Better Safe Than Sorry
Here are some tips to help make your online dating a safer experience.
1. Be a member of the FBI: You should remain anonymous
until you feel ready to give someone your personal information. You
should set up an email account to specifically use for on-line dating
and make sure this account does not give someone access to your full
name. (Yahoo!
or Hotmail
are great free e-mail accounts you can use.)
2. Be discrete: Make sure any personal information
you provide on your profile remains confidential.
3. Be mysterious: Be careful about giving out your
full name, telephone numbers, email address, or employer’s names
until you feel comfortable giving out this information.
4. Just say no: If someone is pressuring you for your
personal information then you have the right to stop contact with this
person. Remember you should be moving at your own pace.
5. Be an investigator: Make sure to ask someone you
meet on-line a bunch of questions so you can check for any inconsistent
answers. These questions should include marital status, place of employment,
age, physical attributes, area where they live etc. Make note of inconsistent
answers and if any answers are inconsistent then it is a good indication
that they might be lying to you.
6. Be a private caller: When you decide to talk on
the phone do not give someone your home telephone number until you are
comfortable with giving it out. I would suggest using your cell phone
number or get their number and block the other person’s caller
ID display. You can call your local telephone company for instructions
on how to block your caller ID information from showing.
7. Transport yourself to a public place: Always agree
to meet someone in a public well lit area. You should be providing your
own transportation for your first date. Never agree to have someone
you don’t know pick you up at your home. There are times when
I agreed to meet someone at a place that had valet parking so I would
not have to walk in a dark parking lot after the date as well as being
able to avoid the awkward walk to the car.
8. Call 911: Make sure you can call for help - always
carry your cell phone with you on dates.
9. Leave a trail of bread crumbs: Let friends or family
members know where and when you are going.
10. Be prepared: Take plenty of cash in case of an
emergency.
Learn to listen and trust your gut instinct about people and you will
have fun as well as a safe online dating experience.
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