0 5 Simple Online Dating Safety Tips You Should Know

Online dating safety is a big issue these days. It's not such a huge surprise, either, especially after stories like this:"Beckman says she went on a few dates in October 2011 with Wade Ridley, but after ending the relationship came home one day to find him in her garage with a knife. Ridley "brutally stabbed [Beckman] 10 times with a knife about her head, face and upper body, until the overwhelming force he applied to the stabbing caused the knife to break,"

ORIGINAL SOURCE: YAHOO.COM

Making sure you're safe should be a top priority whenever you're dating and as far as I'm concerned, meeting some on an online dating website isas safe as meeting someone offline. The upside? You can find out a LOT about the person before you meet him (or her) in person.

Here are some simple tips to keep yourself safe while dating online:

ONLINE DATING SAFETY TIP #1. ALWAYS MEET DATES AT A VERY PUBLIC LOCATION.

This one is obvious and pertains to all dating. Even if you have been chatting or talking to someone over the phone for awhile, the first meeting should always be in a public place with plenty of other people around.
Online dating safety tips #2. Don't reveal your address

Once you're in an awesome relationship - or have gone on a few dates, he or she can see you home. But in the meanwhile, you really don't need to give them your home address for any reason.

ONLINE DATING SAFETY TIPS #3. DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR REAL PHONE NUMBER EITHER

This might sound a big paranoid, but it's really a great way to ensure you can't be stalked if your date does turn out to be a crazy. Google Voice is really great. It's a free service that allows you to choose from a database of available numbers from all over the US. You can then link your Google Voice number to your real phone line and all the calls made to your Google Voice number will automatically be re-routed to your phone. It also has the added convenience of requiring each caller to state their name, so you know who they are before you accept. Even better, Google Voice transcribes voicemails for you so they are easy to read. It's also really easy to block numbers using Google Voice. Yay, Google!
ONLINE DATING SAFETY TIPS #4. Do a quick identity check

It's pretty easy to do a reverse phone look-up.You just need the person's phone number - and you should have that (it's always a good idea to talk on the phone before meeting for a date) and a name. Armed with that information, you can do a reverse phone look-up to find their full name, their address, whether they own a home, who else lives with them, etc. You can then match this information with what they've told you to see if the person is legitimate or spinning lies. Another good idea is to look up the person on a sex offender database. Several sites offer database searches by name and location. Just Google it.
ONLINE DATING SAFETY TIPS #5. Tell a friend or two

Let your friends know you're going on a first date with someone you met online. Most likely, you'll be calling them in a few hours to rehash the details of the date and how awesome it was - but it's always good to know that if anything happens, there are people who love you who've got your back!