As appearances can be deceiving, we decided to investigate the users’ profiles on HookupsAtNight.com. We created our own account to get a hands-on experience of the site, to see what sort of scam tactics it may have that could rip off users. Immediately after our account was generated, we started getting several ‘sexy text’, with one of them persuading us to share pictures of ourselves. It wasn’t long before a window popped up and asked us to pay in order to continue using the services.
If you haven’t guessed it yet, those messages we received did not come from real users. They were actually profiles that were created and are controlled by agents or computer programs, with the purpose of luring users into a false chat page and making users believe the experience would be real. The truth is that the legal section mentions the ‘entertainment purpose’ of the platform, so real meetings will never happen.
The following is stated in the GTC
5.1. Please, note that while using Our Services You may sometimes interact with automated online accounts and/or fictitious profiles, which its interactions have been generated by or with the assistance of automated programs or scripts, or by real persons that have been contracted or employed by Us (hereinafter “Bots”, “Automated Profiles” or “Fictitious profiles”). These Automated Profiles are being used within the Services for enhancing Your amusement experience and providing You with entertaining services, which helps You to better intercommunicate with another user who is a real human being.
Age Verification Comes at a High Price
HookupsAtNight.com is willing to cross all lines. The fact that we can receive messages but can’t to reply to them unless we verify our age raises all sorts of red flags. To prove that we were over the age of 18, we must enter our credit card details to get some “chat credits”. Not only did the site push us to pay for a so-called age verification, but they also kept our card information to make recurring payments. In other words, auto-renewal subscriptions will take place once they successfully persuade users to share our credit card information.
After the registration process, users need to go to the age verification page and read the fine print. They offer a 2-day trial and then users will be charged £39.99 per month. Days later, when we tried to access the site again, but the site kept redirecting us to different payment windows from other dating sites. This only confirms that the site is a scam. Therefore, it goes without saying that we can’t trust HookupsAtNight.com, or its operator, which is Internet Services. On top of that, we suspect that cancelling the membership probably involves a lengthy and arduous process.
Poor Data Protection
HookupsAtNight.com is willing to go as far as try to rip off users. As if that were not enough, once users become members, the site is allowed to use the users’ personal information as they wish in every conceivable way. The legal section of the site explains this in detail. We confirmed that they wanted our data through interaction with fake profiles. Basically, they prompted us to share pictures of ourselves, as we didn’t have any on our account.
The risk of letting a company use and share our personal information is undeniably dangerous. For instance, our photos or data could be found in websites that we might not like, being easily exposed and potentially harming our online identity. That’s the reason why accessing dating platforms that care about safeguarding our personal data is key, and HookupsAtNight.com is not one of them.
Reference from the GTC
3.2. User Content Licensing, Preservation and Publicity. Upon posting any User Content on or through the Services, You grant Us a world-wide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, and sublicensable, license to use and process such User Content, whether in whole or in part, […]
3.2.2. You further understand and agree that the technical processing and transmission of the Services, including Your User Content, may involve (i) transmissions over various networks; and (ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.
These are our recommendations for an alternative site.