Now she was all by herself in a house secluded at the end of a long gravel driveway. At first, she just tiptoed around the many dating sites, window-shopping in this peculiar new marketplace. It wasn't until the fall that Amy was ready to dive in. Later, when she puzzled over their relationship, she'd remember this. That had been a fateful move; it made everything easier for him. After the funeral, a grief counselor told her to make no sudden changes in her life for at least a year, and she followed that advice.*Names have been changed to protect identities A short message sent on a Thursday evening in early December 2013, under the subject line: Match? She signed up for a six-month subscription to Match.com, the largest and one of the oldest dating services on the Web. In the summer, when the trees leafed out, you couldn't even see the road or the neighbors. She'd grown up here, in a conservative pocket of Virginia. When it came to meeting new people, however, her choices were limited. The holidays were coming, and she didn't want to face them alone.​​​​​Picture the scene – passengers disembark from an aircraft, many hotfooting it into the open arms of loved ones at the airport.But after the last travellers filter through, two strangers are left waiting, each holding a bunch of red roses and both slowly coming to an awful realisation.

They may be aware of scams, but the offer that's being made is one that they prize.

Around 38% of those who are currently single and looking reported using dating websites or apps to meet potential mates.

While adults of all ages can be found on dating sites, it's the millennial generation that tends to dominate the virtual singles scene.

Even if you've never spent time on a dating website, the odds are good that some of your friends have.

Roughly 42% of Americans know someone who dates online and more and more couples’ love stories start from the click of a mouse.