If you are considering on signing up for online dating services which are popular nowadays, make sure you take steps in protecting your identity. Don’t give out personal information such as your name or contact details in personal online messages or emails, unless you have known the other person enough to be comfortable to do so. Don’t post sensitive information on your online profile; it is better to keep your identity as anonymous as possible, rather than run the risk of threats to your privacy. Think twice before using a name which is sexually suggestive; the pseudonym may get the attention you are aiming for, but may attract people who may not be the ideal type for you. If you are corresponding with a potential date partner, keep a record of your conversation so you’ll have something to fall back into just in case. Learn to trust your instincts; if something doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to block the other user and report the person to the site.
Be sure that you initially meet a dating partner in a public place; avoid places where the other person will have the opportunity to get too comfortable with you such as a home or in a secluded area. Don’t let the other person pick you up or drop you off in your home, and don’t even give him or her your address; this is to make sure that if the date doesn’t end well, you won’t leave crumbs for your date partner to follow. Make sure that you inform a friend or a relative of the details of the meeting, and give hints to your date that the rendezvous isn’t a secret. Bring your mobile phone, and have someone occasionally check in on you by calling you at predetermined intervals. Have your local emergency number on speed dial. It is also safe to opt for alcohol-free drinks, or at least to keep yourself sober during the entire date, so you’ll have a clear head to assess the progress of the meeting. Keep an eye on your belongings, and if you have to leave your drink, order a fresh one when you come back. If in case your date is overly persistent to the point of being aggressive, do not hesitate and leave the area at once; board a public vehicle, or better yet, have a friend pick you up from the meeting area.
While this may seem as an anticlimax to pleasant lecture on dating, this may be of extreme use to you once you find yourself in tough situations with your date. You need to trust your gut instinct. If the person impresses you as shady, or he or she arranges the date in odd hours and locations, you’ll have to cancel the meeting altogether. Make sure that you do some research on the background of the person, by talking with people he or she has already met, or browsing his online profile; let a friend or relative in on whatever you find out. People who talk vaguely, and constantly beat around the bush have trust issues to settle with, and if he or she cannot open up now, then the person never will, especially on a passing acquaintance such as you. If, on the flip side, the person is overly expressive of love even as early on as the first date, be extra careful; usually the motives behind such platitudes have the lust factor in place. Be wary also of con artists who have an eye on your pocketbook rather than on your affection. If the person is giving even the slightest hint of solicitation, or is deliberately dropping pity lines like ‘I’m in between jobs right now,’ chances are you’re in for a scam rather than a love match.