Another hack hits another shady dating site

[Mr. Ambien]

This one reveals a lot of fake female profiles to lure in men to give more money.

Dating app 'tricks users with fake profiles'

The Dresden-based online dating service Lovoo tricks users by creating fake female profiles to tempt men into giving the company more money, a technology magazine has claimed.

The revelation come in the most recent edition of c't computer magazine, which reports that the company has been pulling the trick for at least two years.

The magazine claims to have been shown documents which prove the claim.

Although Lovoo provides a free app, users pay for bonuses such as an option called "Top Chat".

Bild reports that the fake accounts were used to try and tempt men into handing out cash for these extras.

The tabloid also reports that Lovoo made an extra million Euros per year in profit through this ploy.

Lovoo, which has 36 million users in 17 countries has rejected the accusation, claiming that the documents seen by c't are themselves the fakes.

But c't editor-in-chief Johannes Endres responded by saying in the over 50 gigabytes of screen shots, source code and emails in their possession they have found "no indication of manipulation."

This would be the second such scandal to hit an online dating portal in recent weeks, after "adult dating" website Ashley Madison - a site which facilitates adultery - was revealed to have paid for the creation of fake female profiles.

Numbers trumpeted by the company for the proportion of female to male users were proved by a hack on the company's servers to be massively distorted.

http://www.thelocal.de/20150918/dating-app-tricks-users-with-fake-profiles

Here's more detail on that too, for anyone else who knows German:

Die Flirt-App Lovoo steht im Verdacht, mit Fake-Profilen um das Interesse ihrer Nutzer gebuhlt zu haben. Eine anonyme Quelle hat dem Fachmagazin "c't" Unterlagen zukommen lassen, die darauf hindeuten, dass es auf der Plattform seit ungefähr zwei Jahren speziell angelegte Profile geben könnte, die dazu dienen, Kunden zu Interaktionen auf Lovoo zu verleiten. Die Betreiber könnten sie in der Hoffnung eingesetzt haben, dass die Kunden innerhalb der App Geld ausgeben, etwa für eine kostenpflichtige VIP-Mitgliedschaft.

Das Datenpaket, das "c't" bekam, soll mehr als 50 Gigabyte groß sein, heißt es vom Magazin. Unter den Daten sollen sich angebliche E-Mails der Lovoo-Führung befinden. "c't" schreibt, dass die Authentizität der Dokumente "nicht bis ins Allerletzte geklärt" sei, man aber auch keine Hinweise auf Manipulationen entdeckt habe. Ein Lovoo-Anwalt habe das Magazin auf Nachfrage auf die Möglichkeit einer Fälschung des Datenpakets und der E-Mails hingewiesen.

Das Thema Fake-Profile war kürzlich bereits im Zusammenhang mit dem US-Seitensprungdienst Ashley Madison debattiert worden. Das Angebot war gehackt worden, beim Auswerten des im Internet veröffentlichten Datensatzes fanden sich Hinweise auf gefälschte Profile vor allem weiblicher Nutzerinnen.

Mit Test-Accounts auf Suche nach Flirtpartnern

Nach Angaben von Lovoo wird die für iOS und Android verfügbare App länderübergreifend monatlich von rund fünf Millionen Menschen genutzt. Anfang des Jahres hieß es, rund die Hälfte aller Lovoo-Nutzer komme aus Deutschland. Seinen Hauptsitz hat Lovoo in Dresden.

Um die von dem unbekannten Informanten erhobenen Vorwürfe zu überprüfen legte "c't" mehrere Test-Accounts auf der Flirt-Plattform an. Mit diesen haben die Redakteure versucht, die Behauptungen nachzuvollziehen, auf dem Portal werde mit manipulierten Accounts gearbeitet.

Tatsächlich seien die Redakteure bei ihren Versuchen auf Nutzerprofile gestoßen, die bis auf wenige Fotos leer waren, heißt es in ihrem Bericht. Auch seien ihre Accounts von flirtwilligen Lovoo-Nutzerinnen besucht und positiv bewertet worden. Versuche mit diesen Nutzerinnen per Chat in Kontakt zu treten, wären allerdings stets unbeantwortet geblieben.

Software-Paket "Promoter-Creator"

Die in dem Datenpaket enthaltenen E-Mails würden nahelegen, dass Lovoo mit erfundenen Profilen arbeitet, die automatisch aktiv werden und andere Nutzer positiv bewerten, heißt es in "c't" weiter. Außerdem sei in den Daten auch der Programmcode einer Software namens "Promoter-Creator" enthalten gewesen. Diese könnte verwendet worden sein, um Fake-Profile auf Lovoo zu erstellen, schreibt das Magazin.

Weitere Software, die in den "c't" zugespielten Daten enthalten war, könnte dazu genutzt werden, Profilfotos von Lovoo-Nutzern aus anderen Ländern sowie Profilfotos aus anderen Flirtportalen abzugreifen, heißt es weiter. Die Echtheit der genannten Softwarepakete konnte das Magazin aber nicht überprüfen. Ebenso wenig war es möglich, zu verifizieren, ob die fraglichen Programme tatsächlich auf den Servern von Lovoo zum Einsatz gekommen sind.

Lovoo äußert sich nur pauschal

"c't" schreibt, man habe Lovoo Auszüge aus dem erhaltenen Material vorgelegt, das Unternehmen habe aber bislang nicht konkret zu den Dokumenten Stellung genommen. Ein von Lovoo beauftragter Anwalt habe pauschal mitgeteilt, dass Lovoo aus den Fragen den Inhalt der Berichterstattung ableiten könne, diese aber falsch sei und jeder Grundlage entbehre.

In Folge der Anfrage sollen bei Lovoo diverse Profile von der Plattform verschwunden sein, schreibt "c't". Einige Profile, die zuvor an "c't"-Test-Accounts interessiert waren, seien ab dem 12. September nur noch als "Gelöschte Nutzer" angezeigt worden. Kurz darauf sollen die entsprechenden Profile komplett verschwunden sein.

Auf eine Anfrage von SPIEGEL ONLINE antwortete Lovoo: "Die in der heutigen Ausgabe der 'c't' in einem Artikel aufgestellten Vorwürfe gegen die Kennenlern-App Lovoo beruhen auf zweifelhaften Dokumenten und Daten, die dem Magazin anonym zugespielt worden sind und dessen Authentizität die Autoren in ihrem Beitrag selbst anzweifeln. Die in dem Artikel genannten Vorwürfe weist Lovoo zurück."

Weiter heißt es: "Die in dem Artikel zitierten Passagen aus internen E-Mails - sofern authentisch - zu unseren Anti-Spam-Initiativen sind von den Autoren falsch verstanden und fahrlässig in einen anderen Zusammenhang gestellt worden." Nach eigener Aussage hatte Lovoo "c't" mehrfach angeboten, die entstandenen Fragen des Magazins in einem Pressegespräch zu beantworten. Außerdem habe man "c't" angeboten, "die technische Anti-Spam-Abteilung des Unternehmens zu besuchen und mit den dortigen Softwarespezialisten zu sprechen". Das Magazin habe dieses Angebot abgelehnt.

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/apps/lovoo-flirt-app-im-verdacht-fake-profile-zu-nutzen-a-1053496.html

[Sedintwinpowersactivate]

The nerds strike again!

[Hugor Hill]

"SJW will SJW" - said some loser'ish CDC poster.

[Armada]

The nerds strike again!

[TOMapleLaughs]

Google translate:

The Flirt App Lovoo is suspected to have courted with fake profiles to the interest of its users. An anonymous source has let the trade magazine "c't" documents come to suggest that there could be specially created profiles on the platform for about two years, which serve to entice customers to interactions on Lovoo. The operator could have used in the hope that customers spend in the App money around for a paid VIP membership.

The data packet "c't" got to be more than 50 gigabytes in size, says the magazine. Among the data are alleged emails of Lovoo leadership to reside. "c't" writes that the authenticity of the documents "not clear until the very last" was, but they had discovered no evidence of tampering. A Lovoo attorney had pointed the magazine on demand on the possibility of falsification of the data packet and the e-mails.

The theme Fake profile had been recently debated in connection with the US side jump service Ashley Madison. The offer had been hacked, when evaluating the data published in Internet dataset was evidence to fake profiles mainly female users.

With test accounts on Search Flirt partners

According Lovoo the available for iOS and Android App is transnational used monthly by approximately five million people. Earlier this year, it said, about half of all Lovoo users come from Germany. Headquartered Lovoo in Dresden.

To verify the allegations made by the unknown informant put "c't" several test accounts on the flirtation platform. With this, the editors have tried to understand the allegations, the portal will work with manipulated accounts.

In fact, the editors had encountered in their attempts to user profiles that were empty except for a few photos, it says in its report. Their accounts were visited by flirt consent Lovoo-users and been positively evaluated. Experiments with these users to get in touch via chat would, however, always remained unanswered.

Software package "promoter-Creator"

The contained in the data packet emails would suggest that Lovoo works with fictitious profiles that are activated automatically and what other users positive, says "c't" on. Furthermore, it is in the data and the program code of a software called "promoter-Creator" have been included. This could have been used to create fake profiles on Lovoo writes the magazine.

Other software that was included in the "c't" leaked data could be used to tap off Profile Photos of Lovoo-users from other countries, and profile photos from other Flirt portals, it said. However, the authenticity of the mentioned software packages could not verify the magazine. Nor was it possible to verify whether the programs in question are actually taken on the servers of Lovoo used.

Lovoo manifests itself only as lump sums

"c't" writes that they had submitted Lovoo excerpts from the material obtained, the company has so far not taken concretely to the documents position. An authorized representative of Lovoo lawyer had notified a lump sum that can be derived Lovoo the content of the reporting of the issues, this is however wrong and any unfounded.

Following the request should at Lovoo diverse profiles have disappeared from the platform, writes "c't". Some profiles, the test accounts were previously interested in "c't" had been shown on September 12 only as "Deleted Users". Shortly thereafter, the corresponding profile will be completely gone.

Upon a request by SPIEGEL ONLINE Lovoo replied: "The in today's edition of 'c't' in an article prepared charges against the Acquaintance App Lovoo based on dubious documents and data, which have been leaked to the magazine anonymously and whose authenticity the authors doubt in their contribution. The allegations referred to in the article has Lovoo back. "

It continues: "The cited in the article passages from internal e-mails - if authentic - to our anti-spam initiatives by the authors misunderstood and provided negligently in a different context." By his own admission had Lovoo "c't" repeatedly offered to answer the questions arising of the magazine in a press briefing. In addition, they had "c't" offered "to visit the company's technical antispam department and talk to the local software specialists". The magazine had rejected this offer.

[taxi]

A dating site creating fake profiles of attractive women...shocking....you mean all those spam popups with chat messages of women telling me they wanna party are fake?

In what way is this news? I'm sorry anyone dumb enough to fall for those fake profiles and sign over their credit card info deserves what they get.

[Hugor Hill]

A dating site creating fake profiles of attractive women...shocking....you mean all those spam popups with chat messages of women telling me they wanna party are fake?

In what way is this news? I'm sorry anyone dumb enough to fall for those fake profiles and sign over their credit card info deserves what they get.

Yeah. All dating sites do that. All of them should be hacked and brought down.

[Hobble]

Every site has fake female accounts.

In the past when I've used Tinder to meet people, maybe 1/200 are real people.

[Baer.]

Every site has fake female accounts.

In the past when I've used Tinder to meet people, maybe 1/200 are real people.

Everybody here is missing the point. The company was making these fake accounts for their own profits.

If you go on Facebook, twitter, tinder, whatever, there are fake profiles, but they are made by bored/weird people, not the companies themselves.

They can't do much because it's other people making them. Lovoo is a company that plays off as free then falsly received payments with no gain to the purchaser.

[Mr. Ambien]

Everybody here is missing the point. The company was making these fake accounts for their own profits.

If you go on Facebook, twitter, tinder, whatever, there are fake profiles, but they are made by bored/weird people, not the companies themselves.

They can't do much because it's other people making them. Lovoo is a company that plays off as free then falsly received payments with no gain to the purchaser.

That's exactly what I took from this.. did AM pull this stunt too?

[taxi]

Everybody here is missing the point. The company was making these fake accounts for their own profits.

If you go on Facebook, twitter, tinder, whatever, there are fake profiles, but they are made by bored/weird people, not the companies themselves.

They can't do much because it's other people making them. Lovoo is a company that plays off as free then falsly received payments with no gain to the purchaser.

We all get it...it's clearly fraud.

However, it's such a common place and obvious scam, that I have little sympathy for the victims. Particularly the victims that are using this site to lie and cheat on their spouse.

[nucklehead]

On ‎9‎/‎18‎/‎2015 at 1:25 PM, Hobble said:

Every site has fake female accounts.

 

In the past when I've used Tinder to meet people, maybe 1/200 are real people.

So what did that cost you?

[Toews]

59 minutes ago, nucklehead said:

So what did that cost you?

This is a cruel necro. I clicked on the thread hoping to see more cheaters outed to their spouses/SOs.

[nucklehead]

14 hours ago, Toews said:

This is a cruel necro. I clicked on the thread hoping to see more cheaters outed to their spouses/SOs.

that would be cruel, who would do that!!???