Lonely Welsh women are turning to sordid internet sites to find no-strings thrills, Wales on Sunday can reveal.
The lovelorn browsers could become targets for stalkers and kidnappers, experts believe, as the so-called casual encounter forums could act as a magnet for dangerous predators.
Websites like craigslist host hundreds of ads from women and men looking for casual sex and who have grown tired of the traditional dating circuit.
But while their x-rated messages are almost guaranteed to attract a steamy response, safety gurus have warned that in a matter of minutes, vile cyber stalkers could have tracked down their home or office address.
Just a handful of responses received by a Wales on Sunday reporter revealed the worrying spectrum of offers being brokered online.
Just hours after posting the message: “Brunette, 27, seeks an older man for no-strings fun,” more than a dozen e-mails had flooded back – some touting trips abroad, meals out and stays in luxury resorts – all in exchange for a single night of no-strings sex.
One 27-year-old said he was willing to travel from London to Wales for a passionate fling with the “right” girl.
While another – a man who claimed to have blue eyes, light brown hair and dimples – asked: “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
“ I have reservations at Harrahs in Cherokee in the Smoky Mountains (North Carolina, America). I’m looking for someone to go with me and have some fun. I will get a ticket to get you there... my treat.”
Professor Andrew Blyth, an information security expert at the University of Glamorgan, told WoS that he was “not surprised” that men and women had now turned to the net to arrange casual hook-ups.
But he warned: “I think if you do it, you’re mad.
“It’s one thing to meet someone in a bar and later find that something similar happens. But in this setting, people can claim to be anything they want."
“On one level, everyone involved is a consenting adult, but what happened to using chat-up lines in bars?
“With just a postcode and a quick search of the electoral register you can very quickly, and easily, narrow down a person’s address. The people involved could become exposed to abuse, abduction or even blackmail."
“I think if you do this, you’re off your trolley.”
Earlier this year, 17-year-old Ashleigh Michelle Hall was discovered dead after meeting a stranger online.
Durham Police said that the bright Darlington teen had failed to return home one night during October.
The GCSE student’s body was found after a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving offences.
Bosses at craigslist.co.uk declined to comment on any of the arrangements that were being made via the site.
But a quick browse on the platform’s page for Wales revealed a clutch of messages from users... all keen to arrange potentially dangerous liaisons over the internet.
Some had posted their home and work postcodes on the site, as well as a telephone number, descriptions of their appearance and even photographs for strangers to browse.
“Once you have got these details, people can certainly find out where you live,” Prof Blyth said. “Postcodes restrict a person’s address to a group of 20, perhaps a hundred houses at the most.
“This really opens up issues of cyber stalking, as what’s seen as a casual relationship by one could be misconstrued as the real long-lasting deal by another person.
“It would even be easy enough to blackmail – for two people to arrange to meet up at a hotel and for one of the pair to threaten to tell the other’s spouse.
“They would already have your picture, and a phone number.”
A spokeswoman from South Wales Police last night advised men and women not to meet up in person with any stranger they had met online.
“These people could be purporting to be someone they are not,” she said.
“On the internet, people can easily make false claims, omit important details, post outdated photographs or even use photos of other people claiming to be them.
“Women and men should consider their personal safety at all times, and refrain from putting themselves into a vulnerable position.”
Lovelorn men and women are keen to push the boundaries online, experts have claimed.
Just a few hours after WoS reporter JO HARRIS posted her message on the web, dozens of racy replies came flooding her way.
One read: “Your message got my attention! All I can say is that your post ‘looking for no-strings fun’ is perfect. I’m not married, but single and like it that way. I’m looking for someone who can give me that special feeling now and again. Then I can carry on with my week.”
Another, who claimed to be a novice user of casual encounter sites, replied: “If you’re stuck for NSA (no-strings attached) fun, I’m more than available.
“I can travel but can’t accommodate. I’d love to be able to come round.”
But the most responses were those that talked of trips abroad in exchange for a steamy affair.
A man, who described himself as fair, with light-brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee beard, wrote: “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
“I have reservations at Harrahs in Cherokee in Smoky Mountains (North Carolina, USA). I am looking for someone to go with me and have some fun. I will get a ticket to get you there... my treat.”
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