If you’re getting into online dating, but you don’t want to shell out a bunch of money yet, you’re no doubt checking out the various free dating sites online to see if any of these offer what you’re looking for. But if you’re new to online personals, or just the internet in general, there are a few things you should learn to watch out for to avoid getting scammed or led on.
Free dating sites are often just as useful as the ones you pay for, but they do tend to have a greater share of pitfalls and scam artists waiting to catch up unsuspecting users. Here’s a few tips to make sure you surf safe:
- If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Since it’s free to create a profile on free dating sites, you sometimes find adult websites or other dating websites create profiles of very attractive girls or guys and use them to try entice people over to their site. You know your level of attractiveness – if some nineteen year old lingerie model wants to set up a webcam session and comes across as very flirty, the chances are she’ll want your credit card first. Learn to spot fake profiles, and use the website’s reporting function to keep it safe for other members.
- Don’t download anything. Your only interactions with people on free dating sites should be emails about interests, flirting, and setting up dates. If someone wants you to download a file and run it on your computer to chat with them, it’s probably a scam to gain access to your computer or turn it into a spamming machine. You should never download anything to your computer unless it’s from a trusted source – and someone you’ve only known for a week on an online dating site is probably not one of these
- Beware of predators. This is mostly for the ladies, but guys need to look out too. It’s difficult to tell if someone is genuine from a few emails, but make sure you can be as certain as possible that the person you are meeting is genuine, and that they have the same intentions that you do. Google them, Facebook or other social network stalk them – whatever you have to do to make sure that they’re on the level. Always tell someone where you’re going, who you’ll be with and a number to call you on, just in case.
Relax – the online dating world is safe 99% of the time. But if you’re using free dating sites then you might want to put a little extra protection in place for yourself. Just remember to have fun, but stay alert.