Though online dating may be helpful, it also comes with its own set of risks.  Follow these tips to protect yourself while seeking out love online.

1. Avoid Free Dating Sites

While free sites may save you money, they’ll probably cost you time and can even jeopardize your safety.  These sites don’t run background checks on individuals to weed out would-be fakers and scammers.

This means you’ll have to sift through endless profiles while trying to use your best judgment as to whether Roger or Michael look like people more interested in stealing your money than stealing your heart.

Also, people who pay for dating services are more likely to be seriously interested in building a relationship, rather than looking for a minimally committed, casual relationship, so if true love is your goal, isn’t that worth a few bucks?

2. Limit the Amount of Information You Provide

Resist the urge to tell your life story, listing everything from your occupation to your first dog named Cuddles.  This is not only annoying – it’s also dangerous.

With today’s technology, all anyone needs is something as simple as your home phone number or last name to figure out things like your address and income information.  Now’s the chance to play the role you’ve always wanted to: the mysterious temptress.

3. Use an Anonymous E-mail Address

Your best bet is to set up an email account you use solely for internet dating and make sure not to include specific identifying information in the address itself.  SoccerFan123 works better than JaneDoefromChicago. For regular mail, set up a P.O. Box.

4. Be Honest

While you don’t want to provide too much information about yourself, you also shouldn’t lie.  Don’t set up false expectations by concealing the truth. This will only lead to resentment later.  For dating both online and off, honesty is your best policy.

5. Do Your Own Research

Though the paid dating sites run background checks on users, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do one of your own, if not just for peace of mind.  See what you can learn about your date from Google.

Many sites also offer an online background check for a fee.  These services can search for things like an individual’s marriage records, providing you with even more information about your date before you even meet them.

Obtaining a marriage record could be the key difference between respectfully walking away and becoming the Other Woman.  Don’t think this could happen to you?

It has been reported that nearly 1/3 of men found on online dating sites are already married.

6. Scrutinize Dating Profiles

When dating online, the first thing you learn about someone is what they provide on their personal dating profile.  Start here to look for obvious signs of fraud.  If the profile is too generic or shares little to no information, it’s possible that it’s just an avatar for a scam artist.

7. Meet in a Public Place

When meeting someone for the first time, stick to public places and use your own transportation.  This way, you can leave when you want to and the person you’re meeting won’t know your home address. And it’s always good to have an escape plan.

This will come in handy even if your date’s offense is just his insistence on describing his stamp collection.  Since this is a no-brainer for safe online dating, you can rest assured that anyone wishing to meet in private for the first time does not have your love and affection as their first priority.

8.  Ask for a Recent Photo

Getting a picture of your potential date will help you figure out if you’d like to meet with them. It will also help you figure out whether or not they’re hiding something.  Do some research and make sure that the pictures they do provide are not stolen copyrighted material.

It helps to ask for more than one picture to make sure that they are not posing as someone else.  Do they refuse to send a picture or repeatedly make excuses not to?  Move on.

9. Be Wary of Someone Who Falls Too Quickly

While having someone fall head over heels in love with you may be flattering, remember that you still barely know this person.  They may try to gain your trust through flattery, only to abuse it by asking for money or complaining about their dire financial situation.

This is not to say you must live a cynical and loveless existence; you don’t need to practice avoiding anyone who smiles in your direction or says that you look nice for fear that they’re after your wallet.  Just be careful and keep your eyes open, no matter how amorous your date appears.

10. Trust Your Gut

If someone makes you uncomfortable or sends up too many red flags, stop communicating with this person.  Like in all aspects of life, online dating requires listening to your instincts.

These safety tips are essential for anyone who decides to embark on an online dating journey.  For every success, there are multiple failures.

But, if you enter with a safety conscious attitude, your honesty and diligence just might pay off because, hey, it only takes one prince to make weeding through all of those frogs worth the effort.

Find out quickly and discreetly what your newfound online (or offline) love is hiding with a 100% confidential Public Records Search. Try it for yourself, you may be surprised what you find out…

Related Posts

1. Fatal Online Dating Mistakes – How to Avoid the Delete Key and Get Her to Actually Read Your Message
2. Online Dating – How to Avoid the Single Biggest Mistake Most People Make
3. Online Dating: How To Avoid Being Perceived As An Email Pest!
4. Online Dating: 5 Ways To Stay Safe
5. ReviewPlace.com gives “Online Dating – Finding Love Online” 5 stars!!!

Guide to Searching for Marriage and Divorce Records

There are plenty of reasons to search for marriage and divorce records, especially when it pertains to someone who you are dating or may potentially date.  In the age of online matchmaking, dating has taken on more of an anonymous face.  Luckily, even though online dating is evolving quickly, there are resources available to someone who wants to do a little background research on their potential partner.

Marriage records generally give basic information: who got married and when and where it happened.  Divorce records, on the other hand, can provide juicy and useful information about the stated cause of the divorce, alimony agreements, and child custody just to name a few.

The rules regarding marriage and divorce documents differ from state to state.  In some states, only certain people (like parents, siblings, or adult children) can access marriage and divorce records. However, in other states marriage and divorce documents are considered public records.  Being public record means that anyone can access them for free.

This explains why celebrities and politicians often have scandalous details publicized during their divorces; anyone can read the divorce decree.  But even though the information is available in theory, you still have to find the records, and that can be tricky.

Action Steps:

Here are the steps to take to locate and (if you want, obtain) a marriage certificate or divorce decree.

Search Offline

Marriage and divorce records can be obtained through low-tech means. If the records you are looking are local (or if you have a hankering for a road trip) you can attempt to find the records in person. Another option is to write to the appropriate place, requesting the records.

Whether you go in person or write, the tricky part of this low-tech option is finding where the records are held. Most of the time, marriage and divorce records are handled by individual states.  (Sometimes, like in the case of New York City, they are handled by individual municipalities.) The correct institution to go or write to depends on the state where the marriage or divorce took place.  To find out the name and address of where the records you seek are held, you can check out the CDC’s website on vital records.

Be Prepared to Pay a Fee

Writing or visiting the appropriate state agency will provide you with an official copy of the marriage certificate or divorce decree that you are interested in. However, the state governments will charge you a copying fee of around fifteen dollars (not to mention the hours of time & effort you’ve spent trying to track down one record in the vast sea of public records bureaucracy).

Searching Online

If hands-on search isn’t working, if you prefer something quicker and easier, or if you don’t know what state to search in, you can try online searching. Several websites offer marriage certificate and divorce decree searches, for a convenience fee.

Our recommended resource for marriage and divorce record searches is Public Records Search, which will let you search in any state or search the nationwide for a variety of public records.

So if you aren’t sure where a marriage or divorce happened, this is your option. Public Records Pro charges $30 for a year of unlimited searching.  Public Records Pro will also give you the information on how to obtain an official copy of the marriage or divorce records, but generally speaking, if you’re just trying to check up on John Smith, aka HotStudMan69 from Match.com, you’re probably not all that interested in getting an official notarized copy of his 1998 divorce record from his 3^rd failed marriage.  You just need to know that everything’s finalized and he’s ready to move on with his life.  With you, of course.

So, go ahead, make sure that your date is being truthful with you by running a marriage or divorce records search.

However you choose to pursue your marriage or divorce record search, good luck and happy hunting!

Find out quickly and discreetly what your newfound online (or offline) love is hiding with a 100% confidential Public Records Search. Try it for yourself, you may be surprised what you find out…

Related Posts

1. Shoe Fetish – How Can I Find A Partner To Enjoy It With Me?
2. Should You Stay Married Just For The Kids?
3. 8 Signs Your Date is Married
4. Married Or Single? Are Those Really The Only Choices?
5. Think Your Partner is Cheating? Here’s How to Find Out…

To search for an accomplished, educated, attractive partner is realistic.  Insisting your potential partner must have a Phd., be wealthy, with model looks, is not.

Stay positive and have fun

Plan your dates around activities that you both enjoy so even if things don’t work out, you have fun in the process.  You may meet a lot of people you aren’t interested, but don’t give up.  Think of your search similar to that of searching for a great job.  It takes a lot of work but the payoff is well worth it.

Try different things

Experiment with various ways to meet new people.  Don’t just try online dating, rather also allow your friends and family to set you up, take up a new hobby to meet someone with similar interests and actively put yourself out there so you can meet new people.

Stay true to your morals

If a date tries to pressure you into sex early on, simply move on to the next because there is a high probability they are pressuring others also.  In this dangerous world we live in, practicing abstinence not only protects your health by protecting you from sexually transmitted diseases, it also prevents someone from using you like a piece of meat.

Write a great online profile

In order to find the person of your dreams, you need to have an eye-catching, well-written profile that tells a lot about you, including your likes AND dislikes.  Overly sexy profile user names or photographs attract the wrong type of person.  Treat your profile like a resume and spend some time on it by making sure you use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.  If you are searching for someone who has never been married with no children, say so.

Screen, Screen and Screen Some More

Ask a lot of questions and listen to your instinct.  If something doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.  For example, if your date says they are a doctor, ask them a series of medical questions.

If your date says they are single, phone them between the hours of 8p-11p and if they always have their phone turned off or an excuse for not answering, you may be getting involved with someone who is already committed because these are the times usually spent with a significant other and family.

It is imperative that you screen your dates as early on as possible because getting involved with the wrong person can destroy your life.

There are many different services on the internet where you can do a background check to see if you may be getting involved with a con-artist, an abuser, a convicted felon or a pedophile.  It’s especially important for single mothers to screen their dates because pedophiles target them for access to their children.

It’s crucial not only to do a criminal background check on the person but also a character check on their relationship history. Women can research a man’s past relationship history on WomanSavers.com for free and men can do so at RateB4UDate.com.

We inspect our home before buying it, we have a mechanic check out a car before purchasing it, it’s simply naive not to check out a person who you may potentially be spending the rest of your life with.

In order to find Mr. or Mrs. Right, you need to be able to filter out all the wrongs.  By taking some precautions, using your gut instinct and doing your homework, you can increase your chances of meeting the person of your dreams.

To learn more about Stephany Alexander, visit www.WomanSavers.com.

Related Posts

1. Will it be Adult Friend Finder or PerfectMatch.com? Top 10 Tips for Finding the Best Online Dating Site for You…
2. Finding The ‘Right Couple’ To Try Swinging With
3. Finding A Rhythm That Works When She’s “On Top”
4. Finding Intimacy In The Twitter Age
5. Finding Love Online This Valentine’s Day and The Perfect Last Minute Gift Idea…