Dating Dangers
One of the risks of online dating is that you never really know who you are contacting. Normally this is not really an issue as long as you follow sensible guidelines and keep safety foremost in your mind. Many people are too trusting and in their haste to find love leave themselves vulnerable to various scams and risks. Of course, most people on a dating site are of the decent honest variety, but still it pays to be careful at the start of any relationship.
It is not only women who should heed this advice, but men also. It seems gullible men make easy prey for the tabloids, so it is not hard to find examples of middle-aged men around the world landing themselves in all sorts of trouble in the pursuit of love through online channels. For example, there was an English man who twice sent large sums of money abroad to online contacts he met through a dating site, only to turn up at the Heathrow Airport for the women (at different times in his life) not to show up. Conned twice by fraudsters. An Australian man even went to West Africa to meet his new partner, only to be kidnapped and held hostage with a ransom made to his family. These are extreme situations, but nevertheless highlight the need for caution.
If these examples do not open your eyes, then take heed of this BBC news story which does not go into specific details, but highlights the risks gullible men take for love. It is well known that women should be careful about meeting strangers for the first time, but men also need to be wary, especially those that find they are trusting. As a rule of thumb, if money is ever asked for, then report the request to the dating site involved and ask them to investigate the validity of the person asking for money. Often the site will have mechanisms in place to uncover these fraudsters and will welcome your advance warning prior to you following a path in which you may be scammed. Once tricked out of money, many men feel embarrassed and foolish that they were so naive and consequently fail to report the crime. This might be understandable to a degree to the average proud man, but it is morally wrong and leaves the floodgates open for the criminal (or criminal gangs) to strike again.
So be wary when meeting your partner for the first time and never send money to someone you have just met. If you do plan to meet them in their own country, then (assuming you met them through ‘Click in Love’) let us know and we can put security measures in place to protect you and help ensure the person you are meeting is genuine. Do not feel afraid to contact us and ask for advice beforehand.
With that in mind, remember that the dating scene is mostly composed of real, normal, decent people looking for happiness and romance; so don’t let a few rare cases ruin your enjoyment – just take sensible precautions and think before you act.
