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Posts Tagged ‘common sense’

Meeting Safely

Friday, November 20th, 2009

When you are able to hold different conversations with someone online, you may both decide that meeting in real life would be good. A lot of date options are available to help break the ice. However it is important to remember that you must put your safety first. Both people but especially females should be exceptionally careful when they are meeting strangers. No matter how long you have spoken online, you have to remember that it is still someone that you do not know well enough to trust in certain situations. Use common sense when you are meeting someone in person for the first time ever.

First, you should suggest that the date take place in a very public area. Restaurants are a great place to start and give you a chance to talk to more than a movie date will. You can also suggest that you go to other public places as long as they are not too secluded. Concerts work well for example but walks in the park are not recommended since there are often wooded areas in which your date and you will be alone.

You should also suggest a date that will occur during the daytime rather than at night. You will be able to see one another much better and it is less dangerous and less likely that a predator could victimize you in the daytime since there are other people around. In either case, always find a good common meeting ground for your date. It is dangerous to get into a car with someone that you have not met. Remember that it is easy to lie online. It is easy to continue to lie in person as well. You have to get to know the person as well as his or her friends, family and co-workers so that you can learn to have trust in each other.

You should also try a group date. Invite one or two of your friends and have your date do the same. You can then go to a number of places such as an amusement park or a shopping mall. Your friends will then carefully monitor the situation so that you are sure to be safe. There is always safety in numbers. If you are not taking your friends, you should tell someone where you are going and when you should be back. Always carry a cell phone to be sure.

When you are feeling more comfortable with a person you can move on to more secluded dates. However remember to keep your guard up at all times until you know the person in real life as well as online. Many people will become victims of rape, kidnap, and even murder all the time and a number of situat8ions stem from predators meeting their victims online. Use good common sense when you are meeting someone for the first time so that you are not another statistic to read about.

Your Profile Picture

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

When you are first joining an online dating community, the most important thing that you can do is build up a good profile. Your profile is going to be the very first thing that people read to get an impression of you but also with most people, guys and girls the same will learn from an appearance. It is important that you create a good profile but your page will get many more views if you upload a picture or two. Having a profile picture can make the best difference when looking for love or friendship online.

Why do some of the users have a profile picture? People are very conscious about what they look like. Some do believe that a member of the opposite sex will not give others a chance if they are good looking. Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder. If you truly are embarrassed to place a photo of yourself online, you should first try and learn to enjoy your own appearance before seeking another for a relationship. There are other people that are scared that posting a picture is an invitation for online predators to scam them. It is true that if you post provocative pictures this can happen. However a regular picture will not usually attract any criminal activity by others. If it would, you should practice safety online to avoid getting involved in giving away too much information about yourself. Posting pictures is a relatively safe idea if you are going to use common sense.

To get the most productive results, you need to post more than one picture. Fir you should find a good head shot. This can be flirty, funny, or happy. One in which you are looking good and happy with a great smile is going to be the best bet. For the second picture, use a shot that shows at least one of the rests of your body. If you do not include this, some people may think that you are trying to hide something from them. It is better to be proud of who you are and your weight than to hide it and have someone find out later on down the road. Remember that everyone is looking for something different in another person’s appearance.

You need to include some action shots. An example would be if you like animals you should post a picture of you and your dog. If you like sports, you can use a picture in your baseball uniform or at the game may be good. If you travel a lot, you can upload a great picture of you at a landmark in the background. These are all interesting shots that will give the other online a good idea of your personality. Getting the interest of another person is the main goal of online dating and a picture can help you get the results that you are looking for.

The Bad Side to Online Dating and Scams

Monday, November 9th, 2009

With the online dating growing more in success, both for investors and for uses, online dating scams are popping up left and right. You need to prepare for the online dating world by always using common sense and by reading up on the se online predators from time to time. Protect your time and money by always keeping up to date about the online scams. You should also keep your heart safe too.

First people that are pretending to be interesting in your dating profile can scam you online. You should be aware of anyone that wants to meet immediately because it should take a few weeks of online chat and phone calls before meeting another person is even thought about. When you do meet someone, do not leave your personal belongings alone with him or her at any time. This is an easy way for them to steal your credit card or other personal information and you may not notice these things are missing for a few days. Also be aware of people who send you links. Do not click on a link without first knowing what it is and never download any programs on your computer that others users are sending you or have in their profiles. These are often some type of spy ware programs that can steal information from your computer like your passwords and credit card numbers.

The second type of online scam is done not by the online dater, but by the online dating service. The problem here is often the same. An online dating service that is not well known has only recently been established and may steal your credit card number of other personal information for their use. These companies because they are online can disappear easily without a trace and it may be a long time before your money is found and it is at all. Always read the terms and conditions before you sign up to be sure that there is no clause that give them permission to sell your email address or use your personal information in any way.

Last, you need to be concerned if an online dater should ask you to cash money orders, online users have been scammed into cashing these checks and wiring the money to a person who claims to be in another country unable to cash checks. The people will spend a lot of time devoted to gain another’s trust before they ask them to cash any checks. The checks are usually “washed” which means that they were purchased for a small amount of money and then altered. These people will eventually get caught and it is impossible to prove that another person made the cash checks and you will be responsible for owing the bank.

The online scams can put a real strain for online dating but if you are smart, you should not have any problems. You need to protect yourself by not giving out too much personal information and by staying out of financial matters.