If you average statistics from different studies, you’ll find that nearly 60% of all men and women engage in extramarital relationships, either short- or long-term, and frequently with someone from the workplace.

Many unfaithful spouses try to “cover their tracks.” Despite their best efforts, however, there are a variety of tell-tale signs that identify a cheater. One of the most glaring signs is a general lack of interest. This lack of interest can be seen in a reluctance to argue over important issues like money, or even insignificant ones. It can also be observed in a partner who seems bored — with his/her spouse, kids, work, and hobbies. Among the most common indicators for cheating:

Signs at Home of an Affair

• Suspected cheater’s clothes smell of unfamiliar perfume, cologne, or aftershave
• Suspected cheater’s clothes retain a residue of erotic oils or fragrance
• Suspected cheater keeps his/her laundry separately from family laundry
• Suspected cheater spends more time away from home
• Suspected cheater abandons previously held religious values
• Suspected cheater’s car needs refueling more frequently and shows increased mileage
• Suspected cheater is prescribed sexual enhancement medications, but exhibits a decreased sexual interest at home
• Suspected cheater is difficult to reach by phone at work
• Suspected cheater takes a long time to return calls
• Suspected cheater takes phone calls “out of ear shot”
• Suspected cheater suddenly increases work hours, or has more work “functions” that must be attended alone
• Suspected cheater is unusually secretive
• Suspected cheater has locked/password-protected files on computer

Signs In Record-Keeping of an Affair

• Suspected cheater’s credit card has charges for unusual items (i.e., jewelry) or “unspecified charges” at unusual stores
• Suspected cheater’s credit cards show gas purchases at distant service stations
• Suspected cheater’s bank statement shows unexplained deposits or withdrawals
• Suspected cheater’s home phone bill has unexplained calls, often of very long duration
• Suspected cheater’s credit card bill has charges for meals at restaurants that his/her spouse doesn’t know
• Suspected cheater has a cell-phone bill for a phone his/her spouse doesn’t know about
• Suspected cheater has unexplained receipts in wallet, clothing pockets, glove compartment, etc.

Technology can frequently unmask a cheater. Answering machines, cell phones, and pagers have memories and recently dialed numbers may be accessed. On a computer, a cheater will make frequent visits to free Internet email accounts or forget to hide or delete messages from a sender that is not familiar to his/her spouse.

And speaking of the Internet, the web browser history list (a list of web sites that have been visited) can reveal when a cheater has been surfing chat rooms, dating sites, etc.