Posted on10 Aug 2012
By and large online dating is not an unsafe proposition. There are certainly predators on sites but for the most part they’re looking for your financial information and they’re pretty easy to avoid. Here are some online dating safety tips to help you avoid any dangers, be they physical or digital, in the world of online dating.
As a general rule it’s smart to trust your instincts. If you read a profile or have been messaging with someone and something just doesn’t feel right that’s probably because something isn’t right. If something seems too good to be true that’s almost always because it’s too good to be true. Your gut instinct builds up over years of experience and it’s actually a finely tuned instrument so you can put your faith in it to deliver the results you need.
Don’t be afraid to be stingy with your personal information on an online dating site . Don’t give your number and address too soon, particularly if you’ve never met the person. When communicating with dates and potential dates you should avoid using your home phone number but instead use a cell phone; they’re more difficult to track. With your home number and name a predator can discover where you live or get pretty far down the road of identity theft, and that’s a nightmare you don’t want to get involved in since it can take years to unravel that kind of mess. Also, make sure you use a free email account when communicating on a dating site. The less people know about you the better with regards to online interactions. When you get more personal with someone you can share more detailed information.
Another dating safety tip, you should make every effort to judge if your potential date is an honest person. This will help you avoid future issues, pain, and potential dangers. For instance, if you end up hooking up with a married person it’s possible their spouse will do something crazy (attack you, initiate troublesome legal proceedings, destroy your property, etc) and that’s not worth it in any way. You can try to judge a person’s honesty in a number of ways, but it’s good to start with asking for a recent photo outside of what’s on the site. If they can’t provide one there’s a good chance they’re not who they say they are on the profile. If it doesn’t look recent they’re lying about something. Pay close attention to all communications to pick out possible issues. If your potential match is cagey about meeting particular places, gives almost no information about him or herself, etc, then they’re probably being dishonest and probably running some sort of game. Avoid them.
It’s probably a little disappointing to hear but if you’re concerned with safety then using the paid online dating services is the way to go. There are free options but they’re also loaded with fake profiles, scammers of all kinds, etc. Predators that could do you physical harm are more likely to be on the free services as well since scumbags don’t want to pay to do their dirty deeds.
Always meet in a public place for the first time and perhaps for future dates as well. It’s a smart and simple way to ensure that you can judge your date for yourself and ensure that he or she isn’t a danger to you. Don’t go somewhere private right after meeting them, either. Have your date in a coffee shop, restaurant, etc, for the first time until you get to know them a little better and want to go somewhere private to hook up or continue the conversation in a more intimate setting. You have plenty of time to find a mate so don’t rush it and make a mistake you’ll regret.
