How to Spot Internet Dating Scams |
|
|
|
 |
| Dating Background |
Online dating services are typically anonymous so you don't really know with whom you are communicating. You converse with a potential date behind the safety of your computer monitor, but the downside is so can the con artists and predators.
Because there are people in the world who use this new tool to harm others, you need to know how to interact safely especially if you are online dating. Flushing out scammers isn't easy or fool-proof, but there are several techniques you can use to up your odds against being conned or worse.
Home people lie about their age, gender and other personal information in an attempt to be invisible. But an alert reader can often ferret out those falsehoods. The predators that hide online inevitably slip-up on simple and obvious things. For example, they report experiences that chances are they haven't had.
Predators often show an unhealthy interest in someone; especially younger people. One of the common con mistakes is to make inconsistent statements about who they are and what they do or want.
The first reaction of most honest people online is to think they must be misinterpreting the information.
They give a little too much benefit of the doubt. But staying alert and tuned into what's being said, while exercising appropriate caution is always the most wise way to proceed.
Another way to protect yourself is by not revealing too much personal information too soon.
Certain data should never be revealed to anyone online, unless you've met and know them fairly well. Your phone number, address and credit card information top the list.
When circumstances reach the stage where you are considering a face-to-face meeting with a potential date, first have a few phone calls. But either block your phone number from appearing when you call them or invest in a throwaway cell phone.
Many services exist to reverse-look-up your address based on your phone number.
Take proper precautions and always run a background check before you physically meet someone new. They are available online and not expensive at all. You want to check a potential dates national criminal history including a national sex offender registry.
You can find one by searching on Sweetheart Checks for ten dollar per name.
Never give out your address. You don't want uninvited visits from someone you don't yet know well. Never provide anyone with your credit card number, password or other protected financial information.
Those items are among the most common means that identity thieves have for using your credit card without authorization.
Don't tell someone you barely know where you work either. It may seem like a safer place to meet the first time; but if things don't work out, or they turn out not to be who they said they were, you don't want them to know where you are at predictable times.
| You can contact Sweetheart Checks at
(949) 635-4923 |
|
|