Every year, hundreds of thousands of people find their "perfect match" through online dating services. And every year hundreds of thousands more become discouraged from their experiences. One of the contributing factors to those who have problems with online dating is the emergence of the "professional online dater", a term coined by online dating Magazine to describe a person who acts serious about finding someone, but without the intention of taking any date or relationship "too seriously" because the next match "may be better."

Every year the online dating industry, nationwide, brings in more than $450 million, making it the Internet's largest online paid content category. With so much money changing hands, potential scam artists are looking to cash in on the action. It's important to be aware that scam artists are out there without hitting the panic button on what is generally regarded as a safe way to find the love of your life -online dating.

1. Check that agencies/sites are reputable before joining. Avoid free agencies - they may be free but because of this, and the limited sanctions that the agency or site can impose, they attract proportionally more fraudsters, fakes and scammers.

You've found that "perfect" person with the exception of one problem. In some areas you are opposites - enough to create a concern as to whether or not the relationship can survive long term. Everything seems great in your relationship except for the area of differing opinions, making it sometimes difficult to discuss issues.

online dating is now the preferred method for couples to meet; creating an industry that is worth over a billion dollars a year. With the negative online dating stigma fading (although it still exists) and hundreds of new services opening up every year, some online daters may find themselves lowering their guard when it comes to the dangers of online dating.

New online dating services finding it hard to compete with the likes of eHarmony, LavaLife, Match.com, and American Singles are trying to grab a piece of the online dating service pie through the creation of niche sites. And in this explosion of new targeted services, it's hard to find a niche not already being explored. Take, for example, the following online dating services...

Two recent major lawsuits are threatening to shake up the way online dating services operate. A lawsuit filed against Match.com alleges that the company pays employees to email prospective members and go out on dates. A separate lawsuit, filed against Yahoo! Personals alleges that the company has padded its membership database with fake profiles.

Sadie Hawkins Day was first introduced in November of 1938 to provide women the opportunity to pursue the objects of their desires. Now, 67 years later, single women in the United States are still open to being romantically assertive. Match.com surveyed more than 800 single adults and found that 87 percent of the women surveyed indicated that they would make, or at least consider making, the first romantic move on someone they were attracted to. Surprisingly, only 83 percent of men said they would do the same.

The rapid growth seen in previous years for the online dating industry is expected to slow way down this year, concerning some that a peak has been reached when it comes to online dating. In 2002, the online dating industry grew by 73%, a massive expansion that was surpassed the next year with growth in 2003 of 77%. In 2004, however, the growth began to slow down - the 2004 online dating market grew by only 19%. This year the online dating industry is only expected to grow by 9%, according to an online dating research report from Dublin Research and Markets. This small 9% growth translates to only $516 million in 2005.

On the brink of the tax-filing deadline, LavaLife released poll results explaining the lengths that single online daters would go to avoid filing their taxes. According to the poll, 35% of the 2,500 single females surveyed said that they would rather take body shots off of Donald Trump than file their taxes and almost half (49%) of 4,200 men surveyed admitted that they would rather streak naked down a busy street than file their tax forms. Almost a quarter of the poll participants claimed that they would choose to spend three months in jail with Martha Stewart if they could get out of filing their taxes.