Staying Safe While Dating Online

Keep Your Personal Information Private

Unless you know who you're dealing with, do not provide your personal information such as full name, address and phone number. This will ensure your physical safety. Most people are harmless and genuine about seeking a partner in love, but the Web is full of individuals with ill intentions. This is not to say that these individuals migrate to our site, but common sense in any arrangement must be applied. This same advice would hold true for meeting someone through the newspaper personals and other options.

Carefully Choose Your Online Name

If you are female and you intend to spend your time online in various chat rooms or signing up for various free e-mail accounts and you don't want to invite sexual innuendo or the virtual equivalent of a whistle and an uninvited sexual reference, then choose a gender neutral name. Of course, if your intention is to invite advances from men, then choose a feminine name, but be prepared for an onslaught of advances. This tip doesn't apply to women only, though, as the Web is full of very assertive women who will target nicks of the male variety. By choosing a gender-neutral identity online, you afford yourself the option of revealing your gender identity (or more) when you're comfortable in doing so.

Have Your Common sense About You When Meeting in Real Life

If and when you decide to meet your online friend, don't go alone. Bring a group of friends along with you and schedule your meeting during the day and in a public place. The person you are meeting, if they are worthwhile, will agree to your request to meet in the safest possible surroundings.

Trust Your Instincts

Too many of us don't trust our instincts and betray them, often to our own detriment. Our instincts are always trying to tell us something. Learn to trust your instincts. If something about your online encounters feels uncomfortable, you can almost bet that an in-person encounter will feel the same. With this in mind, don't lead someone on in e-mail. If you get an immediate sense that they are not your type, let them know politely by giving them the digital equivalent of "let's just be friends." If you lead someone on and their emotions get the best of them, there will be trouble. If they persist even after you have proclaimed disinterest, ignore them. This includes their repeated e-mails. If this doesn't work, retain their messages and forward them to their online service provider. It is rare that situations ever get to this point, but if they do, retaining such information will assist you should you ever have to take further action.

Online Dating Scams

Scammers are serious and sophisticated perpetrators, the victim can suffer both financially and emotionally. There are many different variations of online dating scams but generally a scammer posts fake profiles on online dating services, befriends online dating users and manipulates their emotions with the aim of extracting money from the victim.
We try to verify the legitimacy of member’s profiles but scammers can still slip through using photos downloaded from the Internet and posting fake profiles. Many scammers come from Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa and target men; there is no distinct format to their approach. Anyone can be the target of a scammer and anyone that asks for money IS a scammer.
The most important rule to remember NEVER SEND MONEY TO SOMEONE YOU’VE MET ONLINE