With technology giving us so many options for meeting people, it has become more and more common to date someone via the Internet. By teaming up with others, you have the advantage of being able to choose from thousands of potential candidates without even leaving home. It is possible to request specific characteristics, making it easier than ever to find the perfect match. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay However, online dating can be dangerous because almost anyone can create an account and pretend to be someone else. Worse yet, they can use their account to gather information and hurt others. Here are some tips that will ensure online safety: Double-check their profile. Once you have established a connection with someone, you should be careful before agreeing to meet them. The first precaution is to ensure that their profile is real. Many dating sites themselves have a verification system in which the profile will appear as verified. Search for this. Additionally, ask them about some other social media accounts they might have. Make sure they post a variety of photos and have real friends commenting real things on their posts. Meet in a public space. For a first date, it is always very important to meet in a public place, such as a library, cafe, restaurant or shopping center. This way there is less risk because there are people watching, and it is also easier to leave without causing a scene in case of discomfort or feeling of danger. To be safe, make sure the place has more people rather than fewer. The more witnesses there are, the less likely a crime will be committed. Tell someone you trust what is happening. It is important that someone else, such as a close friend, parent or sibling, knows about the meeting in advance. They should have the date, time, location, and profile of the potential date so that if anything goes wrong, they know how and where to help you. In an emergency, a simple text saying “help” will do the trick. There is no need to enter all the information they already know, which will at least save them some time. Keep an eye out for red flags. Anyone who asks for money, requests explicit photos, sends explicit photos, or refuses to give too much public information is probably not trustworthy. These are typical behaviors of scammers, who simply want to get something out of every profile they come across. If the person agrees to meet and continues to postpone the date: this is also a red flag. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Catfishers (people who pretend to be others online and get to know people through their fake profiles) use this tactic. They connect with other people but never meet them because, in reality, they are different from those in their photos. Report any fake profiles. Finally, if it turns out that any of the profiles are not real, report it. This will help keep the online dating community safe. If everyone is reporting fake profiles, it's like constant weeding of the dating garden, to make sure it still works and is safe..