Channel 2 Investigates

Looking for love behind bars? There's an app for that

Move over Match.com, OK Cupid and eHarmony -- there’s a new dating app gaining attention, but not in the way you’d expect.

It’s called Inmate Mingle and helps people behind bars find their “perfect match” on the outside.

Some may call it looking for love in all the wrong places. Others are simply surprised that there's an app for that.

Inmate Mingle helps people behind bars find their “perfect match” on the outside.

WSB-TV’s Cox Media Group sister station Fox 23 wanted to find out more.

They found other pen pal sites like loveaprisoner.com and paper dolls, but this is the first app providing this service.

On the website, they found some people with gold and platinum status -- men and women who describe their likes and what they're looking for in a relationship with someone on the outside.

Click on the success stories and you'll see people met their "soul mate" or "found someone very special."

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Former inmate Joseph Parrett said he’s not surprised.

He admits he has spent most of his adult life in and out of prison over stolen property, and says some inmates are "running game" on their pen pals.

“Running game is where you lie to someone,” he said. “They promise these women all this stuff when they get out, if they get out."

Earlier this year, an Oklahoma inmate was sentenced in a case involving inmates using smuggled cellphones to meet secretly gay men through a dating site. They then extorted thousands of dollars from their victims by threatening to expose their sexuality.

“There's people in there who change their lives and are good people and when they write you, they mean everything they say, but then there's some, my God, you know?” Parrett said.

He said some inmates are just taking advantage of people.

“Money is a big thing in there,” he said.

Parrett says inmates buy everything from extra sets of clothes to TVs and snack food, among other items.

Inmate Mingle warns users about scams, including "lying to get money."

“Use your head,” Parrett said.

Inmate Mingle did not respond to Fox 23’s request for comment on this story.

The disclaimer on their site says they require users be at least 18 and remind people they're dealing with convicted felons and they accept no responsibility.