Relationships are based on trust, and no relationship can be successful without it. However, at times, doubt creeps into a person’s mind, and they start suspecting their significant other is having an affair or possibly looking for a new person to bring into their life. Whatever the situation is, the point is that now you suspect your spouse is on a dating site. We’ve seen some great advice on the internet, and we’ve seen some outright illegal advice. On this article, I’m going to talk about the top 5 things we’ve encountered on the web, that is straight up wrong and could even land you in jail.

Join the Dating Site Yourself

The Advice: Join the dating website yourself and see whether your partner is active there or not. You can create a false persona or use your actual name if you want. Catch them in the act. Initiate your own affair. They won’t be able to deny it.

The problem: This has a tendency of backfiring in a horrible way. What’s going to happen when your partner isn’t on the dating site, and they instead find out about your account and accuse you of cheating?

Access Their Computer

The Advice: Because your partner probably erased the browsing history, look through the saved password list on the browser instead. You can also open the dating site that you think your partner is using and enter their e-mail ID. If they have an account and haven’t deleted saved passwords, you might be able to log into their account and see their recent activity.

The Problem: It’s illegal. Let’s be realistic, here. The chances that you’ll stop at “I only want to see if they’re on THIS website” are slim to none. You’ll more than likely dig into emails, which is an even bigger problem than looking for their email account.

The Legality: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case called United States v. Nosal, held 2-1 that using someone else’s password, even with their knowledge and permission, is a federal criminal offense.

Act Like You Know

The Advice: Act like you already know and have the proof that they’re on a dating site. Say something like this, “My friend told me that you are on a dating website! How could you do this to me?” Their reaction would tell you whether they are using a dating site or not.

The Problem: When has launching false allegations worked for the better? If they are on a dating site, the chances are they’re going to lie about it. If they’re not on a dating site, you’re going to ruin the relationship.

Check Their Junk E-Mail

The Advice: Everyone gets random junk mails in their inbox, and some of them are from dating sites. However, someone who frequently uses dating sites will have more of such e-mails. Search through your partner’s trash mail, and see the type of e-mail messages they have been getting. This won’t provide you with solid evidence but would give you an idea about your partner’s activities.

The Problem: This is illegal. Even more illegal than accessing their accounts with stored passwords.

The Legality: We’re talking about violating 18 U.S. Code § 1343, known as the Wire Fraud Act. Committing computer fraud, codified by 18 U.S. Code § 1030, and even committing some sort of Identity Theft. You don’t want to go down this route, believe me – Learn More Here.

Try Their Email

The Advice: For this strategy to work, you will need your partner’s e-mail address. Once you have the address, enter it into the login-box of the dating website that you think your partner is using. An error message such as ‘wrong password’ might pop up, confirming that your partner has an account. You can also try the ‘forgot password’ option.

The Problem: Simply knowing if your partner had/has an account won’t tell you if your partner has an active account. People often deactivate their accounts once they get into a relationship, but don’t delete it entirely. Often, this isn’t deliberate as some dating website makes it hard to delete accounts. Even if you do find an account, now your partner is getting an e-mail from the dating site if you go with the ‘forgot password’ option.

What You Should Do

If you’re worried that your partner is on a dating site, you have options to sleuthing, but they can cost you a relationship. Hiring a private investigator can save you time, money, and legal headaches. Most private investigators, like us, have active accounts with most of the major dating websites. We use these accounts to run digital checks on our client’s partners. We also have access to specialized tools to help us scan the internet for hidden profiles attached to usernames, emails, and profile pictures.