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Safe Dating Tips

Tip #1: Crawl Before You Walk

Take things very slow while chatting online. Take time to get to know the person and ask as many detailed questions as possible before committing to meet. Sometimes the person on the other end of the phone may not be who they say they are. Watch for inconsistences or strange behavior.If you see any warning signs or just have a bad feeling about the situation, don't continue to chat with the person. Better safe than sorry!

Tip #2: Protect Your Identity and Personal Information

For your own protection, never disclose any personal information that a stranger could use to possibly take advantage of you. It's not necessary to always use a fake name, but be weary of giving out your address, place of work or other sensitive information.

Tip #3: Leave a Trail

We all go on blind dates and an occasional anonymous trick. In most cases things go well (at least safety wise). However, it only takes one incident to put you in harm. Should something happen, you can greatly assist the proper authorities by leaving a log of where you're traveling or telling a good friend the exact location of your trip. This may seem cumbersome or over-protective, but a few seconds of time is well worth your safety.

Tip #4: Get a Photo

Prior to meeting, be sure to get a photo of your date. Ask as many detailed questions about the picture as possible, including the date it was taken. Save the picture in an accessible place on your computer. You can always erase it later if his psycho rating is extremely low.

Tip #5: Talk on the Phone First

There's nothing wrong with having a conversation before meeting blindly. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they communicate. You don't have to be psychic to get a bad feeling after the conversation or to realize that you may not be a good match after all. Once you are happy exchanging text messages with the person, you could give them your number if you feel safe.

Tip #6: Meet in a Public Place

Picking a mutually comfortable meeting place alleviates tension and gives you an "out" if you feel safety might be an issue. Try to find a place where you can have a conversation, but with a lot of people in the surrounding area.

Tip #7: Map an Escape Route

In the rare case your date may follow you home or attempt to harm you, take a route different from your routine or meet at a location away from your place of residence.

Tip #8: Know Their Sexual History

The best way to protect your body (remember HIV and Syphilis are still alive and well) is to know the status of your sexual partner. Keep in mind that for unknown reasons many people lie about their HIV status. Some warning signs are refusal to answer the question, ambiguity about the date of their last STD tests, ambiguity about the number of partners they've been with, and willingness to have sex without a condom among others.