According to research by a new online photo verification site, http://www.CheckedProfile.com, over 80% of online daters have suspected that the profile images being used online are fakes and over a third have actually discovered that a person’s identity does not match that of their online persona.

Respondents described experiences including online daters using a model’s picture and passing it off as their own, lying about their age, job and marital status.

93% of those surveyed said that if there was a simple way of verifying someone’s identity online, they would consider using it.

New website http://www.CheckedProfile.com launches today in the US. It aims to revolutionize the way online and real-world identities work together by introducing the first online photo verification system aimed at everyone who uses online dating Web sites and social media. It is free for women and $1.99 for men for the basic package.

CheckedProfile.com founder is serial dot com entrepreneur Ben Way, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He says, “Up until now, people have been able to hide behind online identities and claim to be someone they are not. Just as we wouldn’t accept this in the real world, we shouldn’t have to accept this online. I want social networks and dating sites to give their users the option of having their identity verified, this will reduce the risk to their users; I have been horrified by some of the stories out there, and it’s one of the reasons why I made the service free to women.”

CheckedProfile.com works really simply with the following 5 steps:

1. You upload the profile picture that you would like to be verified
2. The site gives you a unique code
3. Take another picture of yourself holding the unique code (akin to holding up a copy of today’s newspaper)
4. One of CheckedProfile.com’s experts immediately checks that both images are the same person
5. If successful, you are given a unique stamp which you can upload onto any website (not just dating specific, e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc.)

CheckedProfile.com interviewed 246 online users in the US/UK as part of their Online Dating Fears Research 2009 using SurveyMonkey. The survey has a +- 6.2% Error Level with 95% confidence level.

Ben Way — Biography

Ben Way is one of the world’s most well-known dot com entrepreneurs and inventor. He founded his first internet company when he was 15 despite struggling at school and suffering from dyslexia. He went on to work with the American and British Governments, multi-national corporations and some of the world’s leading academic institutions. He has also lectured at Imperial College of London in Entrepreneurship and Business Investment. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Way

To find out more about CheckedProfile.com, contact:

Ben Way
(954) 790-7580
ben@checkedprofile.org
CheckedProfile.com, Inc.
401 E. Las Olas Blvd, Suite 1400
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301

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SOURCE CheckedProfile.com, Inc.