DALLAS, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, leading dating site True.com (TRUE, http://www.true.com) applauds Match.com for stating its plans to put in place sex offender screening features that TRUE has employed for years. TRUE encourages Match.com and all other dating sites to immediately implement such checks and to expand these screenings to include identification of murderers and criminals convicted of other felonies. The recent class-action lawsuit brought against dating site Match.com by a woman assaulted by a sex offender she met through the service has brought the issue of criminal screening to the forefront of the online dating industry.

"Match.com recently made the decision to begin screening for sex offenders in the next two to three months," stated True.com president Ruben Buell. "TRUE has been protecting its members by screening for sex offenders, murderers, burglars, people accused of extreme domestic violence, and other felons for years. We certainly congratulate Match.com for seeing these features are necessary, but we hope they will not wait the full 60 to 90 days to implement a screening process they stated has been in the works for some time."

TRUE has long been the only dating site actively working to keep sex offenders, murderers and other violent offenders off its site and away from its members. Other dating sites have cited imperfect screening methods as reasons for holding off on checking for violent criminals. But, says Buell, that's no excuse for failing to make a good-faith effort to protect members.

Among the screening features TRUE already has in place: before a member is allowed to communicate with other TRUE members, the company screens for U.S. felony and sexual offense convictions, using one of the largest criminal records databases - covering approximately 94 percent of all U.S. felonies and more than 175 million criminal records. Anyone with a felony or sexual offense conviction recorded in the database is prevented from communicating with TRUE members. To make screening more accurate, TRUE requires a member to provide his or her legal first and last name and date of birth. Members must also certify the information they provide is correct.

TRUE isn't just giving lip service to criminal screenings: TRUE routinely rejects approximately five percent of its applicants - denying access to over 300,000 people in the 8 years they have been in the online dating space. Members found to be felons or married, but representing themselves as single, are reported to appropriate law enforcement authorities for fraud and any other applicable violations, and TRUE reserves the right to seek prosecution or civil redress to the fullest extent of the law. "There is no doubt that these checks provide a safer environment for our customers," says Buell.

"No screening method is 100 percent accurate, but TRUE is committed to safer dating," said Buell. "We can't guarantee felons, sex offenders and married people won't get on our site, but we can guarantee they'll be sorry they do. Now we are calling on the online dating industry to implement similar standards for screening out criminals."

About True.com

Launched in 2003, TRUE is an online relationship service that takes the time-consuming guesswork out of online dating by providing a safer, smarter, more scientific approach to compatibility. To learn more about how TRUE screens for criminals and married people, visit http://www.true.com/magazine/saferdating_prosecute.htm.

Contact:

Ruben Buell
True.com
214-775-0764
ruben.buell@true.com
http://www.true.com

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SOURCE True.com