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How to be Safe When Going on a First Date

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These days, people around the world are meeting through dating apps more than ever before. While online dating is convenient and allows you to meet someone without leaving the comfort of your home, it also exposes you to certain risks.

It’s important to consider basic safety measures, including running a quick background check on someone you’re thinking about meeting in real life. It’s easy and free to check an online date. For example, you can ask them where they work or which school they went to. Then, you can enter this information and their name in a reliable people finder to have their identity verified.

Ask for a Video Call Before Meeting

To meet your prospective date in person, you will need to know what they look like. If all you have is their photo, doing a video call is recommended to see whether they are who they say they are. If they have nothing to hide, they’ll agree to have a video call with you. In addition, this is also a great way to get an impression of how they interact with you before you actually meet them.

Use Different Photos on Social Media

Some people still use the same picture on all their social accounts to save time. This is not a good idea because people can get too much information about you this way. A reverse image search will yield links to all your profiles everywhere. You can also run such a search to see whether the picture on your future date’s profile will appear somewhere else.

Moreover, it is a good idea to crosscheck any information that seems suspicious. Watch for contradictions or inconsistencies in their stories. Your prospective date using excessive amounts of clichés or corny lines in conversation can also indicate a red flag. With the latest AI developments, bots are becoming increasingly humanlike, and you might be chatting to one. I addition, you can use a background check site or Google to crosscheck the info you’ve received.

Recognize Red Flags on Profiles

Dating sites are rife with fake profiles. Scammers will create fraudulent profiles to lure in their victims. Once they do, they often start spinning sob stories to get your attention and sympathy. Moreover, fake profiles typically have few personal details and pictures, if any. The information on them is very general and could apply to absolutely anyone.

Dating Scams

It is important to note that online dating scams are not limited to dating sites. These days, scammers are getting close to potential victims in book and prayer groups, as well as during online games and more. This type of scam has proven quite lucrative, given that more people are turning to online groups for socializing during lockdowns.

Typically, the cybercriminal lures unsuspecting women or men to interact with them on Facebook, WhatsApp, or on other sites with few security features. Ultimately, they start asking them for money. It is important to avoid sending money to anyone you don’t know in person. In addition, you should never send them any sensitive information about yourself – they might use it to blackmail you later.

Drive Yourself to Your First Date

Ideally, arrange to meet your prospective date in a public place during the daytime. If you don’t have a car, it is important to make sure you can get there using public transportation with stops in areas with lots of foot traffic.

Before the first date (or the first meeting in real life), you should tell someone where you’re going. If it doesn’t go well, you can call them and ask them to pick you up. Furthermore, it is important to have enough money on you to pay your way and to get a cab back home if it comes to that.