You would think the one area of commerce in the world that would be immune to deceitful practices would be the online dating business -- you know, in the way its customers are when it comes to marketing themselves. You would, however, be sadly, tragically wrong.
An excerpt from the BBC story:
Two major online dating agencies are being sued for alleged fraud and malpractice in the United States.
Match.com has been accused of sending bogus emails to clients and using their own staff to attend some dates - the practice known as "date bait".
A separate lawsuit involves Yahoo's personal service.
Match.com denies the allegations but is not commenting on the pending litigation. Yahoo has not made any comment on its case.
'Fictitious' clients
Fifteen million people have apparently sought companionship or love through Match.com.
They pay almost $30 (£17) a month to be put in touch with potential partners and the whole dating industry in the US is now worth about $250m (£146m) a year.
It is a competitive field in more ways than one.
A lawsuit recently filed in Los Angeles claims that Match.com's staff have turned up for dates with clients in order to keep them interested when no one else seems to be interested in them.
Yahoo's dating service has been sued for padding its ranks with fictitious singles, giving the impression there are more fish in the sea than there actually are.