Match.com Responds to FTC Fraud Allegations

Match.com has issued an official response to last week’s allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

The US government agency claimed that it had undertaken fraudulent business practices by alerting users when their profile had been viewed, despite the company apparently knowing the accounts were either fake or run by scammers.

Almost half a million subscriptions were purchased off the back of these notifications, as singles need a premium account to find out who is on their profile.

However, Match.com accused the FTC of misrepresenting internal emails and relying on “cherry-picked data to make outrageous claims”. The spokesperson also continued to reiterate the fact that the company is looking forward to “vigorously” defending itself in court.

Match.com said in the statement: “Fraud is never good for business, which is why we spend so much time, money and emotional capital to fight it.  Our goal is to eliminate fraud (spam, bots, and other terms of use violators) from our site. Period.”

According to company data, 96% of improper accounts are removed from the site within 24 hours of first being registered. Further, 85% are apparently caught within four hours and often before they are even active.

Another issue raised by the FTC was that it believes it is deceptively difficult for users to cancel their subscription.

In response, Match.com drew attention to the fact that 85% of people who want to delete their account do so within 24 hours and the cancellation process usually takes less than one minute.

Match Group and IAC are still embroiled in a legal battle with some of the original founders who claim their stock options were significantly undervalued. 

The latest twist came a couple of weeks ago when IAC accused lead plaintiff Sean Rad of paying his co-founders in exchange for them standing alongside him.

Read more here.