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Top Five Online Dating Safety Tips
By Kim Lance, Associate Publisher of Online Dating Magazine
[link "Online Dating Magazine" to http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com]
Just as in traditional dating, online dating does carry
with it a few risks. There are always going to be people
out there with bad or harmful intentions. While several online
dating services have implemented screening and safety measures
to weed out some criminals or married people, this is never
foolproof, and it is entirely up to the individual to take
safety measures into their own hands.
Here are five online dating safety tips that are vital to
protecting yourself when dating online:
1. Make your email account anonymous. Use a free email account
service like Hotmail or Yahoo! to set up an email account
that does not give out any personal information. Do not use
your work email address or an address that indicates your
full name when communicating with online dating matches.
Also, don’t give out your email address too soon. There
are some people out there that use online dating services
to gather email addresses from innocent singles so that they
can send out SPAM messages.
2. Give your cell phone number rather than your home number
when in the phone call stage of online dating. If you are
listed in the phone book, giving out your home phone number
is practically the same as giving out your full name and
home address. With online technology, it is easy to type
a home phone number into Google, and, if the number is listed,
your name and address will show up along with the phone number.
You may be giving out more information than you think you
are.
3. Meet in a public place on your first few dates. A public
place guarantees a higher level of security and safety as
there will be several witnesses around and your date will
not know your home address. It’s also a good idea to
tell a friend where you will be and when you will be returning,
just in case.
4. Always be weary of anyone asking for money. If someone
you communicate with through an online dating service starts
asking you for money before you meet, you can almost guarantee
they are scam artists. There are “Russian Bride” agencies
out there trying to scam unsuspecting men out of money by
having women (sometimes the women don’t even really
exist) ask for money from the men for flights out to see
them, only to disappear after they receive the money. There
is no reason that online dating should involve giving money
to the other person. If you want to visit Iveta in Slovenia,
fly out to see her, don’t blindly give her money.
5. Trust your gut. If your gut instinct tells you that a
guy or girl is not telling you the truth, has bad intentions,
or will end up hurting you, listen to that instinct. If you
notice any red flags, such as pressing for personal information
too soon, insisting to pick you up at your house for the
first date, or possessive tendencies even before you meet,
think twice about sharing your phone number, email address,
or especially home address. Also keep an eye out for someone
who may already be married. If they never want you to call,
won’t give details about their lifestyle, and try to
keep everything secret, there is a possibility that you are
dealing with a married person.
Remember that even though some dating sites tout background
checks, you have to stay on your guard. People can slip through
the background check cracks so don’t let the criminal
and marriage checks give you a false sense of security. Online
dating can be a safe and fun way to meet quality singles,
but never take anything for granted and always keep your
guard up in the beginning.
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Kim Lance is the Associate Publisher of
Online Dating Magazine [link "Online Dating
Magazine" to http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com],
an Internet publication covering online dating through news,
reviews, experiences, interviews, and articles.
This article is copyright and may not be republished. Used
with permission.
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