Most of my clients want tips for online dating because they’re frustrated with the difficulty of meeting quality men or women. Some of my most requested tips are ones that keep you safe from online scammers.
When you’re communicating with someone you’ve met online, remember the following tips for online dating to keep you safe:
1. “Love” happens too quickly.
When someone falls in love with you right away and starts “love bombing” you, it’s time for you to be suspicious of their motives. And if they start using terms of endearment such as “babe” or “my queen” or “my king” before you’ve even met in person, your radar should be letting you know to be very cautious.
2. Sexual innuendos begin almost immediately.
This is especially important for men to be aware of. Women can start drawing you into a fantasy of physical involvement by asking questions like, “Would you like me to me rub your feet?” or “Do you like back rubs?” Inappropriate comments are a red flag.
3. Their profile is skimpy.
When someone’s profile doesn’t have much information on it or they only have one or two pictures that are kind of blurry so you can’t tell where they are, it’s time to question whether they’re serious about finding a relationship. People with skimpy profiles typically aren’t online to find a relationship. They have another agenda and they don’t want you to know too much about them.
4. They play on your emotions.
Scammers are great at preying on others’ emotions. They may tell you they’re a widow or widower or some other sad story. They do this so they manipulate you into having some kind of feelings for them. Again, this is to reel you into their made-up story so they can scam you.
5. They don’t speak American English.
They speak broken English or use words or phrases that aren’t typically used by Americans. This is an obvious red flag if they’re trying to pass themselves off as an American.
6. They try to get you off the site too soon.
Rather than building trust within the app, they want to leave it. They’ll suggest talking on WhatsApp or Google Voice because they’re not really in the US. And using WhatsApp or Google Voice is free. They have local numbers that make you think they are US based.
7. They avoid video like the plague.
They don’t want to go onto the video chat platform. This is usually because it’s obvious they’re in a different time zone or, more likely, they don’t look anything at all like the picture on their profile.
8. They keep you in the dark about who they really are.
Their answers are vague, and they get defensive if you ask a personal question. As one shocking example, a woman put an emoji sign of a hand indicating “stop” in the chat to one of my clients when he asked her a personal question.
9. They suddenly have to travel abroad.
This is a classic scam. Once they’re in the foreign land, they have an emergency. The only way to resolve the issue is with cash – a lot of it – and they ask you for the money to wire or send a bank check.
10. You never seem to be able to meet.
They tell you they’re going to meet you and then something happens that prevents them from meeting you. A month turns into a couple of months. They never show up!
11. You’ve never met their family or friends.
If someone’s serious about a relationship, they’ll want to introduce you to their family and/or friends. If they don’t, that’s a definite red flag.
12. Their profile answers are vague.
Avoid any profile that doesn’t answer questions in complete sentences. Especially if they only use two or three words as answers.
Here you have it. My top 12 online dating tips to make sure you keep safe from scammers.
I hope you never have to experience this horrible predatory behavior when dating online. And if you do, you’ll know how to recognize a scammer and block them.
Yet, even with such nefarious people online, there are good people online too. Actually, over 80% of my successfully coupled clients have met their true love through online dating. I have a process that’s proven to attract the right one for over 18 years now.
If you want more online dating tips on how to improve your online dating profile so you can meet the right one, then go to www.mtmonlinedatingchecklist.com and grab my online dating checklist! That is my gift to you!
Good luck with your dating journey. Remember, love is out there for you!