10 Online Dating Safety Measures To Beware Of

While meeting the mate of your dreams from the comfort and privacy of your personal computer may be a welcome idea, it is not without its dangers. More and more cases of sexual predators, pedophiles as well as a host of other vices are springing up by the day.

Before getting too carried away with someone you meet online, you may want to consider the following factors and rethink your situation. It should occur to you that the person may actually be married, looking for some extra fun on the side; in this kind of a situation you only end up feeling wasted and disappointed for having wasted your feelings on people who have no space for you legally in their lives. With intentions of varying nature, women overseas run scams against men. They pretend to be attracted to them and ask for money. Needless to say, they disappear the moment they get the money.

The person you are chatting to online maybe anything as far as character is concerned. Remember, you don't know them personally! Mothers are making headlines daily with cries of being stuck with pedophile partners who they met on internet chat rooms and dating sites. Needless to say we have all heard of the rampant cases of date rapes and even kidnappings occuring when people meet strangers they thought they knew well from the internet. With people like this lurking everywhere on the internet, it is imperative that users be aware of measures to avert possible dangers. Some of these measures include:

1) Follow your instincts. If the general gut feeling is that the person you are talking to is suspicious, trust this feeling and cut all communication immediately.

2) Never give out your personal information until you are sure it is safe.

3) Use a safe site; that is, one that is primarily concerned with the safety of its clients by enabling ways of weeding out potentially dangerous users say for example those with previous criminal records.

4) Do not give your personal contact details eg telephone numbers (even cellphone numbers), addresses etc. With todays technology finding somebody through a phone number is a matter of only a few clicks over a period of several seconds.

5) Learn some self defense skills. You might be accosted physically and these will come in handy.

6) Do not talk about your kids online, post their pictures or divulge any information about them, say for example what school they attend and the likes.

7) When going out on a date for the with someone you met online, ensure that you meet in a public place at a "safe"
hour.

8) Ensure that you have your own means of transport to and from the venue of the date. Do not under any circumstances let the person drive you home.

9) Be wary of people who ask weird intrusive questions and remember that you do not have to answer anything that could put you in danger.

10) If you have to meet outside your locality take extra care especially if you are flying to a place you have never been to before. Make sure at least one person close to you knows the full details of the plans to go meet the person and also about the person you are meeting.

Muna wa Wanjiru Is A Internet Marketing Expert. His Latest Project ONLINE DATING SAFETY MEASURES Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success.