Articles

What do I need to be careful for when meeting someone online?

The number of relationships starting online is increasing every day. Online dating can be a great way to expand the number of your potential dating partners. But with the anonymity that comes with being online, comes the potential for fraud and online dating scams. So it’s extremely important that you be careful when meeting someone online. Following a few simple guidelines can protect you from online scammers and ensure you have a safe online dating experience.

When creating a dating profile don’t include personal information like your full name, address, phone number or email in the public portion of your profile. Only give that information out to other members once you have established a level of trust. Your username shouldn’t be your real full name or email.

Never give out your personal information until you get to know someone. Scammers will try to get as much personal information from you as quickly as possible, asking for your private email or phone number. They will ask you to contact them off the dating site before you know anything about them. Doing this is a mistake. Keep all communication on the dating website until you are entirely comfortable with sharing your contact information with someone.

Pay attention to the way people talk. If someone claims to be from the United States but speaks in an odd manner or the structure of their sentences seems off to you, this can be a tip off that they are from overseas or using a language translation program.

When it’s time to meet in person, only agree to meet in a public place. And always let a friend or family member know who and where you’re meeting.

Following these simple guidelines will make for a much safer online dating experience.