EHarmony is Allowing Criminal Activity on the Website and will not Refund Your Money if You are a Victim Internet

Please don't waste your money on their service. Not only is it a waste, but you may end up being a victim of crime!

eHarmony took six weeks responding to my report of criminal activity on their website, claiming technical problems. It took me 4 phone calls and about 5 emails after I had already cancelled my subscription. They also have refused to refund my money or provide any detail in regards to how they are handling this criminal activity.

Beware of scams that they are not warning their clients of: specifically scams out of Nigeria and Russia. The "profile" photos are stolen so do not represent the actual criminals behind the activity. They will quickly claim to be in love with you which will then quickly lead to asking for money. I was suspicious immediately, and looked into scams on the internet. In one afternoon I found a database of photos (you can just type in 'internet dating scams' as a general web search) and identified 4 photos of people who had contacted me through eHarmony! I cancelled my subscription within 15 minutes, reporting the details of the problem- and then the run-around began.

Following is my final email to eHarmony:

This is approximately my 5th e-mail, and I have had to make 4 phone calls, and still don't have answers to questions I have asked repeatedly.

1- What type of action was taken? I do not know what "appropriate" action is?

2- Is eHarmony aware of the specifics of this problem- the scams coming out of Nigeria and Russia? These are very specific scams costing millions of dollars which the FBI is investigating. If eHarmony is aware of it, why aren't you letting clients know about the risk factors? This isn't just a matter of a someone not telling the complete truth on their profile- this is criminal activity and I believe it is your responsibility to protect yoru clients from such.

3- Does E-harmony have a photo screening process to eliminate the issue of all of these stolen photos being used to create false profiles? Again- this isn't just a matter of "suspicious" matches but blatant criminality. If I was able to find photos of 4 people that I had received as "matches" from eHarmony in one afternoon of reviewing stolen photos, why are these people still on eHarmony?

4- I have asked repeatedly to have my money refunded. Again- in less that 3 months I recieved 4 "matches" that turned out to be criminals. This negates the entire idea of the "29 point matching" theory as well as any sense of security and safety through using your website. The day that I discovered this problem- which is the same day that I called to have my account closed- I asked for my money to be refunded as well as these other questions. Six weeks later, I have still not had a response.

Please respond within 24 hours.


Following is their response; which if you don't want to read the entire thing essentially summarizes that it's my problem as they provided over 300 "matches"; although they don't detail how many of those matches were already closed, unavailable, lived outside the 60 mile travel distance I had requested, etc. Unfortunately- the most enthusiastic responses I got were from the criminals!

We're unable to discuss specific details regarding our process of investigating such accounts, though we can assure you that your report was given our full
attention. Falsified and/or "suspicious" profiles are removed from our service whenever they are observed, and we strictly prohibit the solicitation of one's
eHarmony matches for any form of financial assistance. Over the course of the past several years, many Internet services have been besieged with attempts at fraud perpetrated internationally. While eHarmony is no exception, we are very aware of this activity, and we have a dedicated team of professionals that
review and investigate reports of alleged criminal activity. All photos submitted for use on our website are screened for content, and inappropriate
photos are promptly removed from our site.

All eHarmony members are asked and expected to take reasonable precautions when getting to know their eHarmony matches, and the "Safety Tips" section of our
website (http://www.eharmony.com/singles/servlet/safety/tips) helps to advise all of our members about "danger signs" to look for when communicating. Our safety tips are available via a link at the bottom of every page of our website, and we also present this information to members prior to reaching the Open Communication stage with every match before it's possible to proceed with the
communication process.

Our records indicate that you received over 300 matches during the life of your eHarmony account, and while we regret that you were matched with several individuals who apparently falsified their profiles in order to be matched with you, all of the matches we served you with were provided in good faith, and our guided communication system allowed you to correspond with your matches in a secure environment. As such, we're unable to process your request for a refund after your account was extensively used to communicate with numerous matches and your subscription term has expired; unfortunately, we simply cannot guarantee
that every match an eHarmony member receives will be appropriate for them, and our service is provided without warranty on an "As-Is" basis. As with any
activity, the use of our service does involve a certain amount ofrisk, and it's important to take precautions and ask "hard questions" when getting to know anyone via the Internet. Many of our members have had a great deal of success using eHarmony, and we strongly believe that the rewards of a healthy and successful long-term
relationship are well worth the investment of time and energy that is involved with our process.

eHarmony's Terms and Conditions of Service are available for your review at the following URL:

http://www.eharmony.com/singles/servlet/about/terms

We can confirm that your eHarmony account was fully closed at your request on April 26, 2008. We thank you for taking the time to try our service, and we
apologize that your matching experience was not as positive as we had hoped.

Sincerely,

Customer Relations
eHarmony

So there you have it. They aren't interested in taking responsibility or warning clients that there's a little more that a few people falsely representing themselves- this is actual crime!! Please pass the news forward!

Seattle
Seattle, Washington
U.S.A.