHouston.com reports that McGraw is a suspect in the investigation and that investigators
have charged him with online impersonation.
So, what can you do to safeguard your personal information to prevent it from being used against you? For starters, use your Date-a-Base email address for all communication. Even if someone gives out this email address, it won't matter because it has no direct tie to you (click here to read more about how to create your own Date-a-Base).
Now, again, I'll never throw David Merkur under the bus. Remember him? Highly organized New York singleton with a spreadsheet that caused an uproar. Judge him as you will but I've always come to his defense -- the boy is organized, his only error was a lapse in judgement and sending the darn thing as it was, sans deleting some characters and photos. Nonetheless, his debacle earlier this year should serve as a wake up call to all singletons out there. And that lesson is this: you are responsible for the safekeeping of your own information.
If you don't have a Date-a-Base email, make one now. And while you're at it, do it on Google... it'll boost your chances that you'll get Google Voice next, which means you'll be on your way to blocking emails, dropping calls, and removing unwanted distractions from your life -- as soon as absolutely necessary.
|
|
|
Maria Coder: Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2012 10:06 PM
If this is news to you. Here's what you need to know: - David Merkur is really good at making spreadsheets. If you need one made on Excel, you should probably hire him.
- David Merkur dates (or at least used to date) on Match.com
- David Merkur rates (or at least used to rate) his dates using his Excel spreadsheet
- David Merkur went on a date with a woman named Arielle and put his foot in-his-mouth (mistake #1) when he told her about his nifty spreadsheet (it actually is a beautiful spreadsheet, take a look)
- David Merkur emailed his spreadsheet to Arielle (mistake #2) who emailed it to her friends
- David Merkur failed to remove personal identifiers of the women he dated from the spreadsheet (three strikes David Merkur)
David Merkur is not evil. In my opinion, David Merkur is organized. He's young. He has "send-itis." If you've taken my InvestiDate workshop you know I tell you to get historical not hysterical. David should've backed away from his computer.
What can we, as daters, learn here? Firstly, his spreadsheet is fantastic. It's organized, it's attractive, it's color-coded, it would be incredibly useful to an investigator if you went on a date and didn't come back. The photos, whereabouts, phone numbers, etc. are a goldmine of information. Kudos to David Merkur. That said, it's not something I would encourage you to ever share. It's a file that I would encourage you to keep safely stored in your Date-a-Base and if you've created your Date-a-Base in gmail then it's a private google document that only you and your two best buds with the password to your document may access, for worst case scenario purposes as explained in InvestiDate: How to Investigate Your Date.
Next -- how not to become a "victim" on said spreadsheet
You can't control your thumbnail photo ending up on someone's spreadsheet.
You can control your email and phone number ending up on a similar spreadsheet and being broadcast to the world.
Here's how:
- only register and use your Date-a-Base email address for dating, which solves the email problem instantly.
- Use GoogleVoice for phone and until you enter into an exclusive relationship with someone only use that GoolgeVoice phone number.
- If you don't like that idea, visit Walmart.com or any other big box chain and get a $10-$30 pre-paid cell phone. I just ordered this tracfone bundle for a book launch party and will probably hand it out to a few suitors along the way.
So, before you go throwing David Merkur, whom I've never met by the way, under the bus, be honest -- you've never assigned a numerical value to someone? Not even in your head? You've never thought, wow, he's a 10? She's a solid 9.5? No? Never? Sorry, I don't believe you.
|
|
|
Maria Coder: Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2012 11:14 PM
PlentyofFish.com and True.com are being sued for allegedly using a fallen soldier's photo in their ads for "Military Man Searching for Love."
The parents of Army Lt. Peter Burks have sued both dating sites. They say their son's photo was used in ads without their permission.
"The implication is that, if you click here, this is one of our members. This is somebody you'll meet -- and people like him -- when this fallen hero has been dead three or four years," attorney Rogge Dunn, of Clouse Dunn LLP in Dallas, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Burks' parents, told NBC.
Dunn sent a cease-and-desist letter to PlentyofFish.com, based in Vancouver. The company has since agreed to remove the ad. Star Local News reports there has been no response to a similar letter from True.com based in Dallas.
|
|
