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People go to online dating services every day trying to find a match. What they may not know is that most dating services don't do background checks on members.
Beth Potter found out the consequences six months ago.
She met a man on americansingles.com. They chatted for weeks, and finally set up a date.
But Beth says right away, things didn't feel right.
"But I gave him the benefit of the doubt at that point. Those were red flags I should have heeded," she said.
Potter went on with the date and says he started ordering her drinks. She let her guard down.
"I felt safe. We were in public," she said.
Potter became dizzy, and she says the man told her she was too drunk to drive - toxicology reports later showed valium in her system - and he drove her home.
"Once he got me in there it was all over with and that was it. It went from 12:30 to 8:30 in the morning, when he was ready to let me go, when he was good and ready to leave," she recalled.
Tampa State Representative Kevin Ambler says Potter's story pushed him to change the law.
He's sponsoring the Internet Predator Awareness Act. It would require online dating services to provide safe dating tips to its users - along with a disclosure of whether or not they do background checks.
"We want to raise people's consciousness," said Ambler. "To see something that pops up that says 'Warning, we don't do background checks' and they pause and say 'Is this the type of activity that requires a background check?' and they start thinking about it."
Lawmakers can't force dating sites to do background checks, but Potter says a warning would help.
"It's a last little check, a little reminder, and it may make the difference of only one person. It's a cliché, but if it's worth only one person not going through this, then it's worth it," she said.
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