Online dating certainly has its pros and cons. While it can make it possible for you to connect with amazing people that you otherwise would not have been able to meet, it might also put you at some level of risk because scammers can use dating apps to find their victims.
What are some of the many online dating safety tips that you should follow to help give you greater peace of mind and hopefully keep you out of harm’s way? Continue reading to access a short list to get started.
Verify a Person Is Being Honest About Who They Are
Whether you meet someone online through a message board, social media, or dating website or app, it is a good idea to verify that they are who they claim to be. By taking this simple step, you can find out if they are lying about things like where they are located or if they have a criminal past. And you might even discover that they are impersonating someone else or using a totally fake name to hide their true identity.
How can you get on the path to verifying if someone is honest about their identity? Well, you can start with people search websites. Nuwber is a great example because you can search for someone by their full name, but if you know their phone number or their address, you can also use those to look up more information about someone and further verify that what they are telling you is true. Plus, you can use people search websites to run background checks affordably and quickly, further giving you insight into whether someone has a police record you should know about.
Go on Virtual Dates First
Talking to someone via text is a good way to get to know them, but this form of communication doesn’t let you hear the other person’s voice and their overall tone. So, getting on the phone is a logical next step when you want to get to know someone better. From there, if you still have a connection with them, you might be tempted to set a date to meet in person. But before you do that, it is worth slowing down and going on a virtual date first.
Like an in-person meeting, a virtual date over webcam can be a great way to further assess someone’s personality and how they interact with you, but there’s much less pressure and more safety because you are still in your own home. Use this as an opportunity to figure out if you still want to go ahead and meet them in person after all.
Meet in a Public Place, and Bring a Friend
Let’s say you really enjoy talking to someone, you’ve had a few virtual dates, and you’ve done your research on them to verify that they’re being honest about who they are. When you are ready to meet in person, it is still best to take the safe route by setting up the date in a public place of your choice. By having other people around, you can feel safer, and by being in a place you’re familiar with, you also won’t feel lost.
Finally, you might even decide to bring a friend with you when you have your first date with someone you’ve never met in person before. With someone you trust, and your own form of transportation, you can take additional steps to stay safe.
Trust your instincts
Listen to yourself. Does anything make you feel uncomfortable? Then don’t hesitate to say ‘no’ and walk away. While it’s important to take other people’s feelings into account, you should always put yourself first.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
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