Website does background investigations on Internet lovers
"When in doubt, check them out" is the advice of a unique website that, for a $75 fee, does background investigations by the web. The California attorney who runs the website says people contact her after the meet someone online and are thinking about moving from an online infatuation to an in-person relationship. The most typical request is to check out whether a chat room "cyberdate" is married and what they do for a living. About 60% turn out to be lying. In this week's "High Tech Talk" NBC-TV report, Mike Wendland takes us to the "WhoIsHe.com" and "WhoIsShe.com" websites.

For many, the Internet has replaced the singles bar these days as a place to meet. But with so many people swarming into cyberspace, meeting online and then meeting in person, there’s a lot of… well… little white lies and stretching of the truth. That’s where a new website that specializes in doing background investigations comes in… a sort of cyber-private eye. Our Mike Wendland reports.

[HIGH TECH TALK FOR MAY 18]

The site’s name says it all… WHOISHE.COM or WHOISSHE.COM (www.whoishe.com) … an online investigative website run by a California attorney who, for a $75 charge… Visa and MasterCard accepted… will check out that virtual stranger to see if he or she is really who they purport to be. Are they married? How old are they? Have they ever used an alias? Do they own property? Who else lives with them at that same address? What’s their house worth? This is the kind of report you get, sent back to you by certified mail, all gathered from public information sources… all legal…all aimed at verifying that the cyber flame is as hot as they appear. Linda Alexander, the attorney who runs the site tells me about 60% of the people she’s asked to check out are NOT who or what they claim to be. She’s found con artists, stalkers and even incarcerated prison inmates posing as available singles. The site’s motto says it all… "when in doubt, check him out"…. There’s also a handy guide to playing it safe online, offering common sense guidelines on how to make sure the cyber penpal you’re communicating with isn’t taking you for a ride.

Again, this isn’t free…. $75 for a basic profile, more if you want all the really juicy stuff. But, if you’re interested in checking out the service, head over to my PC Mike site on the World Wide Web [www.pcmike.com], there’s my address on the screen. I’ve built a direct link to the whoishe/she.com website. And remember, till next time, you can reach me anytime, online. I’m Mike Wendland, for NBC News.