Infographic: Looking Up Your Online Date

We all want to believe in truth-in-advertising, but let's face it: advertising often lies, and so do online daters. Most people online are looking for the same things - companionship, passion, love - and most don't lie to get them, but there are a few bad apples out there spoiling the bunch.

With so many millions of people now looking for love online, it's smart to make your safety a priority. BackgroundCheck.org offers the following facts and figures for singles on spotting liars and making sure your dates' stories check out:

On the types of lies people tell...·

• 81% of people stretch the truth about their height, weight, or age.
• A study found that the average woman describes herself as 8.5 lbs thinner than she really is, while the average man lies by 2 lbs.
• Men lie by a greater magnitude about their height.
• Men's profile photos are, on average, six months old. Women's are a year-and-a-half old.
• Many online daters would admit to being overweight before coming clean about their political beliefs.

Here's what daters think about it...·

• Daters believe a certain amount of fibbing is par for the course - and A-Ok - in an online profile.
• Some believe the penchant for lying online is the result of a tendency to idealize ourselves.
• Others believe online lies come from a strong desire to represent ourselves in the best possible light.
• More often than not, the lies tend to be small. Small lies are easier to keep up after meeting in person.

On how to detect a liar...·

• Liars use negative words - like "not" and "never" - more frequently.
• But they use fewer negative emotion words, like "sad" or "upset."
• They also tend to use fewer first-person pronouns and write shorter personal essays.
• Fabricators are less likely to talk in-depth about the subjects they are lying about in their profiles.

If you want to investigate a date, try this...

• Free Public Records Search: Find info on topics like marriage licenses, inmate records, and more.
• National Sex Offender Registry: Search by name or address to find offenders and predators in your location.
• Department of Corrections website: Visit your state's Department of Corrections site for records on fugitives, offenders' locations, and more.
• People Search Engines: Sites like Pipl and Facebook can offer a wealth of information on a person.
• A Google search: You'd be surprised by how much you can learn using something as simple as a search engine!

See the full infographic here.