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Online Dating Safety: Avoid the PitfallsLearning about online dating safety is a necessary evil. Prevention and protecting yourself is only sensible. You wouldn’t jump off a diving board without looking first, would you? Many people do find love through internet dating sites, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be one of them.
But there are also precautions everybody should take to ensure the experience is fun and above all, safe.
Online Dating Safety Tips
Use a responsible dating site. Ensure that the site checks out all its members. They should always check that members use legitimate email addresses. Respectable dating sites will always safeguard their customers' safety and privacy and do their best to ensure their online dating safety.
 The best sites will list some of the potential dangers of online dating on a FAQ or Help page.
Don't use your real name as a username. It's fine to call yourself Jane1960, but don't use JaneAndrews1960. Similarly don't pick a really sexy username if that's not the sort of date you're after. A username like "SexxyLady" is likely to attract men after something other than marriage and commitment.
Never give out personal details. Don't use your real name, and guard information like your address, email details or home telephone number. You can't control who's looking at your profile, particularly on free dating sites. Online dating scams and identity theft are the real dangers of internet dating carelessness.
Demand recent photos. If you really start to like someone on a dating site, ask to see recent photos. This will allay any fears you might have just lifted a photo of some stranger off the web. And that they're some 12-year-old who's messing around online.
"I live in a military town and met a Marine on an online dating website. We met in person and hit it off immediately.
Don't believe everything you read.Within a few weeks I started to notice odd things though... he had his own house on the Marine base, yet houses were usually only granted to families and he claimed to be single. He also had baby items and womens clothing laying around his house. He explained these by saying that they belonged to his ex-roommate. After we were together a couple of months, I finally got fed up with all the inconsistencies in his stories and I did some investigating. I enlisted the help of a good friend who also happened to be ranked very high in the Marines. He made a few phone calls and found out that my "single" boyfriend was actually married with a child. His wife and baby were living out of state with her family. I obtained her phone number from his cell phone bill and gave her a call. Needless to say, she was absolutely shocked. I packed my stuff and never talked to him again." Sarah McP People can and do lie on their dating site profiles. Some of these fibs are harmless, like shaving 15 lbs or 5 years off their statistics. But lies can also involve married people pretending to be single, and scam artists scouting for victims.
Trust your instincts. If someone doesn't ring true, don't pursue a relationship. Don't allow anyone to rush or pressure you into giving your real name, your address or other personal details before you're ready. Learn to say no. Online dating safety means trusting your gut. Avoiding the more obvious dangers of online dating means listening to your gut, head AND heart. Simultaneously. Which should be enough to earn you a place on the "Jerry Springer Show". If you're lucky.
Be anonymous. Always use anonymous email to correspond with people outside the dating site. Set up a Hotmail or Google account solely for online dating. Then, if things don’t go to plan, you can terminate the relationship without having to get a new email address for correspondence with friends and family. In the same vein, don’t use your home phone or mobile until you really trust the other person.
Don't rush the face-to-face. Don’t meet your cyber-mate until you get to know them well. Don’t let anyone rush you, and don’t let you rush you. Get to know each other really well before you meet, and you’ll have a better chance of really hitting it off.
Safety first. Be safety conscious when you do meet your date in real life. Make sure you meet in a public venue, and leave details of where you are with family or friends, along with the time you expect to be home. Take a cell phone with you, taxi fare, and bring a friend along with you, if it makes you feel safer.
Online Dating Safety: The Third date rule. Wait until you’ve met your date a few times before you give him/her your full name and address. Remember that they’re still a relative stranger, no matter how close you’ve become online.
And above all, don't let this list freak you out! Online dating safety is mostly a matter of common sense. But in the words of the dude from Hillstreet Blues, "Let's stay safe out there, people."
Julie wasn't impressed. If Stephen King made him scream like a girl,
how on earth was he going to handle Christmas with her family?
Dating War Stories - Safety FirstDo you have any dating safety tips or war stories to share?
Want more Dating Safety Tips? Then check out our Online Dating Scams, Cyberlover Scam, Emotional Infidelity, How to Catch a Cheater, and Infidelity Signs pages.
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