It’s Valentine’s Day 2020. Around the world, people are gussying up for expensive dinners on the town, buying rose bouquets and chocolate assortments for their lovers, or celebrating the single life with friends ‘Ben & Jerry.’
In the digital identity world, Valentine’s Day falls at the end of dating platforms' busiest seasons. Colloquially known as “cuffing season,” it’s the period during the cold, bitter winter months when many people begin their search online for that special someone to snuggle by a roaring fire with.
From January 6th through February 14th, digital dating platforms like Hinge, Tinder, and Match report millions of users logging on to find their potential partner; in 2018, Match said that up to 50 million messages were sent on its app with a million dates taking place from the start of the new year through Valentine’s Day.
While it’s hard to guarantee you’ll have chemistry with the 6 foot 4 model / doctor / animal shelter volunteer you’re chatting with, recent advances in digital identity verification tech will help ensure the app user or potential beaux-to-be is a real person and not a fraud. Here are some Mitek tips -call them MiTips- from the digital identity experts for both platform providers and ‘cuffers’ that will help you find a great partner this Valentine's Day:
The best proof of love is trust. Whether it’s a business or budding relationship, trust is a fundamental aspect when bringing people together. For cuffers: choose a dating or relationship platform provider that has taken concerted steps to verify people on their services aren’t fake. For platform providers: choose an identity verification software that is reliable, certified, and an established brand. When implemented, provide resources or walk-throughs to show your customers what steps you’ve taken to create a safe and risk-free environment for them.
Picture perfect couple. For cuffers: use a high-resolution picture highlighting who you are and any hobbies you love. For platform providers: make sure your digital identity verification solution provides users with an intuitive image capture process to get the clearest picture for conducting ID checks. Doing so will prevent any holdups in confirming both legitimate identities and ID documents.
Frictionless experience. With dating, being responsive is crucial – same with onboarding a user. For cuffers: don’t let messages go unanswered if you’re interested. For platform providers: don’t leave interested users waiting on an ID verification process while they’re trying to set up their profile – use any loading times to pop-up a dating tip so they won’t notice the few vital seconds it takes to run a digital identity check.
No scrubs (or frauds). Putting yourself out there to find that “special someone” can be intimidating, especially when you don’t know them in real life. For cuffers: while it’s important to be open when meeting a new person, don’t divulge any information online that makes you vulnerable to identity fraud or hacking – that includes home or work addresses, credit card / banking info in pictures, or passwords you use on any platforms. For platform providers: use a live selfie to match to an identity with a verified document, and prove it’s a human joining your platform and not a bot or deep-fake. Also known as ‘liveness detection,’ it’s one simple step in the verification process and virtually impossible for fraudsters to spoof.
At Mitek, we’re determined to help you treat your matches and customers like people instead of just another swipe.
Sources:
Dating's High Season Begins Sunday January 6th In Countdown To Valentine's Day Kellyseal - https://www.datingsitesreviews.com/article.php?story=dating-s-high-season-begins-sunday-january-6th-in-countdown-to-valentine-s-day
Is Cuffing Season Real Or Just Fake News? Kasandra Brabaw - https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/what-is-cuffing-season
Get Ready To Bumble: Experts Say This Sunday Is Your Best Time To Swipe Kara Carlson - https://www.statesman.com/business/20200103/get-ready-to-bumble-experts-say-this-sunday-is-your-best-time-to-swipe