More than 100 dating websites shuttered by Chinese authorities for fraud, prostitution

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A visitor looks at participants' details for potential dating at a marriage expo in Shanghai. Online dating is hugely popular in China, but has been plagued by fake profiles and scams. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:45am, 19 May 2015Updated: 8:57am, 19 May 2015

China's internet watchdog has ordered the closure of 128 dating websites as part of a months-long campaign targeting fraud and pornography on match-making sites.

In a statement on its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said the websites were shut down due to "a lack of registration records, intentionally leaking user information, and spreading pornography and vulgar content".

According to Xinhua, some sites also "allowed registered users to publish pornographic novels". Last year, more than 20 women were arrested in Henan province for writing online erotic fiction, state media reported.

The move comes after 65 dating sites were shuttered in February as part of the same campaign.

While fake profiles and prostitutes masquerading as matches are common on most dating sites, Chinese services long been plagued by scammers and fraudsters. A study published this month by University College London and Jiayuan.com, the country's largest dating site, found more than 57,000 accounts associated with one particular con it termed the "date for profit" scam.

The scheme, which bears many similarities to the "tea house" scam visitors to large Chinese cities are often warned of, involves a restaurant hiring an attractive woman to make multiple dating profiles. The woman then encourages her dates to take her to the restaurant, where the men are encouraged to spend lavishly and run up large tabs, after paying the bill they never hear from the woman again.