Dangers Of Online Dating
Technological revolution is inevitable! Much that once was, is now beginning to fade away into the yore. Dating too, has not been isolated from the effects of this revolution that is transforming everything into the virtual. Today, meeting up at social gatherings is not the only way to go about it, and the excitement of discovering a person through a firsthand experience is only reserved for the traditionalists. Now, the era of online dating has arrived! Is it convenient? Yes! Does it cross geographical and cultural boundaries? Yes! Is it safe? (Silence…) Such is the nature of technology that along with bringing a fair share of advantages and opening up the whole horizon for you, it also brings more than a fair share of risks. If not tackled carefully, these risks will eventually turn into threatening dangers. Dangers? Go through rest of the section to know more about the prevalent dangers of online dating.
Common Online Dating Dangers Personal Information At Risk It is an inherent risk that comes attached with being visible in public through the personal dating websites. Although promised to be safe by the service provider, the risk of misusing your personal information (name, photograph, contact number, email address, and home address, etc.) prevails all the time, without many people realizing it. As a result, people put much of it on display without even giving it a second thought and a simple search by the corrupt can put your personal information in jeopardy within seconds.
Relationship Status: Truth or Lie? Based on the information provided by a member on these so called online dating sites, it is nearly impossible to be sure if the person is telling a truth about his/her relationship status. More often, either the person with the “Single” status is married or may be seeing someone. All you can do is follow the cues -- he/she may be the first one to initiate contact, may be irregular in responding to you, only shares the cell number, chooses not the share the last name, and so on. Even the MSNBC stats show that one third of the members registered on online dating sites are married.
Spams that Scam If you are not careful with the information you share, then you will never see the end of what follows next. Your email account will get flooded with series of emails. You will receive phone calls at the most ungodly hours that keep asking you about more of your personal information, to the extent of tricking you into giving them your bank account number or PAN number. Don’t fall for the bait and never ever give your bank account number or other important details, no matter what the mailer or caller claims you have won.
Cons Potential conmen and women frequently lurk the physically non-existent, but vast online dating grounds. They will talk to you in an utterly pleasing manner till the moment you have literally fallen for them in your mind and are ready to help out in any which way. After days, or months of setting you up; they will eventually let the cat out of the hat by requesting you to send/transfer some money so that they could treat their dying family member. When you do, that will be the last time of hearing from them.
Undisclosed Records It’s a common practice by online dating sites to run a background check on all the potential members before actually letting them be a member. However, the practice is far from the industry standards and non-disclosure of potentially dangerous criminal information might ruin the day for you later on. So, it is advisable that you do not take the displayed information at the face value and tread carefully along the dangerous waters.
Online Dating Tips
- Make sure your first meeting with the person takes place in a public place and that you reach at the meeting point by yourself.
- Before leaving, tell few of your best friends or family members about who you are going to meet and where.
- Don’t give out personal information too soon. It’s advisable to share the information once you have met him/her personally several times and also have met a few of his/her friends or family members.
- Make a new email account for signing up on the online dating service. The email address shouldn’t have your name in it; rather it should be anonymous like thewondergirl067@yahoo.com.
The fact remains that many people have met online, then in person, and got married to start a wonderful life. Having said that, still, the dangers that run along the path of online dating cannot be taken lightly, not even to the slightest.
