menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

This New Dating Tool Lets You Background-Check a Match Before the First Date

41 0
12.09.2026

Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

This New Dating Tool Lets You Background-Check a Match Before the First Date

Stud or Dud searches public records for marriages, court cases, addresses, and other details that might expose red flags before a date.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Americans are losing an obscene amount of money to people they met online, fell for, and eventually discovered didn’t exist in quite the way they were advertised. Now there’s a dating background-check site hoping to make that discovery happen before anyone sends $14,000 to a boyfriend currently “stuck overseas.”

Stud or Dud launched in late August from PeopleFinders, a public-records company that’s been around for over 25 years. Just enter a name, phone number, or city, and it pulls from court records, address history, property records, marriages, bankruptcies, and other public information. An AI summary organizes the results and flags things it thinks........

© Vice