How many of you are already biased against online dating? How many of you are familiar with online dating? How many of you even know what online dating is even about? These and many other questions may well come to mind. Especially now since it has been all over TV how sex predators have preyed on young women on some of the popular sites for young people.

Online dating can be a lot of fun. It definitely can be a rewarding experience for women of all ages. But you do have to use common sense and a bit of uncommon sense too when dealing with online dating potential dates. You need to maintain your safety and identity from abuse or worse. Guarding your safety while doing online dating it is a combination of using common sense plus good judgment. Online safety rules are no different than real world safety rules.

In real life you wouldn’t give your name, address and phone number to a stranger you met in a bar or on the street, would you? Well maybe some of you have done this to someone in a bar, given them that info, but I like to think you know better. In any case you should not do that in online dating.

Play it smart and safe. Be sure you get to know the man first, before divulging sensitive personal data. Yes, he could turn out to be a Prince Charming, but on the other hand… Before you give out information he could use to trace you, get to know him first with a lot of chatting, emails or any other facility the online dating site may offer.

Never tell a stranger exactly where you work. Say that you are a Special Operator (if that’s what you are) for a small government agency…. not that you work for the CIA as an undercover CIA Operative. It is often safe to tell him what city you live in, however, wait to be any more specific until you have been chatting and exchanging emails for awhile. You need to have a good feeling and intuition that the person on the other end of the online dating meeting is not someone out to do you wrong.

Use only tools provided by the dating service and never anything else. Most online dating services offer chat and private email on their site. Do not give out your ISP or real email address. If you feel you must give out a “real” email address sign up for and give a free one such as Hotmail or Yahoo. Most regular (non free) email addresses are traceable if someone knows how and wants to go to the trouble.

Here are a few abbreviated tips for your online dating safety.

Remain as anonymous as possible. Don’t give out address, phone number, or where you work until you feel sure it’s safe in doing so, after many chats and emails.

Go slow. If things seem too good to be true, they may be. Communicate via email.

Lookout for odd behavior or inconsistencies. “Listen” to your online date’s words. They may not be who or what he says. Trust your instincts. Ask for a photo. It will give you a good idea of the person’s appearance. That could prove helpful in giving you a gut feeling about your correspondent. Several images of this person in different settings: formal, casual, indoor, outdoors, etc. will help. If he continuously comes up with an excuse, maybe he has something to hide.

Use caution and common sense. Any date must earn your trust gradually, through consistently honorable behavior. Take as much time as you need to test for a trustworthy person.

Talk over the telephone. It can reveal something about a person’s communication and social skills. It is well worth the cost of a call to protect your security. Do not give out your personal phone number however. Use a cell phone number instead for added security or call from a pay phone. When you feel completely comfortable you could furnish him with your cell phone number.

Meet when you are ready. The good thing about online dating is that you can gradually collect information. Only then should you make a choice about pursuing the relationship off-line. Trust yourself and your gut instincts. Even when they can’t logically be explained they are usually right.

Face-to-face meeting tip. If and when the time comes for your first face-to-face meeting, it should be in a public place. Be sure it’s during day light. Take a friend with you or arrange for one to call you on your cell phone shortly after the arranged meeting. If you go alone you should also let someone else know where you are going for that first meeting for additional safety.

Save yourself if necessary. If it ever comes to a person-to-person meeting or a date later on and things don’t seem right – get outta there! If you are afraid or scared of your date excuse yourself long enough to call a friend for advice. You could ask someone else for help, or slip out the back door and get away.

If you think you are in danger call the police. While liars, cheaters and imposters are certainly on the Web, they are also in nightclubs, in off-line dating services, at cocktail parties, and other common hangouts. Dating is never risk-free no matter how you meet someone. Use caution to help reduce your risk in matters of the heart. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Online dating is great. You must, however, stay in control of the situation and not let anyone you meet online pressure you into revealing any more personal information than you want to reveal. With consideration of these online dating safety tips and suggestions, and your intuition, you should be able to make full use of online dating as a most useful tool to find a date and potential partner for life if that is your goal.

Copyright © Honey B.Wackx

Honey B.Wackx is an aspiring author and computer software developer. She writes many articles for herself and other website owners. Some of Honey B’s favorite interests are weddings and wedding accessories. Online dating relationships are another special interest. Honey B. is now collecting porcelain and other dolls to put in her display cabinets.