Premarital background checks are booming in the Philippines. A growing number of people are hiring Philippines investigators to check the present and past life of prospective brides and grooms, but especially of Filipina brides. Is this a just a trend or is it that people are getting more and more aware of the risks? With so many people meeting online, and so much information out there about Philippines dating scams, people are starting to take proper precautions to avoid being a victim.

Investigators in Manila say that they have seen a significant rise in the amount of premarital checks in the last year. Compared to previous years, it seems like there is much more awareness of the risks involved in major decisions in life, like getting married or making an investment. “People are starting to put more value in the information that a background check investigation can provide, for better decision making”, says Nathan Mendoza, Director of Background Checks for Philippine PI.

Couples want to know if the other party is from a good family, if their claims of employment and education are real, check marriage and criminal records, and to be sure the person is who he or she claims to be.  Investigators verify these factors, check reputation and more.

For people who meet online, there are many limitations and serious risks. Getting to know someone with whom you wish to share a life is more than just chatting and meeting face to face once in a while. When people met in the old fashioned way, usually there was some contact with relatives and both families could get to know each other. People could have a wider scope of knowledge in different contexts: work, family, friends. However, when people meet online much of this social and family context is out of the picture, and this makes it harder to understand and confirm someone´s background. Private investigators can fill in the blanks and provide a soon to be groom or bride with the information necessary to have peace of mind and make an informed decision.

But not only potential grooms and brides want to get a background check. Families too are getting concerned about their children or even parents online dating life and are hiring the services to make sure that a loved one is taking the right decision. When there is so little chance to interact with a daughter in law -or the new online girlfriend of your parent- because of the distance, people prefer to check that everything seems right and according to what they already know about this person.

The Philippines has been known for online romance scams. Many women have taken advantage of the fact that foreigners seem to like Filipinas and consider them as a first choice when looking for love. Lots of people make a living out of online relationships where one party is being scammed out of their money, with the promise of love. Some of these women have a complete family with husband and children included, but pose as single and promise love to foreign men just to get them to send money. Many of these online engagements end in disaster. Most of these stories can be found online, so for those who have met under the same circumstances –online- there is a reason to be worried and to be cautious and skeptical.  However, even meeting in person is no guarantee.

There is also a global trend to socialize online, which makes meeting online very common today. There are many cases of premarital checks and background check investigations that uncover no evidence of fraud.  In these situations, some clients choose to minimize their risk further with surveillance and local investigation, to determine the subject’s living situation, activity, reputation, etc.

Finding love in the Philippines is not so difficult.  Finding love with no fraud, scams or strings attached is not so easy, and expert private investigators can help you stay safe and informed.

C. Wright

© 2014 Philippine PI

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