National Television Show Seeks Victims for On-Camera Interviews

A national television show is seeking victims of online romantic deception for on-camera interviews. In particular, they are looking for women who were harmed by men they met through online dating services who they later found out had criminal records. If you are willing to share your story, please contact Kelly Rice at krice@kingworld.com.

GPS Data in Photos Can Help Uncover Romantic Deception

We all know that lying on the Internet is prevalent. Anyone who's tried on-line dating knows that people aren't always what they claim to be. I've heard lots of stories – and experienced a few examples myself – of individuals who are much older, much heavier, and much less educated than their profiles portray.

When that deception pours over into everyday living inside a romantic relationship, then it's a real issue. There is a fine line between embellishing on a profile to make oneself more attractive, and out right lying about every aspect of one's life. As Dr. Caldwell, author of Romantic Deception: The Six Signs He's Lying defines it, it is the "unrestrained misrepresentation of significant facts in the context of a intimate relationship." In other words, someone who truly is an impostor.

Everyday I look for new ways to help victims uncover the truth about the romantic liars in their lives. Did you know that you can now determine exactly where a photograph was taken? There is a new technology built into all GPS enabled cameras and Smartphones that will give you the exact location, within 15 feet, of where the photo was snapped.

This technology can be very useful in determining whether your romantic partner is telling the truth – or not. To learn more, click here.

Online Dating Scammers Use Military IDs

It never ceases to amaze me how easily we can be drawn into the things we're told by strangers on the Internet. Just this week I had a case of a vulnerable teen who fell in love with a girl who he met through an online site. The lies she spun were amazing, and she caused the boy much angst. He feared she was fighting for her life in a hospital somewhere in Europe, after being stabbed by some thugs.

None of it was true however. It took close to a day and half of some pretty heavy searching to uncover enough untruth to confront her. Without the use of photo recognition software, we might still be guessing at the truth. It took some work, but finally I was able to determine that the photos she'd posted on Facebook – allegedly of her brother – were actually the lead singer of a punk band in London.

Not long ago a close friend decided to try Match.com as an avenue back into the dating pool. It didn't take long before she received an email from a gentleman who claimed to be working on an offshore drilling rig in Oregon. He had ties to her home state and said he'd be moving back within a month or two. The photograph he posted was of a tall, handsome, rugged man gently stroking his dog.

She fell for it and immediately emailed back. It wasn't until a few days had passed and she received no reply that she consulted me. One look at the email she had received from "Harry" and I knew he was an impostor. The grammar and spelling told me the truth. The fact that he didn't even use her name was also telling. The email was addressed to "sweetheart."

Eventually she heard from him again. Despite the fact that he claimed to hold a master's degree in engineering from a school in London, he could barely put together a sentence. My friend so wanted to believe that he was real, that it took some convincing that he was likely some scammer from a foreign country. Telltale signs included the poor English, the fact that he wanted to jump immediately to instant messaging (she declined, but did email him directly), the story about working on an oil rig (a very common, overused claim by scammers), and that he never used her name or responded to any of her direct questions (a sign that he was cutting and pasting the same message to others).

One of the emails she sent him bounced back. A quick read of the error message indicated that his Yahoo account had been stalled due to heavy use. He was likely sending multiple messages out to women across the country. Scammers will quickly suggest moving to instant messaging or their direct email because it's easier, and quicker, to proceed with the scam outside of the dating site.

According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, there is a new rash of scammers claiming to be U.S. military. Read more here.

Pathological Liars - Relationship Scam Artists

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

The relationship scam artist is usually a pathological liar, a con artist, maybe a psychopath. Discover how to detect the lies and get out before it's too late. [more]

Divorce Files a Good Source for Information

Did you know that files created during a divorce proceeding are public information? That's right, all the dirty secrets couples hurl at one another when they go through a divorce can be viewed by anyone.

If you know the man you are dating has gone through a divorce and you'd like to do some checking, first find out where the divorce took place. Most divorces are handled at the county level so you'll need to know not only what state the divorce happened in, but the county as well. The files from the case are kept at the probate court and all you need to do is walk in with a name (the more information you have, the better, like the date and wife's name) and request the file. It's yours to view and copy if you'd like.

There may be some restrictions on viewing, for example, I was not allowed to open certain envelopes in the file that contained financial information, but there was plenty of dirt to be had even without those documents.

Remarkably, social security numbers are often present in the documents. It's not a bad idea to copy down your man's social security number. If you want to do a more thorough check on the guy, and you're willing to spend a little money, a private investigator can run several reports using the social security number. Their reports provide a history of addresses, assets owned by the individual including homes, cars and boats, names of relatives, and individuals living nearby. You may also receive a criminal history if it exists.

I viewed a divorce file after I'd broken up with the man, because I was curious. For three years I had heard his side of the story and he made his ex sound like a crazy woman. But after reviewing the file, I can tell you that they both were odd and each contributed to the demise of the relationship in equal fashion.

Most recently I have been researching an aunt who led a very secretive life with huge gaps missing when her family knew nothing of her whereabouts. One of the primary sources of information was her divorce file. I did not know exactly where to look for it, but through some leads, I finally found it in Ely, Nevada.

The file, dated 1948, was over 200 pages. It answered many questions her family had about her life in the 40s. The most interesting part of her divorce file was the exhibits. Her husband accused her of being an unfit mother because she had affairs. To prove that, he submitted dozens of love letters she received (through an accomplice who testified for the husband) from a man in another state. It was incredible to read these letters, written over 60 years ago, and to learn this new information. Without the divorce file, we never would have known what really happened.