1. Be careful what you say in your profile. 

Don’t give away too much personal information and never talk about your kids if you’re a single parent. There are some online predators that target parents to eventually get to their kids. This is why you should wait several months when dating someone before introducing them to your kids. And you should also do a background check on them before they meet your children. Never take a child with you on a first date (unfortunately some people do this).

2. Don’t communicate with people overseas.

Online dating and romance scams are widespread. Most of the scams are launched in Nigeria. They create a fake profile, fake pictures, then start sending emails to online daters. They may even put up a picture of an American, say they live in the U.S. then after you’ve started communicating with them, say that they are doing business in Nigeria. Eventually an “emergency” will come up and they’ll ask you for money. Never communicate with them again!

3. Trust your Instinct.

People have been given a powerful weapon when it comes to safety - gut instinct. If your gut instinct tells you there is something wrong, whether it is in the online communication phase or in a face to face date then learn to trust it. If your instinct says “something’s not right here” then take that as a cautionary red flag that you should pay attention to. For example, when a guy doesn’t introduce you to friends, only returns cell phone calls at a certain time, doesn’t answer when you call, and didn’t have a picture online when you first communicated, your gut instinct may start to tell you - “hey, this person is married”.  When your instinct gives you signs, pay attention and take action accordingly.

4. Follow a dating process that includes several levels of communication before rushing out on a date.

The process usually is: online dating service > email > phone > first date. Getting to know someone better before meeting face to face will provide you more information for tip #3 - your instinct. When you skip steps, the amount of information you have to make better judgments and determinations is smaller.  For example, when talking on the phone the person may inadvertently say something that contradicts what he/she said in their profile. That’s a red flag.

5. Meet in a public place.

This can’t be stressed enough. While online dating is, in general, a safe medium, the majority of negative situations occur on a first date and usually because a girl allowed the guy to pick her up on the first date.  Take your own transportation to a public place and don’t allow yourself to be alone with the other person on the first date. Also, make sure your friends/family knows where you are at, who you are with on your date, and what service you met on (paid services keep pretty accurate contact info due to a credit card having to be provided).