Online dating has become increasingly popular in the last few years, but there are many safety concerns to think about before you join. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what you need to know for online dating safety tips and how you can avoid becoming a victim of an online scam or a dangerous date.
The dangers of online dating
Hacking and stealing your identity can be a consequence of online dating.
Giving out your personal information easily to the other person can lead to a compromising situation.
Be wary of meeting someone in person in a secluded location because it might result to a robbery or kidnapping.
Asking a lot of personal questions may lead to the person revealing more information about themselves than they are willing to share, which can be harmful in some ways.
Safety Tips for Online Dating
1. Be careful of the content you post online. Do not divulge personal information to people on dating sites, this includes your address or phone number. Be wary about sharing too much details with others since they may not be who you think they are
2. Make sure that all photos are tasteful and do not contain any identifying features such as faces in a picture where it is unnecessary.
4. Don’t meet a stranger online in a secluded location as it might result to an assault or kidnapping. Meetup in a public place with many other people as much as possible.
5. Have a video chat with the person before meeting them offline. Seeing them ahead of time can help to identify if the person is who they say they are.
6. Tell someone else that you’re meeting someone. It might be your friend or a family member. Let them know the details about who you’re meeting, their name, or show them their picture, and the time and the place where you’ll be meeting them.
7. Carry defensive or self-protection tools such as pepper spray during your date, just to be sure when everything goes wrong and you already feel uncomfortable.
8. Beware of the romance scam. These people will try to gain your trust with constant flattery and gifts. They will also try to make you believe that they are in love with you when all they’re doing is trying to steal your money, find out your address or other personal information about you as well as making false promises of marriage.
9. Don’t exchange or send sensitive photos, including sensitive parts of your body, or videos. This can result in a criminal charge for you if this sensitive material is shared with anyone without your consent.
10. Do a research of the person you are talking with online. Check their profile and social media sites. Ask them a lot of questions about who they are, what they do for work or hobbies, the type of relationship that you’re looking for etc., to make sure that there is some sort of compatibility between both parties before meeting offline.
11. Trust your gut feeling if something doesn’t feel right. The best thing you can do is to just walk away and stop communicating with that person online or offline if there are warning signs such as someone who won’t give their name, a fake profile, someone who asks for money.
12. Report any suspicious people if possible from the dating app you are using.