Whenever providing personal information online, you need to be extremely careful. Online dating is an even more complex process that can be riskier if you don’t have the right safety precautions and measures in place.
There are a number of ways you can be taken advantage of through online dating services. Some of these are the result of poor safety measures on the part of the dating website. Others are due to the pure ingenuity or diligence of those who would benefit from your personal information. Hackers are quite skilled and always finding new ways to profit from their activities.
One of the first ways you can protect yourself is to choose a reputable and well-established site that is able to guarantee the safety of your information. That being said, you should also take measure to limit the harm that can come from the information you provide on the site. Don’t publish any personal information that is too risky. You don’t want just anyone having access to your email address, phone number, physical address or similar information.
Once all your information is as secure as possible, it’s time to start thinking about how to protect yourself during the online dating process. Many of the better websites allow you to communicate via the website itself and become comfortable with a person before providing them with your real-world contact information. Don’t jump the gun and give your phone number or email address to a potential date too early in the game. You should take your time and get to know as much about the person as possible before advancing.
While communicating with someone through an intermediary website can feel safe and secure, eventually successful online dating leads to meeting in real life. Even before meeting face-to-face, you will likely talk on the phone. With a bit of money, it’s possible for a person to learn who you are, where you live and any amount of other information about you by simply having your telephone number. It doesn’t matter if it’s a landline or a cell phone so you’ll want to be careful about whom you provide that information.
Through the same means that others can find out your information, you can also research potential partners before ever meeting them in person. If you feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable meeting someone you don’t really know, you may want to consider performing a simple background check on them. For a small fee, you can check the details of what they have told you in previous online or phone communications. If they have deceived you in any way then don’t bother to meet them. That deception can be a sign of other issues, some of which can be quite nefarious.
If there is anything in their basic history that makes you suspicious, you can even perform a criminal history check on the individual before meeting him. This process can make you feel much more comfortable with the idea of moving your online dating to the real world but there are a few additional safety and security measures you should put in place in order to keep yourself out of harm’s way. Don’t just check criminal history in the area in which the individual claims to be from. Consider checking nationwide in order to minimize your chances of falling prey to a skilled scam artist.
It’s a good idea to see pictures of the person before you meet as well. Consider communicating via web cam in order to get a feeling for the person prior to meeting. This will allow you to read the person’s tone of voice, body language and facial expressions without worrying about them getting too ingrained in your real-world existence.
If you do use a web cam, be sure there is nothing in the camera’s line of sight that will disclose your personal information or location. People can be quite ingenious and those who wish to do you harm, whether financial or physical, can glean a lot of information about you from just a few tiny details.
Even if you feel confident that the individual is who she claims to be and her history checks out, you should still consider meeting her in a public place for your first date or maybe even for the first few dates. Drive yourself to the location or if you take a taxi, don’t share a cab on the way home. Make sure you cannot be followed from the meeting and keep your home life separate from your dating life for a period of time. Until you’re certain you truly know and care for the person, it’s best not to let him get too close.
If there is anything that makes you uncomfortable or uncertain about the person, take that as a sign. Don’t ignore your instincts and don’t provide him more access to your personal life. If there are any issues that arise, be sure to report the individual to the website and law enforcement if warranted.
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