Not too long ago, it was very hard to find any free safe online dating sites for the single person looking for love. This is not the case anymore. You can find a wide variety of free online dating services now days that are very safe. In fact, safe online dating is top priority on most dating sites these days due to liability issues, even if the dating site is free of charge.
There is Safety in Numbers When It Comes To Dating Sites
There are literally thousands of singles websites on the web. Not all are free, and not all are safe. There is always a risk, however some sites do a little more to ensure that you are able to date online safely. Some singles sites offer background checks but the ones that do this are usually paid dating services.
Safety in online dating ultimately is up to the individual to do the right things in order to be safe. Not only in terms of personal safety, but there are also other ways that a person can be attacked online. There can be financial, identity, and online bullying involved.
Here are a few tips on what you can do to be safe when using a free dating site:
Financial Safety When Dating Online:
- Never send money to someone over the internet, especially wiring money to them. When you wire money through a service like Western Union, once the cash is in their hands it is gone. Especially overseas. Many times, a scam artist will befriend you, sweet talk you to gain your trust and then will say that there is emergency and that they need the money.
- Don’t ever provide any credit card or personal bank information to a third party online. This sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised at how many times this happens to people.
The financial scam usually starts with someone taking a genuine interest in you but are not “real”. The profile will be very nice. If you are a man, the person will be a very beautiful woman. If you are a woman, you will often encounter someone that is very handsome. George Clooney handsome.
As the online relationship grows with time, the main issue will be that something will always prevent the meeting from happening. Usually, this is because the individual is out of country. This is always the #1 flag to watch out for. As time goes by, the relationship grows to the point where the individual will need help financially in some way because of a small problem. The money will not be big at first, and they will be very persistent until they get the money. Once this is successful, there will be a crisis. Then a LARGER amount of money will be requested. Once this process begins, it is like shampoo… rinse and repeat for the scammer. This is a very common scam on dating sites. Beware of it if you want to stay safe financially on free online dating sites.
Identity theft on Dating Sites
Identity theft is also a real threat in the dating site world. The popularity of online dating has opened up opportunities for a whole new breed of identity thieves who use the power of a personal connection in a dating situation to gain access to personal information. Never provide personal information like a social security number or bank account info to a third party on a singles dating site.
Even giving out your personal information (like home address, phone, education, work, birth information) can be a landmine if you do it too early in the online dating process. The crooks who are looking to get this information for not only their own use, but many times are looking to get it for online criminal circuits that buy and sell real identities online.
Here are a few tips:
- - Don’t disclose personal info too soon – the less you can do initially the better. Get to know the person online over a long period of time.
- Investigate your prospective date – Google can tell a lot of information about a person. Even if the identity is fake, often the scammer is too lazy to change profile names and will leave a trail of evidence.
- There is no reason to reveal income online – I don’t know why people do this, but the fact is that you become a target of crooks if you have a high enough income. Why reveal this. Just to share the fact that you have a job should be enough.
- Just use a disposable email that has not been used anywhere else.
- Some singles sites use a double blind method of hiding each others identity. Consider that if you want to keep things secret for a while.
Physical Protection Tips:
Especially for women, the issue of meeting the new person from online in the real world can seem to be a daunting task. It can be dangerous if you go into it without thinking ahead a little. Here are a few tips to keep you safe while dating.
- Meet in a public place on your first date and leave separately.
- Think about doing a double date. There is safety in numbers.
- Don’t rely on your date for transportation. Go separately.
- Let someone know your plans.
- Never leave any beverages or food unattended. If you do, you might get slipped a date rape drug.
Even “Free” Dating Services May Try to Trick You!
If you have been around the internet for a while, you will have noticed that some “free” dating sites will try to trick you into setting up an account only to be prodded for a payment later on.
The thing they will do is let you set up a FREE profile on the site. In the dating profile, you will have a picture and answer a long string of questions about yourself. Whenever you do get communications from someone who is attractive to you, the sticking point comes when they force you to upgrade from a FREE to paid account in order to communicate with the potential lover. Granted, the free trial business model of online dating sites does not necessarily make the site a bad site to join, it does seem a bit off-putting for many online applicants. It seems a like a trick.
The bottom line is this. Look for free safe online dating websites that are completely free. Also, do some research on the site on Google. If the site has lots of problems, you will easily find out in forums & review sites. Also, be sure to look for sites with lots of members. Larger sites generally have better controls on safety issues for singles.
Are Free Dating Sites Worth It?
When it comes to safety, nothing is too expensive, but I am here to tell you that money is not the thing that will protect you in the long run. It is your knowledge & ability to see through the tactics of online criminals. Knowledge is power and a little knowledge can go a long way toward protecting yourself.
When you are considering looking at FREE DATING SITES, don’t worry that the “you get what you pay for principle” will necessarily cause you issues in the future. Free dating sites can be good and safe. These site draw their revenue from sponsors and online advertising. If you don’t mind ads, then the site will be just fine for you to use.
Also think about looking at religious based dating websites. Christian dating is a big market but there are sites related to really every religion that you could imagine. There are even Muslim dating & marriage services. Usually these religion based singles sites are filled with honest people looking for love.
Just keep in mind that when it comes to safety on singles sites, it all boils down to the fact that you need to be self-aware of all the dangers that you may encounter. Even the top paid sites don’t always get it right, but the free sites do have less of a budget to police every profile. Unsavory characters that post profiles in order to stalk or prey on unsuspecting singles can generally fly under the radar much better. So when using this type of site, it is best to be skeptical of every contact.
It all boils down to the fact that common sense should always prevail when pursuing internet dating opportunities with the safest online dating standards in mind. Since you are not paying money to join free online dating sites, it is very understandable that there is doubt that it is safe and that the members are serious about love. Well, let me tell you that it is possible to meet gorgeous people on free dating sites. With a track record of successes resulting in happy marriages to thousands of people all over the world, free dating sites are helping people to find true love for free!
Check out some of the best free online dating websites on the web below.