Online Dating & Your Safety Written by: Suzy (co-founder) 08/11/2022
Hello this is our first blog, and a very important one to us. We want everyone who chooses to join our site to be safe, and have a good experience. We wanted to share some red flags to look for when meeting people online since it is impossible to prevent every person who wishes to scam, or cause harm to, someone. We will rely a lot on our members to report suspicious profiles and/or activity. We have zero tolerance for fake profiles, or people who come on here with the intent of scamming our members. It has been one of our biggest concerns and worries since deciding to start a website.
Red Flags to watch out for:
- Refuses to do phone calls
- Refuses to do video calls
- Refuses to meet in a public space
- Keeps putting off meeting in person after a reasonable amount of time
- Asks for money
- Asks for gifts
- Asks for any other extravagant favor: like asking for access to a credit card, for you to sign a legal agreement such as a lease, car loan, etc…
- Asks for sexually explicit pictures right away
- Sends sexually explicit pictures without your consent
- Photos that are *too* hot – meaning they look like they’re a model in a magazine or instagram. I hate to say it, but, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- No photos, or photos that look generic – you know, like the ones you find in the frames at the store?
- Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Listen to your gut, if something feels off, or something makes you uncomfortable – listen to that.
Be cautious about what personal information you give out to someone when you first start talking. It is important to do some kind of video calls before meeting in person to make sure the person is who they’re claiming to be. It is not normal for someone to ask someone they don’t know, or are just getting to know, for money. Never send anyone money, buy cars, sign legal agreements, or send high dollar gifts. That should be a huge red flag if someone is trying to get you to do any of those things. When you decide to meet someone in person for the first time, you should take safety precautions such as sharing with a friend or family member who you are meeting, where you’re meeting, and even come up with a check-in time, or a password in a situation where you don’t feel comfortable. It should be a public place, and even better, maybe make it a group date with others. Be authentic – don’t use filters on your photos, and only use photos from within the last year so that they accurately depict what you look like.
Here are some additional tips from Helping Survivors LLC – https://helpingsurvivors.org/online-dating-app-safety-tips/ .
Me with Date Like Me community members
Me with anyone who tries to take advantage of Date Like Me community members
