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Don't Be Scammed
Not all sites, even ones that look professional, are above board. Just like all other online businesses, there are some people out there who just want to make a quick buck.
There is also a problem with some ads from women being fronts for porn sites. They're just out to either trick you into visiting a porn site, or get your email for their mailing list, which they'll sell again and again and again. I'm not saying that there aren't some extremely good looking women using internet personals, but if the girl looks like a model, is scantily clad, and willing to fulfill all your sexual fantasies, don't count on it. In short, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
Some sites are legitimate dating sites, but have unsavory business practices. There's at least one site I know of that sent fake ad responses to free members trying to get them to pony up some cash. It even said they do this in their terms of service. I don't believe that site is in business anymore. Big surprise, huh?
There are many sites, too, that are reputable, but have associates or affiliates (webmasters who get a commission for promoting another site) that use fake ads, or fake respones to ads, on other dating services to lure new customers in. Be sure to read the site's terms of service very carefully before joining.
Rule of thumb: If someone answers your ad and asks you to go to a different dating service or website to contact him/her, particularly one in which you have to pay respond, it's probably a scam.
If you receive an email or ad response that looks like it's from an individual who's LOVE to meet you, but only if you join another service... you're best bet is to forward that ad response to the webmaster of the site in question, as well as the site you're currenly using.
If it is an affiliate practicing unscrupulous marketing schemes, they might get kicked off the network. And if the site itself is a scam, if the webmaster is the unscrupulous one... well, maybe if enough people complain about it, they'll move on to some other get rich quick scheme.
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