Several reviewers describe many fake or inactive profiles and say messaging shifts sharply when payment status changes. Others report meeting partners, having long-term affairs, and getting helpful profile support. Complaints often mention subscriptions that felt wasted, suspicious redirects, and occasional harassment. Reviews split clearly between users who find partners and users who report low-quality or fraudulent interactions.
Examples from available reviews (Nov 2021 – Feb 2026).
Counts of women online are inflated and many profiles appear inactive or generic.
“they are over inflated in terms of ladies online”
Received many messages as free profile, then messages stopped after paying.
“you then sign up and pay and the messages stop immediately”
Long-term user warns of many unsuitable profiles but reports genuine success.
“I've been on over 50 dates.”
Helpful profile assistance and good tailored suggestions, led to many possibilities.
“the assistance on offer to construct a profile is excellent.”
Most comments on how the platform runs focus on billing and account access. Positive outcomes are uncommon and mainly come from one engagement story. A few users mention a slightly clunky interface, but say it still works.
Many reviewers say they paid but got few or no meaningful replies. Several claim messages drop after subscribing and pick up again only after cancelling, which they connect to money wasted. A smaller group says the results were worth the price and flags auto-renew charges.
Many users report matches, frequent dates, and long-term relationships after sticking with it. Others describe cancelled meetups, tests, rude responses, and misleading interactions that made dating hard. Several reviewers also praise profile help and more tailored suggestions.
Many reviews accuse the site of fake profiles, overstated member numbers, and obviously edited photos. Multiple users describe being pushed toward external sites or asked for payments. A small number of reviews mention blackmail or threats.
Reviewers often report lots of initial contact but few real conversations. Several say message volume jumps when a subscription ends and drops again when it restarts. Some users also mention rude or silent members during chats.
Ratings sit at both ends, with strong success stories and strong complaints about fraud and poor value. Reviews show a clear split between people who meet genuine partners and those who run into low-quality or deceptive interactions. Reviewers urge caution with billing and changing message patterns.
For each review, the core experience based on original source reviews.
Sources: Trustpilot (28) · Collected.reviews (1) · Quotes shortened · As of: February 2026
Counts of women online are inflated and many profiles appear inactive or generic.
“they are over inflated in terms of ladies online”
Responses increase when subscription lapses, implying potential fake enticements.
“once your subscription has expired, then the responses to your profile increase substantially”
Interactions involve cancellations, tests and deceit, making dating difficult.
“setbacks, cancellations, tests and a raft of lying and deceit.”
Acknowledges some genuine matches but reports many fake profiles and misleading geography.
“there ARE genuine female profiles on IE”
Repeat user recommends site despite some scammer or bot concerns.
“I would definitely recommend illicit encounters”
Messages flood after membership ends and stop after re‑subscribing; accuses fake accounts.
“Once i signed up again to read my messages everything stopped”
Persevere politely and you may find genuine matches; site generally works.
“Website is a tiny bit clunky but generally works well”
Claims the site is full of fake accounts and rude women seeking similar men.
“The site is a scam full of fake accounts.”
Paid membership but received almost no responses or matches.
“Total waste of my time and money.”
Reviewer repeatedly paid and found the site worked well.
“I've paid and signed up over a dozen times and found it great.”
Criticises site response and warns men about wasting money with IE.
“if you are a guy be careful where you splash your cash with IE”
Received many contacts before payment, activity dropped after paying.
“once money is paid all the viewing stopped”
Easy profile creation and regular meetings after a month.
“I’ve met a great guy and we see each other regular.”
Most initial chats don't progress and many profiles seem fake.
“a lot of the profiles are made up and are fictitious.”
Many contacts but few responses; mostly rude people encountered.
“Loads of contacts - no responses - hard work”
Second-time user found the site very successful for meeting people.
“I would say it's been very successful.”
Helpful profile assistance and good tailored suggestions, led to many possibilities.
“the assistance on offer to construct a profile is excellent.”
Reported fake accounts and one user used photos to threaten blackmail.
“They then pasted my real name and wife's name into a chat”
Met people successfully but warns about non‑refundable auto‑renewal charges.
“watch for the auto-renewal of their paid service”
Many first dates and now regularly dating one man, recommends site for women.
“I have had a lot of first dates with very nice men.”
Effort yields better matches; forums help find genuine members.
“You get out what you put in.”
Long-term user warns of many unsuitable profiles but reports genuine success.
“I've been on over 50 dates.”
Reported users attempting to redirect to other sites and solicit payments.
“trying to get you to log into other sites”
Frequent suspicious messages and evidently fake profiles and photos.
“So many photos are clearly fake”
Received many messages as free profile, then messages stopped after paying.
“you then sign up and pay and the messages stop immediately”
Minimal replies while subscribed; messages increase only after cancelling, mostly scams.
“minimal to no replies from 40 odd messages sent”
Costly for men but many genuine women; requires effort to get replies.
“sending out 30 messages you may get 1 reply.”
Long-term user reports multiple successful affairs and many dates.
“have a couple of really successful long term affairs”
I just wanted to write you a note to thank Illicit Encounters for providing exceptional services online. I am not sure what magic you are using, but my wife and I have been dating on your website for over a year (long-distance) relationship, and we are now engaged. We had met on the internet before on other dating sites, but they were all scams or fake profiles. We were both getting discouraged until we found your site.
I highly recommend your service to other people looking for a loving partner or who just want to spice up their marriage and keep the excitement alive.
This page combines submitted experiences with public reviews from platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, etc. Recurring points are summarised without changing the content of reviews.
Illicit Encounters runs an online dating site for consenting adults seeking discreet, casual relationships. Users can create accounts, build profiles, upload photos, use search filters, and message privately. The site sells subscription plans and charges online with auto-renew options. It works on the web and is built to display well on mobile. Customer support handles account and billing questions, and the company posts safety guidance for users.