How safe is Online Dating ?

I get asked that question a lot. I have used online dating services for a while, and never worried about my security. I mean, what’s the difference between meeting someone in the park while walking your dog, and meeting them online?

In fact its probably a lot safer to use a dating site as you will have time to exchange messages / phone/ chat with in the chat rooms with the other person over a couple of weeks or longer before you decide to meet them, if there’s something you don’t like about the person you can move onto the next profile. Can you say the same about meeting someone in a bar ? You may have only spoken to the person (who may or may not be drunk) for ten or 15 minutes before organising a date.

Why should I be worried about using the internet in finding a date, when there are so many dangers in real life? To be honest, I feel a lot safer chatting with someone on a dating site, than meeting them for the first time in a restaurant. Here are some of the things I did to protect myself when using dating sites. Better to be safe than sorry…

Use a dating site with credibility. Use your common sense when choosing it. If it seems like it was put together by a guy in a basement, don’t think twice : Move on! It may be tempting to use a free online dating site, right? Not for me. Been there, done that. There are way too many dubious people out there. Using a paid service gives me a sense of security simply because people pay with credit cards, so it’s easy for the dating site to track down any trouble makers. Also people who use free dating sites have nothing to lose, so you’ll find a lot of people joking around on it. Whereas on paid dating site, you know they are serious as they’ve already paid a monthly fee to find that someone special.

It may sound a little paranoid, but I always google the name of the person I met online. Most people use the same username so by doing a search you may find what that person is into.

Make sure the person you’re talking to is the one in the photos. Better yet, use a web cam. People tend to use their best photos on their profile, so you can be deceived by it. Some go even further and use pictures taken years ago. Others use only head shots. Ask for a photo where you can distinctly see their entire body. I also prefer to videochat, AnotherFriend.com have a anonymous video chat system for their members