Online dating can be fun, and certainly a rewarding experience for women of all ages. Maintaining your safety while doing it is simply a combination of common sense and exercising good sense. Safety rules in line are the same as the safety rules of the real world.
You can give your name, address and phone number to a strange man you met in a bar or on the street if you should never do that, or online. Play it safe. Get to know this man who could be the Prince Charming before you give any information that could allow him or other trace you. Do not tell a stranger exactly where you work. Say you are a legal secretary (if that is what you are) for a medium sized firm …. Not that you work for Brown, Smith and Jones Lawyers. It is safe to say that you live in town, but you must wait to be more specific than you’ve been chatting and exchanging e-mails for some time.
Use only the tools provided by the dating service you belong. Most offer chat and private e-mails on their site. Do not give your e-mail isp. If you must give an e-mail as a free Hotmail or Yahoo. Your isp address is traceable for anyone who wants to go to the trouble.
When the time has come for you to have your first face-to-head, make this first meeting in a public place during the daylight hours. Take a friend with you or arrange for a call on your cell organized shortly after the meeting.
Remember … You are in control so as not to leave all the pressure that you disclose more personal information you are comfortable with revealing.