Erroneous online dating service account

[HD Marie]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Sunday morning, I woke up to find over twenty e-mails from men from an online dating service. I am happily married for over twenty years and have never registered with or used any dating services.

I contacted the service, explained what was happening, and requested the password for the account as I was curious to know what "my" profile said. The service advised me that the account had been deleted. I explained to them that I had a suspicion as to who may have been responsible for setting this account up, but needed their help. I know that they (the service) can access the profile information, as well as obtain the IP address from the computer which was used to set up this erroneous account. I want this information so that I can pursue legal action against the individual responsible.

The service initially refused my request, stating that they would be violating their privacy policy. I explained to them that it is my privacy, my e-mail address, my identity, and possibly my reputation at stake. I suggested that I could e-mail them to prove the e-mail address belongs to me. They now agreed to provide me the requested information. They said that once they receive my e-mail, they'll reply with my request.

I e-mailed them immediately after our telephone conversation, but they have yet to respond. I called them back and told them that I would take legal action against them if they do not cooperate. They've yet to respond.

My question is: Can the online service be held liable for not having a secure account validation process? The person who set up the account clearly did not have to validate the e-mail address. In fact, I went onto their site and looked at the registration process. It's a joke. Anyone could set up as many erroneous accounts as they wish and use this service to harass others. This is a form of harassment against me and without the cooperation of the online service, I have no way of proving that this individual is responsible. In addition to harassment, it is also a form of identity theft against me.

[tranquility]

To your question, no, you have no cause of action against the dating service. By your own claim, they owe you no duty as you were not the one who signed up.

To the unasked question, if you really, really, really want the name, sue with John Doe defendants and issue a subpoena to the company in discovery. Then go through the steps to get the subpoena properly served and enforced.

[HD Marie]

Thank you for your reply, but isn't there some responsibility on the part of the service since they're not taking the necessary steps to prevent user fraud?

Ok, so I can't legally force them to provide the information without a subpeona, but can they be held liable for the lack of integrity/security on their online dating service? To me, it seems so very irresponsible for a company to have no validation process for setting up a user account.

[quincy]

Any legal action you could take would be against the person who set up the fake profile. With very few exceptions, websites cannot be held liable for what users post on their sites. They are not liable for user fraud, in other words; the user is.

Nor is the website required by law to validate email addresses.

Finally, as tranquility said, the website does not have to cooperate with you by releasing the identity of the person who set up the fake account in your name, without a court order compelling this cooperation. Tranquility mentioned the process required to get this court order.

You may wish to consult with a California attorney, to see if you have any action worth pursuing that would make obtaining a subpoena worthwhile. If the account has already been deleted, and if you do not receive any more emails from men looking for a date (or whatever), and if you have not noticed that the fake profile has created any undue problems in your life, filing an action against the poster is probably not worth your time or money.

[HD Marie]

Quincy, thank you for your reply.

My biggest concern is what "my" profile may have contained. I'm concerned that because it was set up maliciously, it may contain information insinuating things in poor taste about me.

You make a very good point about it not being worthwhile to pursue any legal action against the person responsible. However, this is an individual that has been harassing me and my husband for some time and I just want her to stop.

My other concern is whether there is enough information in those profiles to enable identity theft.

Thank you again for your time.

[quincy]

Well, if you received over 20 emails from men wanting to "date" you, apparently the profile made you pretty attractive in some respect. I hate to guess what that respect was, however.

It is considered identity theft when someone impersonates another person online, for whatever nefarious reason they may have. It is not the type of identity theft that most people think of when they think of identity theft, where credit cards are opened in your name and you find yourself fielding calls from creditors. Instead this identity theft steals your reputation which is, in many ways, much more insidious.

If the profile has been deleted, there may be no way for you to discover what was said about you (unless you want to contact one of the admirers who emailed you and see what it was about your profile that attracted him to you - which I actually don't recommend).

If there is an individual who has been harassing you for some time now, you may want to think about filing an harassment complaint - if you have any evidence at all that can be used to support the complaint. The emails you received, without the identity of the person who set up the dating account in your name, will not be enough on their own.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by quincy

Well, if you received over 20 emails from men wanting to "date" you, apparently the profile made you pretty attractive in some respect. I hate to guess what that respect was, however.

From what I've heard...that aspect could be something as simple as having a pulse

[quincy]

Pulses are nice.