online dating dangers essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Dating Essay

Writing an essay about online dating? It will be helpful to read through some examples first. Below, you will find one such online dating advantages and disadvantages essay.

Introduction

Online dating refers to an activity through which individuals socialize and get to know each other on the internet (Elisar 1). In developed countries, online dating has become a normal activity. In the UK, it is estimated that online dating sites attract up to 10 million users every month.

The history of online dating can be traced back to the late 20 th century when the internet was invented. When the internet was first introduced to the public, people used to communicate via chat rooms. With time, spammers and criminals invaded the chat rooms and compromised their usability.

It was not long before dating websites emerged to protect those who wanted to socialize on the internet. Currently, dating sites have attracted millions of users becoming one of the most preferred means of interacting with people on the internet. Despite its popularity, there are risks associated with using these services. This paper focuses on the merits and demerits of online dating with respect to dating in a more traditional way.

Advantages of Online Dating

Unlike offline dating, online dating allows the user to interact with millions of people without having to travel. With offline dating, individuals have to travel across cities, regions, and sometimes countries. This is not only time consuming but also costly. It is estimated that using offline dating can cost an individual up to $100 in a single night. The cost is higher because it requires an individual to visit popular joints, bars, hotels, or nightclubs and have a snack or a drink.

Even so, there are no assurances that the time, attempts, and cash would yield a positive result. On the other hand, online dating will cost the user little or no money. Some sites charge little monthly fee whereas others charge no fee. The monthly fee charged by these websites are insignificant compared to the money spend on offline dating. Similarly, there are more risks associated with having to travel to meet strangers compared to meeting them online.

As suggested above, it is apparent that online dating increases the scope of search for those who are single. When singles join online dating sites, they get the opportunity to interact with millions of users. With offline dating, these people would not have interacted because they come from different offices, cities, regions, or countries. This implies that through online dating, singles can increase their scope of search.

Online dating increases the chances of individuals who might not otherwise get the chance to date offline. Individuals who are unable to attend social events or meetings regularly such as busy professionals, disabled, and single parents will find online dating sites useful unlike offline dating.

Similarly, individuals with small social circles such as tourists and recent divorcees will find online dating useful compared to offline dating. Other individuals who will find online dating useful are people who are shy, people who would like to know more about their friends before meeting them, and people who do not enjoy loud social situations associated with offline dating.

Another reason why online dating is preferred over offline dating is that it allows singles to meet other singles with equal interests with ease. Through offline dating, singles will have to date a number of other singles for them to meet like-minded partners. As such, those who have met their partners through offline dating attribute their success to fate. Through online dating, the success does not depend on fate because the service allows the users to filter their potential matches based on age, height, race, interests, and careers.

Equally, online dating unlike offline dating allows users to conceal their anonymity and have control over their relationships. In the society, there are individuals who are reluctant to let unfamiliar persons into their lives straight away.

Online dating will come in handy for such individuals because through it they can be able to control their relations without giving out too much information about themselves. Certainly, interacting online and finding strangers okay should not be considered as a guarantee that they are satisfactory. For this reason, the ability to control your privacy while interacting is appropriate.

Disadvantages of Online Dating

Despite its popularity, there are some disadvantages associated with online dating with respect to offline dating. Unlike when dating through conventional ways, it has been established that most of the people using online dating sites are liars. They lie about their attributes, jobs, properties, salary, and their marital status.

Notably, it has been identified that men lie about how tall they are, while women down play their height. Similarly, Toma and Hanrock did a study on the physical appearance of those using online dating (Knox 135). In their study, they noted that the lesser the attractiveness of individuals, the higher their chances of enhancing their profile pictures on online dating sites. With the use of offline dating, such lies could have been eliminated.

Similarly, with the use of online dating some people have been able to lie about their marital status. Research shows that 30% of those using online dating are married and often lie about their marital status (Knox 136). There are instances where married men have been able to maintain several simultaneous online relationships with other women.

These men managed to lie to several women and made wedding proposals to a number of them. Although the same situations can happen during offline dating, it should be noted that the extent of lies perpetuated through conventional dating is minimal and less severe compared to the lies perpetuated on the internet.

Another disadvantage associated with online dating is having unlimited number of options. On the internet, a soul searcher can find hundreds of options. The more the number of options, the less a user will be able to scrutinize each profile. Through offline dating, an individual’s option is limited.

This implies that he or she will have enough time to access the character of the potential partner. Equally, it has been found that many of those dating online have higher chances of breaking up compared to those dating through conventional ways. This can be attributed to the many options presented on online dating sites. Therefore, when hurdles arise in a relationship an individual will opt to dump his or her partner in favor of a better option.

Unlike through conventional dating ways, online dating increases the risk of meeting sex offenders and scammers. Because users can conceal their identities when using online dating, sex offenders find the sites attractive for their ill motives. These cyber criminals can overcome the security measures put by the owners of the website by using fake names.

Therefore, those using online dating sites should be weary of such individuals. They should not give out their home address, phone numbers, or other private details in a hurry. In general, there are a few risks of meeting sex offenders or scammers through conventional dating compared to online dating.

Another major concerned faced by those using cyber dates is security. Despite the fact that the owners of dating websites have put in place security measures, some cybercriminals can manage to crack them and steal information from their users. By obtaining the users’ email and passwords, cybercriminals can get access to the users’ messages. On the contrary, there is no security issue concerning personal information when an individual dates through conventional ways.

In conclusion, it should be noted that there are benefits and risks associated with online dating. Its advantages are online dating allows the user to interact with millions of people without having to travel, it increases the scope of search for those who are single, increases the chances of individuals who might not otherwise get the chance to date offline, and allows users to conceal their anonymity and have control over their relationships. Despite its popularity, there are some disadvantages associated with online dating with respect to offline dating.

Unlike when dating through conventional ways, it has been established that most of the people using online dating sites are liars. They lie about their attributes, jobs, properties, salary, and their marital status. Another disadvantage associated with online dating is having unlimited number of options. Similarly, online dating increases the risks of meeting sex offenders and scammers. Lastly, a major concerned faced by those using cyber dates is security.

Works Cited

Elisar, Shimrit. Everyone’s guide to online dating: how to find love and friendship on the internet . Oxford: How To Books, 2007. Print.

Knox, David. Choices in relationships: an introduction to marriage and the family . 11 ed. St. Paul: West Pub. Co., 2011. Print.

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Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science

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Although the authors find that online dating sites offer a distinctly different experience than conventional dating, the superiority of these sites is not as evident. Dating sites provide access to more potential partners than do traditional dating methods, but the act of browsing and comparing large numbers of profiles can lead individuals to commoditize potential partners and can reduce their willingness to commit to any one person. Communicating online can foster intimacy and affection between strangers, but it can also lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment when potential partners meet in real life. Although many dating sites tout the superiority of partner matching through the use of “scientific algorithms,” the authors find that there is little evidence that these algorithms can predict whether people are good matches or will have chemistry with one another.

The authors’ overarching assessment of online dating sites is that scientifically, they just don’t measure up. As online dating matures, however, it is likely that more and more people will avail themselves of these services, and if development — and use — of these sites is guided by rigorous psychological science, they may become a more promising way for people to meet their perfect partners.

Hear author Eli J. Finkel discuss the science behind online dating at the 24th APS Annual Convention .

About the Authors

Editorial: Online Dating:  The Current Status —and Beyond

By Arthur Aron

I agree wholeheartedly that so-called scientific dating sites are totally off-base. They make worse matches than just using a random site. That’s because their matching criteria are hardly scientific, as far as romance goes. They also have a very small pool of educated, older men, and lots more women. Therefore they often come up with no matches at all, despite the fact that women with many different personality types in that age group have joined. They are an expensive rip-off for many women over 45.

Speaking as someone who was recently “commoditized” by who I thought was a wonderful man I met on a dating site, I find that the types of people who use these services are looking at the wrong metrics when they seek out a prospective love interest. My mother and father had very few hobbies and interests in common, but because they shared the same core values, their love endured a lifetime. When I got dumped because I didn’t share my S.O.’s interests exactly down the line, I realized how dangerous this line of thinking truly is, how it marginalizes people who really want to give and receive love for more important reasons.

I met a few potential love interests online and I never paid for any matching service! I did my own research on people and chatted online within a site to see if we had things in common. If we had a few things in common, we exchanged numbers, texted for a while, eventually spoke on the phone and if things felt right, we’d meet in a public place to talk. If that went well, we would have another date. I am currently with a man I met online and we have been together for two years! We have plans to marry in the future. But there is always the thought that if this doesn’t work out, how long will it take either of us to jump right back online to find the next possible love connection? I myself would probably start looking right away since looking for love online is a lengthy process!

I knew this man 40 years ago as we worked in the same agency for two years but never dated. Last November 2013 I saw his profile on a dating site. My husband had died four years ago and his wife died 11 years ago. We dated for five months. I questioned him about his continued online search as I had access to his username. Five months into the friendship he told me he “Was looking for his dream women in cyberspace”. I think he has been on these dating sites for over 5 years. Needless to say I will not tolerate this and it was over. I am sad, frustrated and angry how this ended as underneath all of his insecurities, unresolved issues with his wife’s death he is a good guy. I had been on these dating sties for 2 and 1/2 years and now I am looking at Matchmaking services as a better choice in finding a “Better good guy”.

I refer to these sites as “Designer Dating” sites. I liken the search process to ‘Window Shopping’. No-one seems very interested in making an actual purchase or commitment. I notice that all the previous comments are from women only. I agree with the article that says essentially, there are too many profiles and photos. Having fallen under this spell myself…”Oh, he’s nice but I’m sure there’s something better on the next page…” Click. Next. And on it goes. The term Chemistry gets thrown around a lot. I don’t know folks. I sure ain’t feelin’ it. Think I’ll go hang out with some friends now.

Stumbling upon this article during research for my Master thesis and I am curious: Would you use an app, that introduces a new way of dating, solely based on your voice and who you are, rather than how you look like? To me, we don’t fall in love with someone because of their looks (or their body mass index for that matter) or because of an algorithm, but because of the way somebody makes you feel and the way s.o. makes you laugh. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter if someone has blue or brown eyes and my experience is, that most people place fake, manipulated or outdated pictures online to sell someone we don’t really are. And we are definitely more than our looks. I found my partner online and we had no picture of each other for three months – but we talked every night for hours…. fell in love and still are after 10 years… We met on a different level and got aligned long before we met. So, the question is, would you give this way of meeting someone a chance… an app where you can listen in to answers people give to questions other user asked before and where you can get a feeling for somebody before you even see them?

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Key findings about online dating in the U.S.

Online dating in the United States has evolved over the past several decades into a booming industry , transforming the way some people meet matches . A new report from Pew Research Center explores the upsides and downsides of online dating by highlighting Americans’ experiences and views about it. Here are 12 key takeaways.

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ experiences with dating sites and apps and their views of online dating generally. This analysis is based on a survey conducted among 6,034 U.S. adults from July 5-17, 2022. This included 4,996 respondents from the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. It also included an oversample of 1,038 respondents from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel who indicated that they are lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB), with oversampled groups weighted back to reflect proportions in the population. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

Terminology

• Online dating users refers to the 30% of Americans who answered yes to the following question: “Have you ever used an online dating site or dating app?”
• Current or recent online dating users refers to the 9% of adults who had used a dating site or app in the past year as of the July survey.
• Partnered refers to the 69% of U.S. adults who describe themselves as married, living with a partner, or in a committed romantic relationship.
• LGB refers to those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. These groups are combined because of small sample sizes. Additionally, since this research is focused on sexual orientation, not gender identity, and due to the fact that the transgender population in the U.S. is very small, transgender respondents are not identified separately. Read the report for more details.

A note about the Asian adult sample

This survey includes a total sample size of 234 Asian adults. The sample primarily includes English-speaking Asian adults and therefore may not be representative of the overall Asian adult population. Despite this limitation, it is important to report the views of Asian adults on the topics in this study. As always, Asian adults’ responses are incorporated into the general population figures throughout this report. Asian adults are shown as a separate group when the question was asked of the full sample. Because of the relatively small sample size and a reduction in precision due to weighting, results are not shown separately for Asian adults for questions that were only asked of online dating users or other filtered questions. We are also not able to analyze Asian adults by demographic categories, such as gender, age or education.

Three-in-ten U.S. adults say they have ever used a dating site or app, identical to the share who said this in 2019 . That includes 9% who report doing so in the past year, according to the Center’s survey of 6,034 adults conducted July 5-17, 2022.

Online dating is more common among younger adults than among older people. About half of those under 30 (53%) report having ever used a dating site or app, compared with 37% of those ages 30 to 49, 20% of those 50 to 64 and 13% of those 65 and older.

When looking at sexual orientation, lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adults are more likely than their straight counterparts to say they have ever used a dating site or app (51% vs. 28%).

Men are somewhat more likely than women to have tried online dating (34% vs. 27%), as are those with at least some college education when compared with those with a high school education or less.

Adults who have never been married are much more likely than married adults to report having used online dating sites or apps (52% vs. 16%). Adults who are currently living with a partner (46%) or who are divorced, separated or widowed (36%) are also more likely to have tried online dating than married adults.

There are no statistically significant differences in the shares of adults who report ever using an online dating platform by race or ethnicity: Similar shares of White, Black, Hispanic and Asian adults report ever having done so.

Tinder tops the list of dating sites or apps the survey studied and is particularly popular among adults under 30. Some 46% of online dating users say they have ever used Tinder, followed by about three-in-ten who have used Match (31%) or Bumble (28%). OkCupid, eharmony and Hinge are each used by about a fifth of online dating users. Grindr and HER are used by very few online dating users overall (6% and 3%, respectively) but are more widely used by LGB adults than straight adults. Additionally, 31% of online dating users mention having tried some other online dating platform not asked about directly in this survey. (Read the topline  for a list of the most common other dating sites and apps users mentioned.)

Tinder use is far more common among younger adults than among older Americans: 79% of online dating users under 30 say they have used the platform, compared with 44% of users ages 30 to 49, 17% of users 50 to 64 and just 1% of those 65 and older. Tinder is the top online dating platform among users under 50. By contrast, users 50 and older are about five times more likely to use Match than Tinder (50% vs. 11%).

One-in-ten partnered adults – meaning those who are married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship – met their current significant other through a dating site or app. Partnered adults who are under 30 or who are LGB stand out from other groups when looking at this measure of online dating “success”: One-in-five partnered adults under 30 say they met their current spouse or partner on a dating site or app, as do about a quarter of partnered LGB adults (24%).

Online dating users are somewhat divided over whether their experiences on these platforms have been positive or negative. Among those who have ever used a dating site or app, slightly more say their personal experiences have been very or somewhat positive than say they have been very or somewhat negative (53% vs. 46%).

Some demographic groups are more likely to report positive experiences. For example, 57% of men who have dated online say their experiences have been positive, while women users are roughly split down the middle (48% positive, 51% negative). In addition, LGB users of these platforms are more likely than straight users to report positive experiences (61% vs. 53%).

Roughly a third of online dating users (35%) say they have ever paid to use one of these platforms – including for extra features – but this varies by income, age and gender. Some 45% of online dating users with upper incomes report having paid to use a dating site or app, compared with 36% of users with middle incomes and 28% of those with lower incomes. Similarly, 41% of users 30 and older say they have paid to use these platforms, compared with 22% of those under 30. Men who have dated online are more likely than women to report having paid for these sites and apps (41% vs. 29%).

Those who have ever paid to use dating sites or apps report more positive experiences than those who have never paid. Around six-in-ten paid users (58%) say their personal experiences with dating sites or apps have been positive; half of users who have never paid say this.

Women who have used online dating platforms in the past year are more likely to feel overwhelmed by the number of messages they get, while men are more likely to feel insecure about a lack of messages. Among current or recent online dating users, 54% of women say they have felt overwhelmed by the number of messages they received on dating sites or apps in the past year, while just a quarter of men say the same. By contrast, 64% of men say they have felt insecure because of the lack of messages they received, while four-in-ten women say the same.

Overall, 55% of adults who have used a dating app or site in the past year say they often or sometimes felt insecure about the number of messages they received, while 36% say they often or sometimes felt overwhelmed.

Among recent online daters, large majorities of men and women say they have often or sometimes felt excited by the people they have seen while using these platforms, though large majorities also say they have often or sometimes felt disappointed.

When asked why they’ve turned to dating sites or apps in the past year, 44% of users say a major reason was to meet a long-term partner and 40% say a major reason was to date casually. Smaller shares say a major reason was to have casual sex (24%) or make new friends (22%).

Men who have used a dating platform in the past year are much more likely than women to say casual sex was a major reason (31% vs. 13%). There are no statistically significant gender differences on the other three reasons asked about in the survey.

About four-in-ten U.S. adults overall (42%) say online dating has made the search for a long-term partner easier. Far fewer (22%) say it has made the search for a long-term partner or spouse harder. About a third (32%) say it has made no difference.

Adults under 30 are less convinced than their older counterparts that online dating has made the search for a partner easier. These younger adults are about evenly divided in their views, with 35% of those ages 18 to 29 saying it has made the search easier and 33% saying it has made the search harder.

When it comes to the choices people have on dating sites and apps, 43% of adults overall say people have the right amount of options for dating on these platforms, while 37% think choices are too plentiful. Fewer (13%) say there are not enough options.

Most U.S. adults are skeptical or unsure that dating algorithms can predict love. About one-in-five adults (21%) think that the types of computer programs that dating sites and apps use could determine whether two people will eventually fall in love. But greater shares of Americans either say these programs could not do this (35%) or are unsure (43%).

Americans are split on whether online dating is a safe way to meet people, and a majority support requiring background checks before someone can create a profile. The share of U.S. adults who say online dating is generally a very or somewhat safe way to meet people has dipped slightly since 2019, from 53% to 48%. Women are more likely than men to say online dating is not too or not at all safe.

There are also differences by age: 62% of Americans ages 65 and older say online dating is not safe, compared with 53% of those 50 to 64 and 42% of adults younger than 50. Those who have never used a dating site or app are particularly likely to think it is unsafe: 57% say this, compared with 32% of those who have used an online dating site or app.

At the same time, six-in-ten Americans say companies should require background checks before someone creates a dating profile, while 15% say they should not and 24% are not sure. Women are more likely than men to say these checks should be required, as are adults 50 and older compared with younger adults.

These checks do not have majority support among online dating users themselves, however: 47% of users say companies should require background checks, versus 65% of those who have never used a dating site or app.

Younger women who have used dating sites or apps stand out for experiencing unwanted behaviors on these platforms. A majority of women under 50 who have used dating sites or apps (56%) say they have been sent a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for, and about four-in-ten have had someone continue to contact them after they said they were not interested (43%) or have been called an offensive name (37%). Roughly one-in-ten of this group (11%) have received threats of physical harm. Each of these experiences is less common among women online dating users ages 50 and older, as well as among men of any age.

Among all online dating users, 38% have ever received unsolicited sexually explicit messages or images while using a dating site or app; 30% have experienced continued unwanted contact; 24% have been called an offensive name; and 6% have been threatened with physical harm.

About half of those who have used dating sites and apps (52%) say they have come across someone they think was trying to scam them. Men under 50 are particularly likely to say they have had this experience: 63% of men in this age group who have used dating sites or apps think they have encountered a scammer on them. Smaller shares of men ages 50 and older (47%) and women of any age (44%) say the same.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

• Online Dating
• Romance & Dating

Emily A. Vogels is a former research associate focusing on internet and technology at Pew Research Center .

Colleen McClain is a research associate focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center .

For Valentine’s Day, facts about marriage and dating in the U.S.

Dating at 50 and up: older americans’ experiences with online dating, about half of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults have used online dating, about half of never-married americans have used an online dating site or app, from looking for love to swiping the field: online dating in the u.s., most popular.

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Millions of people are using online dating sites to seek for partners in this era of digital technology. Dating sites are commonly used by people all around the world. There are various risks of meeting potential mates online. This paper investigates the negative impacts brought by online dating, and to what extent do they affect online users. It is discovered that there are eight main harmful aspects impacting the people and society. Keywords: online dating, risks, virtual relationship

Professor Adebayo D . Oluwole

Nigeria is one of the biggest and fastest growing telecom markets in Africa, attracting huge amounts of foreign investment, and is yet standing at very low levels of market penetration. The mobile sector, shared by four operators, has seen triple-digit growth rates every year since competition has been introduced. The transformation of Nigeria’s telecommunications landscape since the licensing of three GSM networks in 2001 and a fourth one in 2002 has been nothing short of astounding. The country continues to be one of the fastest growing markets in Africa with triple-digit growth rates almost every single year since 2001. It surpassed Egypt and Morocco in 2004 to become the continent’s second largest mobile market after South Africa (http://www.internetworldstats.com/af/ng.htm). And yet it has only reached about one quarter of its estimated ultimate market potential. Giving details of the current internet penetration in Nigeria, the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency, Cleopas Angaye said that the Nigeria internet population witnessed tremendous growth with a boost from 2,418,679 users in 2005 to an estimated number of about 10 million users in 2008 and currently over 44 million internet users, thereby, positioning Nigeria as one of the fastest growing internet users in sub-Saharan Africa (thisdaylive, 2012). According to Bargh and McKenna (2004), the internet is but the latest in a series of technological advances that have changed the world in fundamental ways. One of these advances is cyber dating. In Nigeria today, young adults are adventurous and proactive in heterosexual encounters through the new technology of internet. Cyber dating is a channel for this exercise starting with online gossiping (Oluwole, 2009). Also, so many male adolescents are proving their masculinity (Oluwole, 2010) by foraging into the virtual space pretending as adults. Cyber dating is one of the several benefits of internet technology. However, as good as this innovation is, there are several conceptions, misconceptions and dangers of cyber dating. This is the focus of this paper.

Danielle Couch

This project examines the behaviours and experiences of people who use online dating (OD), and how they may or may not address risk in their use of online dating. Using a qualitative approach, fifteen people who use OD were interviewed online. The findings reveal that online daters use a variety of methods for managing and understanding the risks they perceive to be associated with OD. Online daters compare the risks of online dating with other activities in their lives to justify their use of the medium. Many feel self-confident in their personal ability to manage and limit risks they might encounter. For some, the ability to be able to scape-goat risk (i.e. to blame others) is a method by which they can contextualise their own experiences and support their risk strategies. For many, the control offered by the online environment is central to risk management. Additionally, the social context in which an individual encounters a potential risk will shape how they perceive and experience the risk. Online daters do consider the risks involved and they demonstrate personal autonomy in their risk management. From a public health perspective, it is important to understand how individuals experience risk, but it is imperative that interventions are implemented at a population level.

Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (Jodi O’Brien, Editor)

Jimmie Manning

İlayda Tüter

One of the popular tools of twenty first century is with no doubt online dating apps. Researchers investigated and still investigating the possible reasons why people search for a partner, friend, friendzone, or other things on web. To have fun, enjoy conversation with a like -minded individual, sexual intercourse and marriage are one of those reasons why people go behind the screens to search for partner. While there are many more reasons underneath there are many risks pertaining online dating as well. Deceptive or fake self-presentation, online dating romance scam and cyber-crime are some of those risks. On the other hand, there are many people who find their partner on online dating apps and live happily with them. That is why, it is important to understand what people are looking for on the apps which are the reasons and intentions behind online dating apps. As a popular saying states apps do not have intentions, but people do have intentions and it drives them to get what they...

Hans-Peter Blossfeld

Advancing Research Methods with New Technologies

Advances in Media, Entertainment, and the Arts

Kweilin Lucas

The rapid advancement of technology has changed the dating world for millions of people. While dating scams are not a new phenomenon to the online dating community, a new form of scam known as “catfishing” is also taking place. Catfishing is the verb used to describe the actions of a “catfish,” a person who creates falsified online profiles on social networking sites with the purpose of fraudulently seducing someone else. In addition to talking about online dating scams and catfishing, this chapter will also examine “mail order” marriages and the potential impact of this practice.

The Cambridge handbook of …

Communication Research Reports

What’s on the page

Are young people equipped to deal with risks of online dating?

Consequences of sexting, privacy concerns, limited social interaction, exposure to online grooming, online harassment, seeking validation from others.

For young people dating online isn’t just about using dating apps – it’s about how relationships develop on social media and through private messaging. Although most children today are tech-savvy, they may not be tech safe. It’s important to consider that although young people may have be able to navigate the latest apps with ease, they may not have built the resilience to deal with issues that come from building and managing online relationships.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those that are vulnerable, may be more trusting and socially naive, therefore more at risk to understand the dangers when forming online relationships.

According to research from LSE : disabled children tend to have more digital skills but encounter more online risk and may lack peer support.

Here are ten tips to equip teens with the tools they need to make safer choices about who they interact with romantically online.

Who your children talk to are most likely other children, but some people may not be who they say they are or may be groomed by sexual predators. They may try to trick a young person into believing that they are trustworthy, that they are a friend or they may even pretend that they are the same age.

According to the NSPCC, more than 200,000 secondary school kids have been groomed online (2019 figure) .

Advice: Not everyone they meet online will have the right intentions , so it’s important to discuss the risk surrounding online dating such as online grooming and also what signs to look out for to avoid putting themselves in unsafe situations.

If in the wrong hands, a sext, can perpetuate bullying, emotional abuse, revenge porn, harassment, embarrassment, low self-esteem, even depression. Advice: Discuss tech dangers – sometimes teens are tempted to send nude photos and unfortunately, there have been cases where these pictures have become public.

Make sure they understand they have the right to say no and that anyone who cares about them should respect that. See our Sexting advice hub to learn more and get support on how to equip your child to make safer choices online.

The more your teen explores the realm of romance online, they may experience unwelcome advances, sexually explicit pictures and general harassment via social media, chat forums and sites, dating apps or messaging services such as WhatsApp and Snapchat.

Advice: If you’re worried about someone your child is in contact with online, it’s important to report these concerns using the appropriate tools on the social media platform they are using. You can also find more information by visiting the CEOP .

It’s also important to note that some social media apps used location services to allows users to see each others locations to find potential matches. This could put young people at rsks if they are planning to meet someone that they have only connected with online. Having a conversation about potential risks that they could face and putting in palce safety rules are essential to keep them safe.

Step UP, Speak UP resource to help young people deal with online sexual harassment

See report from Project deShame to learn more about teens experiences of online sexual harassment.

Keeping certain personal information private such as their location, address and where they attend school or college is important. Doing a search of their name could be a simple way of checking out what information is available about them. Children often share multiple social media handles on these apps, they can give strangers access to more personal information and intimate conversation.

Advice: Using the right privacy settings across all their social accounts and turning off locations services, can help them stay on top of what information is available for everyone to see.

Teens will tend to seek validation online so when it comes to dating, they may be more likely to do or say inappropriate things to gain acceptance with someone they may be in a relationship with.

Advice: To ensure they make safer choices, talk to them about a range of topics they may be exposed to while dating online like trust, sex and intimacy. This will help ensure they stay balanced when they come across things that may be incorrect or lead them to believe something that isn’t true.

If your teen is only seeking relationships online and neglating their offline relationships this may have a negative impact on their wellbeing. For example, a teen with a long-distance boyfriend in another area may decide not to attend social events, like a party because she wants to stay home to chat with her boyfriend online.

Due to the nature of the online world, young people can easily place a stronger emotional connection with online-only relationships at the expense of friends and family that they know in real life. Advice: You should regularly check in with your teen to ensure they have a healthy balance between spending time online and offline . You could also remind your child of ways to connect with their peers offline – such as sport, dance and drama classes or other social activities.

More to Explore

See more articles and resources to keep children safe online

• Advice for 14+ year olds
• Support wellbeing with tech

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• How can vulnerable young people be protected from the risks of online dating?
• Online safety issues
• Tackling online hate and trolling
• Understanding the impact of sexting on a child’s mind

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Falling in love or falling for fraud: The dark side of online dating

"behind my phone, i can tell you whatever i want.".

Social Sharing

Last year, thousands of people found themselves on the wrong side of an investment scam. But they weren't duped by a crooked financial advisor or a neighbour's pyramid scheme — they were fooled, for love.

In 2020 and 2021, there were 3,474 cases of romance scams in Canada, and victims were defrauded of more than $93 million dollars, according to the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre .

"Technology has been this great tool that we have invented as human beings that has allowed us to be connected with each other. But technology, one thing that I've seen in my research, creates this false perception of reality," Carlo Handy Charles, a researcher at McMaster University, told Spark host Nora Young.

"Behind my phone, I can tell you whatever I want." 

Charles wrote about a new romance scam that has defrauded thousands of Canadians out of millions of dollars. The so-called 'pig-butchering' cryptocurrency scam , originating in China, has since made its way into North American online dating spaces. 

Charles, who's been tracking the increase of financial fraud via dating apps, said the scam is run by criminal syndicates who use professional scripts and emotional manipulation to deceive users. 

• spark Your photos can be used in 'catfishing' romance scams

While traditional romance scams usually involve a direct request for money, according to Charles, "They do that after a certain time of trying to build your trust or trying to show you that the love is real."

"The difference with the cryptocurrency [scam] is that most of these scammers, they do not tell you that they need money. Instead, they tell you that because we're a couple now, we are going to invest together for our future."

The scam involves a four-step process, where tailored profiles and 'love bombing' are used to get the victim to invest their money on a fake cryptocurrency platform. 

 "They use social engineering, they use algorithms, to find you and then to use your own information on social media to basically manipulate you," Charles said.

Crime and community

While the majority of the known victims of these crimes have been women in their 30s or early 40s, according to Charles, that data only reflects those who actually report the crime. 

"I'm sure there are a lot of men who have been a victim of this too, but then they don't report the crime," he said. 

The dangers of dating apps aren't limited to the virtual world. 

"We've seen instances where cyberstalking, or cyberharassment has actually moved, or transitioned into the physical space and [become] real-world stalking, we've seen physical violence as well," said Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, an associate professor in the department of computer and information technology at Purdue University.

In 2021, Seigfried-Spellar co-wrote a paper looking at popular dating apps like Grindr, Tinder and Bumble, and the physical and psychological risks involved in using them. 

While there are valid concerns around connecting with unvetted profiles online, Seigfried-Spellar said these services can also serve an important role. "These applications like Grindr have really allowed the LGBTQ+ community to have a space and to hold space, especially when they may not feel accepted within the physical world," she said.  

"I've chatted with individuals who felt like this was the first time that they could be their authentic self, because maybe in the physical world, they weren't out. But online, they were a part of this active community, and they finally felt accepted."

She said the prevalence of harmful behaviour on dating apps is hard to quantify. "What we tend to see is that an instance might occur, but you might say, 'Wow, this is something that needs to be reported.' But that same instance might happen to somebody else, and they don't report it." 

Dating apps and the law

Recently, Tinder announced it was partnering with a platform called Garbo to allow users to run background checks on their matches — putting the responsibility of screening in the hands of their users.

Seigfried-Spellar said while this new feature may feel like a move towards greater security, there are also a lot of nuances to background checks that are not being considered.

"It makes a lot of assumptions. Even though [the platforms] have said, 'we're not going to focus on drug crimes,' for instance, or traffic violations, which we know disproportionately [affect] certain people, we're instead going to focus on sexual violence and partner violence.

"We also know that a lot of individuals don't report these crimes. So just because somebody comes back and their background check is clear, that doesn't mean they haven't committed an offence," she said.

Last month, a U.S. court ruled that Match Group Inc. was not guilty of defrauding its customers for failing to keep fake profiles off of Match.com. 

The ruling raises questions about what legal accountability will look like for dating apps when users engage in harmful behaviour — especially in the U.S., where Match.com, and other dating apps are based.

"So far, the courts have made it fairly clear that dating apps and dating sites have very little to no legal responsibility for the behaviour of their users, whether in the virtual world or out in the quote, unquote real world," said Irina Manta , a professor of law and the founding director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. 

Manta has written about dating app deception and the law in the past, and is now writing a book on dating apps and the law, called Strangers on the Internet. When it comes to improving safety standards, dating apps are wary of "becoming overly involved with safety," said Manta. 

"They might at some point perhaps start having legal obligations that they don't currently have. And they really don't want that, in part because it's expensive, and because it has the potential for PR scandals."

Sharing stories, lessening stigma

Seigfried-Spellar said there is power in testimonials. With tales of dating app deception depicted in pop culture, like the viral Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler , the stigma around falling for scams and other forms of abuse could lessen. 

"Maybe the willingness of other people to step up and say, 'this happened to me, and these are some of the signs that I wish I would have considered,' or 'this is what I wish I would have done, but just know that you're not alone', [will help]" she said. 

"Because [if] you are able to report it, maybe it's going to keep somebody else [from] becoming the victim of either a similar situation, or they're going to start sharing those stories. That's the best thing that we can do."

Written by McKenna Hadley-Burke. Produced by McKenna Hadley-Burke and Samraweet Yohannes.

An Argument for Internet Dating

Proper expectations and recommendations on how to proceed..

Posted January 14, 2013

Some commonplace things seem to happen without special premeditation, effortlessly. We grow up, find work, find someone to marry, have children and accomplish other such purposes without paying them much attention . So it seems. Perhaps that is true for some people; but certainly not for everyone, and probably not for most. Most of the effortless success that others seem to have is an illusion. Most of life’s problems are not solved easily or automatically.

Almost everything worth having or doing is accomplished more readily by an aggressive, systematic attempt to achieve that purpose. Putting it simply, good things happen to people sometimes just by luck alone, without much effort, but not often.

Suppose you want to buy a house. Is it likely that the first house you look at will turn out to be the house of your dreams ? No. More likely you will have to look at fifteen or twenty houses before you decide to buy one. If you look at one house every week or so, this process can take a long time. If you look at ten or twenty houses in a week or so—which is possible—you can find that house pretty soon.

The same applies to jobs. I think everyone should always be looking for a new job, in case a better job shows up unpredictably, as they do from time to time. But looking for a job is enervating. Interviewing requires putting yourself up for someone else’s approval, or disapproval. Most of the time interviews are not followed by a job offer. But it is not possible to get a good job without going through such a process. The more interviews a prospective employee goes on, the more likely he/she will finally receive a desirable job offer.

But when struggling to do something, such as find a job, it is important to know what your chances are, so that you do not become demoralized after repeated disappointments. Rejections are inevitable. They do not mean that such efforts are doomed to failure. Studies show that of those submitting resumes in response to an advertised job opening, only two percent will receive an invitation to visit the prospective employer! That means that an applicant can be turned down, or ignored, forty or fifty times in a row without there being anything wrong with his/her application.

The high rate of rejection is not an argument against sending in these applications; it is an argument for sending in more and more of them. If the chance of success is only two percent, the odds begin to favor the applicant if he/she responds to four or five hundred job possibilities. The problems inherent in this process are two: it is difficult to find four or five hundred job possibilities, and it is easy to become demoralized after being turned down over and over again.

This same process of pursuing statistically unlikely opportunities is required for success in many endeavors, for example, publishing a novel, or trying out for a professional sports team, or leading a successful rock band. Most people who reach these objectives only do so after repeated attempts. Or, putting it differently, repeated failures.

Take the matter of dating. Some young men and women meet in high school; and sometime later, perhaps years later, they marry. They never have to deal with the awful feelings of unrequited love. They have never been jilted or disappointed over and over again by meeting one unsatisfactory person after another. They have never experienced the difficult problem of turning away a suitor without hurting his/her feelings. Similarly, they have avoided getting their own feelings hurt when they were the one who was being rejected.

But most sensible people think it is a bad idea to marry young. There is too much young people need to learn about themselves to know what sort of person is most likely to make them happy. Of course, I have seen over the years a number of couples who married their childhood sweethearts long ago. Some of these marriages have lasted and seem to be happy. But in the setting of my office, where people are likely to be frank, most tell me that they wonder sometimes how it would have been being married to someone else. I think that those who meet the right person right away are probably unlucky, rather than lucky. On the other hand, the trials of dating are real.

In prehistoric times, when human beings travelled in small bands of perhaps fifty to a hundred people, there could not have been much choice of mates. It is hard to imagine anything like dating in those days; but men and women did come together, even then. They may not have paired off, exactly; there may have been harems. But even then there must have been some choice involved. After all, other animals have elaborate courtship behaviors. Mammals and birds, and other animals have to win the attention of a possible mate. In prehistoric times, individuals probably had to choose from only a half-dozen or so potential partners. Still, this arrangement worked out well enough for us to have showed up very many generations later. But more choices make for better choices. That must be true.

An argument for internet dating :

We have now, in the time of the internet, an inestimably huge number of potential mates, or to put it in the current vernacular, dates. I have a list of fifteen or twenty dating sites. There are probably twice as many. Some are free. (I don’t recommend those that are free since the people on those site are less likely to be financially successful.) Some people, especially some older people, have a prejudice against internet dating. They make the following objections, which I have described in a previous post and in a somewhat different context:

Meeting strangers is potentially dangerous. Not entirely false, but certainly not true. Meeting people through the agency of these dating sites is no more or less dangerous than meeting them any other way.

Presenting oneself publicly as wishing to meet someone suggests, in the minds of some people, that such a person is driven to dating this way because he/she is unsuccessful dating in a more conventional way. Plainly, false. Patients whom I have known who date successfully are largely inclined to date people they meet in all sorts of places, church, work, parties, and so on— but also at internet dating sites. Why not? There are advantages to internet dating:

• You can be in a dating situation at home, dressed comfortably, at a convenient time.
• Communicating over the internet, you can be careful about what you say (that is, text). You can be thoughtful, rather than impulsive. If it is ever possible for you to be clever or witty, this is a time that favors you. You have time to think. (By the way, I don’t really recommend that people struggle to be witty or charming; it is too hard. Aim for friendly.)
• You start off knowing a lot about the other person. There is a picture, usually. (The picture is chosen, obviously, to emphasize attractiveness . Also, the picture may be a few years out of date, but is still helpful in getting an idea about how that person looks.) Other bits of information include age, level of education , nature of employment, religious ideas, smoker or non-smoker, interest in sports etc. Not all of this is reliable. Exaggeration is more common than outright deceit, although outright deceit certainly does occur from time to time. Still, this is a lot more information than you have about a blind date, let alone someone you meet at a public place such as a singles dance or a bar.
• You get to find out even more about the other person before arranging to meet. Texting back and forth for a while tends to eliminate people who tell off-color jokes and who are otherwise unsuitable. A prospective date may seem unsuitable because of his/her use of language. Or for writing ungrammatically, or for any of a hundred other reasons.
• You can approach a great number of people simultaneously. The rule, here, is that you can certainly date more than one person at a time, but you cannot sleep with more than one person at a time without breaking an unwritten rule and appearing in the minds of most people to treat sex too casually.
• There is some reason to think that the other person will know enough about you by the time you meet not to want to reject you out of hand, which happens sometimes in blind dates and dating in other contexts.

There is, however, a third objection to internet dating:

As is true in the situations described above--finding a house to buy or a good job— you are likely to have to try many times, over and over again, before you are successful. It is important to realize and accept that any single dating opportunity is not likely to result in a long-term relationship, SO YOU MUST NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED BECAUSE OF REPEATED FAILURES. If the first half-dozen first dates are unsuccessful, it does not mean that you are unappealing or that you are too picky. Unless you are extraordinarily lucky, the first ten or twenty people you meet—or thirty or forty—are not likely to constitute a good fit to you. Finding the right person is like trying to fit an unusually shaped peg into a similarly shaped hole. There are plenty of people that fit, but they are a very small minority of all the people out there.

I do not know of any reliable statistics about this matter, but the figures I give below approximate the way these dating situations are likely to progress:

If you are really serious about dating, you join three or four dating sites. You read the profiles of other clients and put up your own. That profile should be honest. (Any lies will surface sooner or later.) Be straightforward. Do not come across as boastful. Do not come across as someone who loves everything in the world from classical music to sky-diving. Do not pretend to being more exciting than you are. Try to come across as a serious person who likes to do things and is interested in new things. Seeming to be sophisticated is not appealing. Since everyone has a tendency to exaggerate, try to seem genuine.

Read other people’s profiles with that in mind. You are likely to find four or five people who seem to be appealing. Maybe. You reach out to them, but only one or two respond; and they seem unenthusiastic. This is par for the course. You are, hopefully, undeterred. Of the next batch of people you reach out to, two respond. You text back and forth with them. One of them who has pretended to be well-educated makes a bad grammatical error, and compounds the offence by telling an off-color joke. The other person, however, seems okay. The two of you talk on the telephone.

You arrange to meet for only an hour or two for coffee or a drink. Since many of these dates are immediately unsatisfactory, there is no reason to make the experience last any longer than necessary. If the two of you are getting along great, you can change those plans.

These first dates only work out about one in three times. The rest of the time you will not like the person sitting opposite you, or he/she will not like you. It is a reminder that, whoever you are, some people will like you and some people will not. You will meet some with whom you have so much in common—so many reasons that the other person should like you—but that person inexplicably will not. On the other hand, some people will take one look at you and think you are terrific, smart and good-looking, and wonderful, for no good reason. Search out this person.

Perhaps one out of every four people you date two or three times will seem to you to be so interesting and so much fun, you begin to think the two of you can have a long-term relationship. The rest peter out. Out of those relationships that last a month or two, perhaps one will really get serious—to the point where you both consider that maybe—just possibly—if you are lucky--- you might develop a permanent attachment . And out of these, perhaps only one out of two or three eventually lead to marriage . This happy ending can be reached within a year by someone who is prepared to date aggressively and who does not get discouraged. I have seen it happen a number of times.

Unfortunately, even after getting married, one out of two couples separate eventually.

This whole process will be disheartening and annoying if you enter into it solely with the idea of finding someone to marry. The proper attitude is to look forward on this next date simply to having a good time. It is possible to have a good time dating, even when the person you are with is plainly not going to be someone you will marry. Otherwise, it is like swimming across an ocean without being able to see the other shore. You get tired. With the proper attitude, it is more like swimming in a lake on a sunshiny day. You can enjoy yourself while you make your way to the other side.(c) Fredric Neuman 2013 Follow Dr. Neuman's blog at fredricneumanmd.com/blog

Fredric Neuman, M.D., was the Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Center at White Plains Hospital. He died in 2021.

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The Unexpected Dangers of Online Dating [11 Scams To Know]

Millions of people have found love through online dating — but millions more have been the victims of scammers. Here’s how to stay safe while dating online.

Jory MacKay

Aura Cybersecurity Editor

Jory MacKay is a writer and award-winning editor with over a decade of experience for online and print publications. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Victoria and a passion for helping people identify and avoid fraud.

Alina Benny

Alina Benny is an Aura authority on internet security, identity theft, and fraud. She holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering from the Cochin University of Science and Technology and has nearly a decade in content research. Twitter: @heyabenny

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Here’s How To Know if You’re Dating a Scammer

Online dating is one of the most popular ways to meet a potential partner, whether it’s for a casual date or a committed relationship. After the pandemic, however, 63% daters say that finding romantic relationships has become harder [ * ]. And yet, 2 out of 10 Americans use dating apps according to Aura data from January 2023 [ * ].

But are dating sites and apps always safe to use? 

Unfortunately, scammers target online dating services to commit identity theft and financial fraud .

50% of Americans who have used a dating app in the past five years have experienced catfishing — more than double from 5 years ago.

If you’re searching for a partner, the last thing you want is to find a scammer instead. 

In this guide, we’ll cover the dangers of online dating, how to spot a romance scammer, and the most common online dating scams and how you can avoid them. 

{{show-toc}}

How Do Online Dating Scams Work?

Dating apps have exploded in popularity over the last few years. And it’s not just Tinder, OkCupid, or Match.com. There are specialized platforms promising connections for people with the same tastes in music and even food .

Regardless of the dating site or app, online dating scams almost always follow a similar pattern:

• First, the scammer creates a fake profile . They’ll often steal photos from an existing (usually attractive) person’s social media or dating profile. These fake attractive profiles are also known as “catfishing.” 
• Once you match, the scammer quickly moves the relationship forward. They’ll quickly express their love and ask you to communicate off of the dating app and instead use Snapchat , WhatsApp , or Telegram .
• After they’ve gained your trust, they’ll ask you for personal details, gifts, or even money. They’ll create elaborate scenarios where they need your “help” paying for their children or medical treatments or to get them out of trouble. Increasingly, scammers on dating sites will try to get you to invest in a cryptocurrency app or to sign up for a website.
• Throughout the “relationship,” they’ll always find ways to get out of visiting you in person or even appearing on video chat. They might provide you with their phone number, but they will never be available when you call (and will only call you back at a later time). 
• Ultimately, the end goals of online dating scams can vary. The scammer may stop at getting you to visit a phishing site, but there’s also the possibility you’ll end up the victim of identity theft . No matter what happens, you’ll be left embarrassed and potentially out of any money or gifts you sent them. 

Unfortunately, dating platforms don’t do a good job of verifying individual accounts. Even though many websites ask for your Facebook account, that’s a trivial workaround for many online scammers.

The risks of online dating are very real. So what online dating scams, frauds, and schemes should you be on the lookout for?

11 Dangers of Online Dating (and How To Avoid Them)

• Romance scammers asking for money
• Phishing for personal information
• Fake online dating site scams
• Cryptocurrency investment scams
• Blackmail and extortion
• Getting you to visit phishing websites
• Overseas doctors, developers, and military romance scams
• SMS 2FA scam
• Money mule romance scams
• Inheritance scams

Online dating scams can come in many forms. However, knowing what these scams and their risks and dangers are will help you spot them and prevent them from actually doing harm.

1. Catfishing (i.e., fake online dating profiles)

“Catfishing” is the term used to describe a fake online dating profile that uses attractive photos to “lure” victims into a relationship. Catfishing scams often feel too good to be true, yet their victims continue with them in the hope that they are real.

Sadly, what often happens is that your "perfect match" starts asking for sensitive information or money.

If you think a profile might be using stolen photos, do a reverse image search on Google. This will show you where else the photos are posted online. If they’re on other social media accounts or from magazines, you can quickly tell it’s a scam. 

Warning signs:

• The profile photos are too attractive. If an online dating profile looks like a supermodel or has magazine-quality photos, it’s most likely a scam. 
• They only use the same few images across social media and dating profiles. Catfishers only have access to a few images. If they can’t send you recent or personal ones, they could be a scam. 
• They’re never able to go on video chat. Or, if they do, their webcam will be “broken” or will only show a quick, low-quality, and darkly lit video.

2. Romance scammers asking for money

The number one danger of online dating is being tricked into sending money or handing over your financial information. Scammers want you to send them cash and gift cards or to provide them with information they can use to commit financial fraud. 

In most cases, these money scams take place on sites like match.com where most people are looking for a long-term relationship. The scammer will gain your trust and then ask you to help with an unexpected emergency, for example, medical expenses, needing to take care of a relative, etc.

Scammers will often ask for money or gifts to further your relationship. For example, they need money for a new laptop so you can video chat with them or they want you to send gifts that “prove” your love. 

• They ask for money (especially cash, gift cards, or cryptocurrency) as a way to “prove” your love. 
• Their life feels like a soap opera. But they never have the money to deal with all the unexpected emergencies that come up.
• They express their love quickly and ask lots of personal questions without revealing much about themselves. 

📚 Related: How To Identify a Scammer on Hinge →

3. Phishing for personal information (identity theft romance scams)

Identity thieves will use dating apps as part of a long-term scam that can even spill over offline and impact you in the real world. 

In these dating scams, a fake account will try to get you to give up personal details, such as your address, names of relatives, and where you work. Some of these questions will feel normal for dating. But they can help scammers guess passwords and hack into your online accounts . 

Some scammers will even try to get you to give up sensitive information like your Social Security number (SSN), bank account information, or email password (to “prove” you’re not hiding other relationships from them). 

All this information puts you at risk of identity theft . With even a few pieces of sensitive data, scammers can empty your bank account, take out loans and credit cards in your name, or even steal your tax refund . 

• They ask probing personal questions on your first date. They're especially interested in your personal history, such as past addresses, your mother’s maiden name, and pets’ names.
• They’re adamant about knowing where you live and work.
• They ask you to send photos of your ID or other sensitive documents to “prove” you are who you say you are.

📚 Related: How To Avoid Google Chat Scams (9 Warning Signs) →

4. Fake online dating and “hookup” sites

Some scammers try to push victims into signing up for bogus online dating sites. These fake apps or websites offer the promise of easy hookups or the “perfect match,” but are really just full of bots and fake accounts. 

To sign up, you’ll often need to pay a fee and provide personal details or even photos of your ID for verification (which can be used for identity theft ).

At best, you’ll only waste your time and a bit of money on these sites. However, some fake dating sites are loaded full of malware, which can infect your devices. 

Malware can scan your device for sensitive information like banking information, take over your camera, or even lock you out of your device until you pay a “ransom.” Before signing up for an unfamiliar dating service, install antivirus software with malware protection.

Warning signs of a fake online dating site scam:

• The website has the warning signs of a phishing site . For example, poor design, low-quality images, spelling mistakes, and charged language. 
• New matches ask you to view their photos on a different site or want you to download an attachment. They might also want to show you nude photos immediately and push you to visit a different site.
• The sign-up process is light on dating questions but heavy on personal details and even financial information. 
• You get a huge influx of attention as soon as you sign up — even if you haven’t finished filling out your profile or uploading photos. 

📚 Related: How To Spot a Scammer on Bumble →

5. Online dating cryptocurrency investment scams 

Cryptocurrency investments are one of the more recent (and dangerous) online dating scams. Everywhere from the New York Times to USA Today has shared stories of victims losing thousands to crypto dating scams.

In this scam, the fraudsters build a long-term relationship with their mark. As they get to know each other, the scammer will start talking about their interest in cryptocurrencies. Eventually, they'll offer to “guide” the victim in their own investments. 

Next, they’ll get the victim to open a legitimate cryptocurrency account and deposit money into it. Then, they’ll provide a link to a “special” cryptocurrency exchange for the victim to move their Bitcoin or Ethereum into. This exchange will show high levels of returns, prompting the victim to invest more. 

But when they try to withdraw any of their “earnings,” they’ll be told to pay a massive tax bill or the site will shut down and their money will be lost. 

Warning signs of a cryptocurrency romance scam:

• They regularly mention cryptocurrency and tout amazing returns on their investments.
• They claim to have “special knowledge” that will provide you with a huge return with little to no risk. 
• They’ll send you links to cryptocurrency exchanges that will show your investment. In reality, these links go to the scammer's “crypto wallet.” This is essentially the same as handing over cash to them. 

📚 Related: How To Avoid the "Pig Butchering" Scam Costing Victims Millions →

6. Blackmail and extortion using your sensitive photos (sextortion)

Many people on dating sites are looking for a quick sexual relationship. In these scams, the fraudster will ask for sensitive photos and videos with the promise of sending their own in return. But after you send them, the scammer will threaten to leak them to your friends and family if you don’t pay a ransom . 

Unfortunately, this isn’t an empty threat. Scammers can often find the names and contact details of your close friends, family, and coworkers through your social media profiles or online footprint . 

It’s a safe bet to always assume that anything you send to someone online could be shared with your friends, family, and coworkers.  

Warning signs of a sextortion scam:

• They want you to send nude photos or videos and push for you to be identifiable in them (i.e., they can see your face).
• They promise to send you photos or videos in return. In some cases, scammers will steal sensitive photos from online accounts and share those first to build your trust. 

📚 Related: The Most Unbelievable Identity Theft Stories of All Time →

7. Getting you to visit phishing and malware-infected websites

Sometimes online dating scams follow the same pattern as a spam email . After matching, the scammer quickly sends you a link or asks to email you an attachment (like a photo or similar). 

But these links and attachments may contain malware or ransomware . The scammer might also send you to a spoofed version of a site you recognize — like Facebook or Twitter — and steal your login credentials. 

Warning signs of a malware or phishing site dating scam:

• They send you a link in a message that is either shortened (hiding its true destination) or looks legitimate. 
• The site you enter shows signs of being a phishing site, such as typos and grammatical errors or an “unsecure” URL. Secure sites use HTTPS, not HTTP, and will include a padlock symbol near their URL.

8. Overseas doctors, developers, or military romance scams

Some scammers pretend to be overseas doctors or developers to seem more legitimate. They may also say they’re in the military and stationed in another country.

Not only are these jobs the perfect excuse for why they can’t meet in person, but they also instill trust in their victim. But once you’re “hooked” in the relationship, the scammer will ask for money to help their family “back home” or for an investment opportunity. 

They’ll claim to be dealing with banking issues because they’re overseas but promise to pay you back. After all, they’re successful and trustworthy. But any money you send will never be repaid. And if you question them too much, they’ll disappear and delete their accounts. 

Warning signs of an overseas romance scam:

• They claim to have a high-paying or secure job but are unable to pay for basic necessities or access their bank account. 
• They’ve come across a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity overseas and want you to be a part of it. 
• They are suddenly in legal trouble and unable to pay fees or fines. 
• They’ve never able to go on video calls due to “poor connections” or time zone differences. If you call, they’re never around to answer. 

9. SMS two-factor authentication scam (verification code scam)

Two-factor-authentication (2FA) is an additional security measure for your online accounts that requires a one-time-use code along with your username and password. Most people opt to get their 2FA codes sent to them over SMS. However, scammers on dating sites have started using this to bypass the security feature. 

In a verification code scam, the scammer claims that a verification code isn’t working for them and asks to send the code to your number instead.

In reality, they’re trying to hack one of your accounts  — such as your email, banking, or social media — and want you to give them your own 2FA code. 

Warning signs of a 2FA dating site scam:

• They claim they can’t get into an account and want to send you a verification code. 
• You receive failed log-in attempt emails from your online services before they ask to send you a code. 

10. “Money Mule” romance scams

In this variation a fraudster gets you to unknowingly launder money for them. 

Over the course of your “relationship”, the scammer will send you money and ask you to purchase gift cards, cryptocurrency, or foreign currencies. They might also ask you to open a bank account or send and receive packages. 

While you might think you’re doing them a favor, you’ve actually become a “money mule” and could be liable for criminal charges. 

Never buy gift cards, currency, or cryptocurrency, even as a favor for a potential partner, and be very wary if anyone asks you to do that.

Warning signs of a money mule romance scam:

• They ask you to buy gift cards for them or for someone else (promising to pay you back).
• They ask you to receive or send money and packages on behalf of themselves or someone else.
• They ask you to open a bank account in their name.

11. Inheritance scams

This is a common email scam but has made its way to dating apps and websites. After gaining a victim’s trust, the scammer pretends that they have a large inheritance waiting to be claimed. But the only way to claim the funds is to pay some kind of fee that would release the money.

The scammer asks their target for the money to claim the inheritance, promising to not only pay them back, but to share the large sum with them. This is all a scam, of course, and victims often never hear from the scammers again after sending them money. 

The best way to avoid falling for this scam is to avoid ever sending someone money and to be wary if they don’t want to meet in real life.

Warning signs of inheritance scams on dating sites:

• They start talking about wealthy relatives who’ve left them a large inheritance. 
• They claim to have “money issues” that prevent them from paying fees and need your help. 

How To Quickly Identify an Online Romance Scammer

Despite the number of different online dating scams, most scammers use the same tricks and tactics. If you think you’re dealing with a fraudulent dating profile, ask these questions:

• Is their profile “too perfect” (job, photos, etc)?
• Do they always claim to be traveling or overseas? If so, why are they trying to start a relationship with you? 
• Are they trying to move the relationship forward quickly in terms of intimacy? Do they pressure you to do the same? 
• Are they asking you for money, gifts, or financial “help” of any kind? 
• Do they always have issues when it’s time to video chat, talk on the phone, or meet in person? 
• Have they mentioned too-good-to-be-true investments or opportunities (cryptocurrencies, inheritances, etc.)? Do they ask if you want to make a lot of money with no risk? 
• Are they constantly dealing with emergencies and needing help paying their bills? 
• Do they ask you very personal questions?
• Are they trying to get you to move the conversation to a different dating site or WhatsApp?
• Do they ask you to “prove” yourself (that you’re trustworthy or that you love them)? 
• Do they seem pushy or argumentative if you start questioning them?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be at risk of falling for an online romance scammer.

How To Protect Yourself from the Dangers of Online Dating

Follow these dating safety tips to keep yourself safe in the online world:

Limit giving away personal details

Find a balance between sharing enough to build a connection and also protecting yourself by:

• Using unique photos: If you reuse your social media photos on dating sites, scammers can use them to find your other accounts and learn more about you. 
• Not giving away too much info: Avoid giving away addresses, your employer’s identity, and other personal info. This goes for both your profile and in conversations. 
• Keeping messages on the app: A telltale sign of a scammer is when they try to take conversations off the app. Try to keep messaging on the app as much as possible. If you talk on the phone, use an alternative phone number service like Google Voice.

The same goes for dating or meeting up in person. Unfortunately, there have been reports of sex offenders using dating apps and sites like Tinder and Bumble [ * ]. Always put your safety first when dating online and in person. 

Do your research 

If you feel a connection with someone, do a quick Google search of their photos and name to make sure they’re not a scammer.  

Always be careful and skeptical

Meeting people offline (in a public place at first) is always the first step toward trust. Be very careful about doing any favors or trusting a match too much at first if you haven’t even met them in real life. If they start talking about money, needing help, or having some kind of medical emergency, you should take that as a red flag.

Secure your accounts and identity

Even if you accidentally give up details to a romance scammer, you can take preventative measures to protect your accounts. Use secure passwords, a password manager, and 2FA on all your accounts. Sign up for credit monitoring to alert you if anyone has gained access to your financial information.

Were You Scammed on an Online Dating Site? Do This ASAP

Don’t be embarrassed if you got scammed on an online dating site or app — it happens to thousands of online daters. Instead, stay calm and take the following steps depending on how severe the scam is:

• If you spot the red flags of a romance scammer: Break off contact with them and block and report their account to the dating site you’re using. 
• If you give someone sensitive information: Secure your online and financial accounts by changing your passwords, setting up a fraud alert with the credit monitoring agencies, and reporting the fraud to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov .
• If you sent a scammer money: Report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). You may be able to reverse wire transfers or track gift cards by contacting the company you sent them through. 
• If you’re the victim of identity theft or fraud: Look for the warning signs of identity theft. If you recognize any, follow these steps to secure your accounts and recover from identity theft . Be sure you also report the identity theft to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov.

The Bottom Line: Online Dating Can Be Safe

While the dangers of online dating can seem scary, it’s no reason to give up on it. Stay safe by being cautious about who you interact with until you can confirm their identity. And always be on the lookout for the warning signs of typical online dating scams.

For added protection, consider signing up for Aura’s all-in-one digital security solution. Aura protects you from identity theft, financial fraud, and viruses like malware. Plus, if the worst happens, you have access to 24/7 Fraud Resolution Specialists and are covered by a $1,000,000 insurance policy for eligible losses due to identity theft.

Stay safe and shut down scammers. Try Aura free for 14 days .

Award-winning identity theft protection with AI-powered digital security tools, 24/7 White Glove support, and more. Try Aura for free.

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Dangerous liaisons: is everyone doing it online.

Main Findings

• As many as one-in-three people are dating online
• People turn to online dating for a variety of reasons – 48% do it for fun, while some look for more meaningful relationships and one-in-ten are simply looking for sex (13%)
• People share information with others too easily when they are dating online, with a quarter (25%) admitting they share their full name publicly on their dating profile. One-in-ten have shared their home address, and the same number have shared naked photos of themselves this way, exposing them to risk
• Even though lying is one of the most hated aspects of online dating, 57% of online daters lie to each other, faking a range of attributes such as their names, marital status, location and appearance
• People are concerned for their safety when they date online, with some of the main concerns involving worries about IT security – for example, 63% are concerned about the device they use for online dating becoming infected and 61% are concerned about their data being stolen or leaked from the dating app or service itself
• These concerns are well-founded – 55% have experienced some form of threat or problem while dating online. And, people that use online dating are twice as likely to experience an IT security incident than people that don’t (41% vs 20%), primarily due to their increased level of online activity in general
• Protection is also an issue for people that indulge in online dating. Just 27% of online daters use a security solution to protect their device and 16% do nothing at all to protect themselves as they see no risk

Introduction

Digital technology, especially smart devices, have transformed many aspects of our society, including how people meet each other and establish relationships – romantic or otherwise.

Attitudes towards dating apps and services have grown progressively more positive in recent years. Testament to this fact, when Pew Research Centre first questioned Americans about online dating in 2005, just 44% said the activity is a good way to meet people, and the majority thought it was a poor replacement for striking up relationships in the ‘real’ world. But the way we communicate, meet and express our love has changed dramatically since then, and when Pew Research Centre repeated the study ten years later, the number that considered online dating to be a good way of meeting people had grown to 59%.

How we conduct our relationships is changing, and it’s clear that technology has a key part to play in this change. People are now not only turning to their devices to work, shop, and play, but to manage their personal lives and relationships too.

Online dating is becoming more popular. But with concerns rife following incidents such as the infamous Ashley Madison breach, and with the process inherently requiring users to share personal information, it’s important to consider the potential dangers involved. Are online daters giving away too much about themselves? Are they, through online dating, exposing themselves and their devices to malicious people – or indeed malware – all too easily?

To understand the topic better and to help users protect themselves when they are dating online, Kaspersky Lab has undertaken a study into people’s online dating habits. The following report summarises our findings.

Methodology

An online survey conducted by research firm B2B International and Kaspersky Lab in August 2017 assessed the attitudes of 21,081 users aged over 16 years old from 32 countries.

This report outlines the responses of 6,458 online dating users from 30 of the countries surveyed (answers from respondents in China and the UAE have been excluded) regarding their online activity, including the types of devices they use, the kind of information they share, and any concerns they might have about online dating apps and services.

Data was weighted to be globally representative and consistent, split equally between men and women, and not all the results from the study have been included in this report. To request further data please contact Kaspersky Lab at [email protected] .

Look around. Someone near you is dating online

Online dating provides users with the ideal place to meet people that have similar likes, dislikes and character traits to them. It improves the chances of a user actually liking the person they’re going to meet on a date (because they can search for people that meet certain criteria), and, if you believe the online dating services themselves, an increasing number of people are also now finding lasting and meaningful relationships online. Considering all of this, perhaps it’s no surprise our study found that as many as 32% of Internet users are dating online.

So, if one-in-three people out there are doing it, who is the typical online dater?

Although such a large number of people are dating online, our study has found that if you decide to take part, you are most likely to be in the company of users that meet the following criteria.

People that date online are most likely to be:

• 33.8 years old on average
• Working full-time (63%)
• Slightly more likely to be male than female (39% of men date online vs 25% of women)
• Device-savvy – they have around 5 mobile devices compared to the usual 3 per household
• They are most likely to work as medium-level managers (20%) or be highly qualified specialists such as scientific workers, teachers and engineers (19%)

Many people that are on the online dating scene are young, as the 33.8 average age suggests, with 43% of 25-34 year olds using online dating services. This tech-savvy age group is likely embracing online dating as a way to meet interesting new people while balancing busy professional lives.

Meanwhile, people that class themselves as the head of a company or business owners make up a surprisingly large one-in-ten (11%) of the online dating population. Interestingly, we also found that 31% of people that are married or living with a partner are using online dating.

Online daters are most likely to visit dating apps and services from Windows PCs and Android smartphones than any other type of device. And, 51% of online daters admit to using a device that they use for work to carry out their online dating activities, despite the fact that they may be putting confidential corporate data at risk by doing so.

A pocket-sized relationship?

So why are these people going online to start up relationships with others? Certainly, online dating provides all the convenience of making it quick and easy to meet people. Plus, it’s an activity that’s available across multiple devices, at all times of day and night.

Our study asked people why they turn to online dating and while half (48%) said they mostly use online dating for fun, other reasons were also evident, with some saying they are looking for more meaningful relationships, and around one-in-ten simply looking for sex (13%).

These findings suggest that there is still a degree of cynicism around the success of online dating, with people being twice as likely to look for ‘fun’ online, than love (a partner). However, with so many people turning to online dating for such a variety of reasons, it’s clear that the activity is literally allowing people to carry their relationships around with them wherever they go.

Gender differences also come into play. For example, men are much more likely than women to use online dating for sex (18% vs 5%), whereas men and women are equally as likely to be looking for new friends.

What people get up to when they’re dating online

While many different types of people go online to date – and they do it for multiple reasons, our study also asked people about what they get up to when they are dating online, in order to understand the potential security implications.

It’s all in the profile

The profile is understandably a crucial part of online dating. It allows users to share snippets of their lives. It acts as a window, or a preview of a person, enticing others to reach out to them or find out more.

Is the profile crucial to the success of online dating? Yes. But is profile information secure? No. We found that a worrying number of online dating users are, through their profiles, placing sensitive information about themselves into the public domain, which could potentially lead them to harm if the information was to fall into the wrong hands.

For example, one-in-ten online dating users have shared their full home address publicly on their profile, have shared details about their work/ trade secrets, or personal details about their family in this way.

Many share photos of themselves or their loved ones this way – 15% using online dating have shared photos of their family publicly by displaying them on their profile and 17% have shared photos of their friends. Even more worryingly, one-in-ten (9%) have even shared intimate photos of themselves publicly on their profile, literally exposing themselves to the danger of having their precious or sensitive images mistreated by total strangers.

Matching up to danger

People tend to share their information even more willingly with matches and it doesn’t take long for online daters to be persuaded to part with personal information about themselves, such as their home address or phone number.

People are more likely to give up information to those they have been ‘matched’ with in the online dating world – 16% give out personal details to matches, 15% tell matches embarrassing things about themselves and 14% provide their matches with private or unclothed photos of themselves. All of this information, in the wrong hands, can be used to track online dating users and their families online and offline, to crack their accounts by guessing passwords, for blackmail, and more. What’s more, this risky sharing happens faster than you might expect.

Giving out this information can mean that a relationship struck up online can enter the real world very quickly – with people going from being strangers, to being able to access an online dater’s home address or phoneline within a matter of minutes. That, of course, is not always a safe or a good thing.

However, there is a disparity between men and women. When it comes to personal information, men are ready to share information about themselves much faster than women are. Female users are likely to share information after several months (25% vs 16%), while men are significantly more likely to hand over their personal details after just minutes or hours (16% vs 9%).

Despite the high proportion of people who use online dating services or apps, there are several factors that can put users off.

For example, one-in-ten users overall are worried about receiving malicious links or malware that infects their device and 9% are being put off by scammers that try to extort information or financial details from them. In both cases, entrepreneurs and self-employed online daters are the most worried about these threats, with 12% of this group worried about malware and 15% concerned about scammers.

Overall, 9% are also put off online dating by people who send overly private or unclothed images, and 7% are put off the activity when the information they share on dating services is used by others to harm them in some way. But coming across fake information – such as false photos (19%), fake relationship expectations (12%) and dishonest relationship statuses (11%) – was cited by respondents as the most common reason people are put off online dating services overall.

People might turn to online dating for fun and to strike up new relationships, but ironically our study shows that a large number of people lie in the process, and this in itself is off-putting. 57% of online daters admitted they lie, most of whom (67%) turned out to be married men.

Among those that admitted they lie during online dating, the most popular things to lie about include their names, marital status, location and appearance – such as by showing fake photos. Yet, those who ‘fake it’ are ironically the most likely to be put off online dating because of the amount of false information they come across. Perhaps they don’t enjoy a taste of their own medicine? Either way, people faking it is one of the most hated aspects of online dating.

So, why are people lying online? Our study offers up many reasons including one-in-ten online daters (11%) using fake accounts as a way to protect themselves from harm. But other reasons vary from people trying to catch their partners cheating, to trying to make themselves look better, or simply lying for the fun of it.

Safety first. People’s concerns about dating online

With people lying for a variety of reasons online, safety, naturally, becomes something that we should question. You wouldn’t trust a stranger in the street who lies to you about themselves, so why should you let them into your digital life, or give them access to sensitive information about yourself?

With online dating so prevalent, users are clearly giving strangers access to their lives, which could perhaps be why those who date online have concerns about their online safety.

We found that vulnerable people such as the unemployed, and unmarried women, tend to be most concerned about meeting ‘people with bad intentions’ through their online dating activities. Meanwhile, older age groups have slightly different concerns. 45-54 year olds, for example, tend to be concerned about the possibility of not being able to delete their information from online dating sites, and people aged 65+ are more concerned about fraud.

Overall though, some of the main concerns about dating online involve worries about data protection, with 61% of users being worried about their data being leaked from the dating service/app itself.

In addition, 63% are concerned about the device they use for online dating being infected by malware, demonstrating a heightened feeling of insecurity among the online dating community.

When it all goes wrong

Sometimes, people’s concerns about online dating do become a reality. After all, online dating, just like dating in the real-world, doesn’t always go to plan, and it can hurt when this happens.

Overall, 55% of people that date online have experienced some form of threat or problem – ranging from IT security incidents to meeting up with people that didn’t turn out to be who they claimed, or being rejected by potential matches.

The data suggests that men put themselves at risk more than women. Twice as many male online daters said their device has been infected with malware, spyware or ransomware and 13% of men had been sent phishing emails that claimed to be from an online dating site, compared to just 7% of women.

In contrast, 15% of women said they had been involved in a conversation that made them feel uncomfortable compared to just 10% of men.

When it comes to occupations, business owners (19%) were the most likely to have had their device infected with malware or ransomware, while entrepreneurs or self-employed daters were most likely to have met someone who was not who they said they were.

People that date online also tend to conduct a higher proportion of other activities on the Internet, making them particularly vulnerable to the dangers of the online world – as well as to the ‘usual’ risks of dating or arranging to meet up with people they don’t know or trust. This is perhaps one of the reasons why people that use online dating websites are therefore twice as likely to experience an IT security incident than people that don’t (41% compared to 20%).

Looking in more detail at the IT security incidents experienced by people that date online, there’s a wide range of things that can go wrong. For example, around one-in-three people that use online dating have had their device infected with malware or a virus compared to just 12% who don’t use online dating. In addition, around one-in-ten have had their device hacked, have had their data infected, shared, or become the victim of financial fraud.

Always use protection

So why are people that date online, experiencing more IT security problems than people that don’t? One obvious answer already touched upon is the fact that people involved in online dating do spend a lot of time online, and therefore might naturally come across more dangers than people who don’t. However, the study also shows that people are not protecting themselves properly when they are dating online.

Looking at the protection methods people put in place, just 36% use strong passwords to keep their information secure and only 27% use a security solution to help, leaving the majority exposed to risk. Worryingly, 16% do nothing to protect themselves at all, because they do not see the risk.

Despite not doing much to help themselves, 55% say that strong security and privacy practices are important to them when they choose an online dating website, service, or app, and only 12% do not know what security and privacy practices are. So, there is an awareness and certain level of concern about the dangers involved in online dating. This just needs to translate into action.

Conclusion: if you’re going to do it, do it safely

Today, people are time-poor, and we rely on our digital devices to help us manage our schedules, our busy lives, and how we interact with others. Digital devices act as a window to the rest of the world, including our relationships.

This is even more the case where online dating is concerned. This form of striking up new relationships is entirely dependent on our digital platforms or smart devices. People are, because of online dating, literally carrying their dates around with them in their pockets.

While this comes with a large amount of convenience, it also comes with its own risks. Like any form of dating, meeting up with strangers isn’t always plain-sailing and this is also the case online. Online dating, indeed, requires the exchange of a certain level of information which, if placed in the wrong hands, can be misused.

Needless to say, our study has found that people that take part in online dating, are likely to share sensitive information with people they don’t know, or have only just met. What’s more, they share this data quickly. They are also at heightened risk of experiencing an IT security-related problem such as having their data leaked or exposed in some way. Yet, they do little to protect themselves, with only one-in-three putting basic security measures in place such as using strong passwords or restraining themselves to sharing limited information about themselves online.

The boundary between online dating and the real world can very easily be blurred. Information about home addresses, once shared, can very quickly result in strangers turning up on doorsteps, personal information and sensitive photos can very easily turn into blackmail opportunities or put hacked accounts in the hands of cybercriminals.

Far from advising people to reduce their online dating activities, we simply would like to advise online daters to exercise caution, just like they would in the physical world. If you chose to date online, be careful not to click on unknown links that could be malicious, and try to avoid using insecure Wi-Fi hotspots where data can be intercepted by cybercriminals.

Furthermore, use protection in the form of a security solution and strong, hard-to-guess passwords, be savvy about how much data you give away and, importantly, look after the data you care about the most. That’s where Kaspersky Lab can help.

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Essay on Dangers Of Online Dating

Students are often asked to write an essay on Dangers Of Online Dating in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Dangers Of Online Dating

Introduction.

Online dating is a modern way to meet new people. It is convenient and easy, but it also has some dangers. We must be aware of these dangers to stay safe.

Stranger Danger

One of the main dangers of online dating is talking to strangers. We don’t know who is on the other side of the screen. They can lie about their age, job, or even their name. It’s hard to tell if they are telling the truth.

Personal Information Risk

Another danger is sharing personal information. If we share our address, phone number, or bank details, they could use it to harm us. It’s important to keep this information private.

Cyberbullying and Harassment

Sometimes, people can be mean online. They may send hurtful messages or spread rumors. This can lead to stress and sadness. It’s important to block and report these people.

Online dating can be fun, but we must be careful. It’s important to remember these dangers and take steps to protect ourselves.

250 Words Essay on Dangers Of Online Dating

Title: Dangers Of Online Dating

Identity Theft

Online dating can sometimes lead to identity theft. This is when someone pretends to be you, using your personal details. They may steal your name, photos, and other private information. This can result in serious problems like loss of money or damage to your reputation.

False Profiles

Some people create fake profiles on dating sites. They may use a fake name, photo, or lie about their age. This can be dangerous because you might end up trusting and sharing your secrets with someone who is not real.

Online Scams

There are many scams on the internet, and online dating sites are not an exception. Scammers may pretend to be in love with you, only to trick you into giving them money. They may also ask for your bank details, which can lead to loss of your hard-earned money.

Physical Harm

The most serious danger of online dating is the risk of physical harm. Meeting someone you only know online can be risky. They might not be who they claim to be, and this can lead to harmful situations. Always tell a trusted adult if you plan to meet an online friend in person.

In conclusion, online dating can be dangerous. It’s important to be careful, protect your personal information, and always tell a trusted adult about your online activities. Remember, your safety is more important than anything else.

500 Words Essay on Dangers Of Online Dating

Online dating is a popular way for people to meet and make connections. It’s a world where you can meet someone new at the click of a button. But, like many things on the internet, it comes with risks and dangers. This essay will discuss the dangers of online dating that everyone, especially school students, should be aware of.

False Identities

One of the main dangers of online dating is the risk of meeting someone who is not who they claim to be. Some people create fake profiles with false information about their age, looks, job, or lifestyle. This is called “catfishing”. It can lead to disappointment and hurt feelings when the truth is revealed. Worse, it can put you in a dangerous situation if the person has harmful intentions.

Scams and Fraud

Online dating can also expose you to scams. Some people use dating sites to trick others into giving them money. They may pretend to be in love or in trouble, and ask for help. This is called a “romance scam”. It’s important to be careful about sharing personal information or money with someone you’ve only met online.

Privacy Risks

When you use online dating sites, you share a lot of personal information. This could include your name, photos, location, and even your likes and dislikes. This information can be used in the wrong way if it falls into the wrong hands. It can lead to stalking, harassment, or even identity theft. It’s important to use privacy settings and be careful about what information you share.

Emotional Risks

Online dating can also have emotional risks. It can be easy to get attached to someone you’ve only met online. But, if the relationship ends, it can lead to feelings of sadness, anger, or confusion. It’s also common to feel pressure to look or act a certain way online, which can lead to stress and low self-esteem.

Online dating can be a fun and exciting way to meet new people. But it’s important to remember the dangers and to be careful. Always be sure about who you’re talking to, be careful with your personal information, and listen to your feelings. Remember, it’s okay to take things slow and to ask for help if you need it. By being aware of these dangers, you can make sure your online dating experience is safe and enjoyable.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Dangers Of Drugs
• Essay on Dangers Of Drinking And Driving
• Essay on Dangerous Situation

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Florida ranks among Top 5 'most dangerous' states for online dating, study says

Most people who use online dating sites hope for new romance and to find a long-term partner.

At the same time, bad actors are lurking behind computer screens for a chance to scam those looking for a date.

And according to a recent study from Privacy Journal , a website that offers advice on online security and privacy, dates are more likely to go wrong in Florida than in just about any other state in the country.

The website’s recent research into romance scams, identity theft and more put Florida fourth among the most dangerous states for online dating in the U.S.

Online predators: Tips to protect your kids from unsafe interactions

So what does Privacy Journal’s research show about Florida? Which states ranked even lower? Here’s what we know:

Florida among most ‘dangerous’ states for online dating

Using data from the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Centers for Disease Control, the Census Bureau and other sources, Privacy Journal looked at numbers from 100 cities in the U.S.

Using six factors — romance scam reports, identity theft reports, fraud reports, registered sex offenders, STD incidence, and violent crime rates — and calculating the rate of each factor per 100,000 people, the website ranked each state from safest to most dangerous.

According to Privacy Journal, “Florida is the second-worst state in the country for both identity theft and fraud, and the seventh worst for becoming a victim of romance scams.”

“Florida already has a bad reputation thanks to the Florida Man meme, and our numbers for online dating risk factors don’t help the situation,” it added.

Ranked 47 th overall, only three other states are more dangerous than Florida for online daters, according to the website: Georgia, Alaska and Nevada.

In Daytona Beach: Woman looking for walk on the beach raped by man she met on dating website, police say

Florida’s violent crime rate, however, is one of the lowest among other states.

Which state is the safest for online dating?

Vermont ranks safest for online dating, according to the study. It has the "second-lowest rate of reported identity theft and the lowest rate of STDs, and it ranks in the bottom 10 for violent crime and fraud."

How do you know if you're chatting with a scammer?

According to Privacy Journal, there are recognizable patterns and behavior that online daters should look out for to avoid getting scammed.

After reviewing around 400 romance scam reports submitted to the Better Business Bureau in 2023 and 2024, the website determined these patterns to be:

• Persistent requests for money:  Romance scammers use a fake relationship, almost always online, to extort money from their targets. Scammers usually claim they need money for a sympathetic reason that exploits the target’s feelings for them. Requesting cryptocurrency or a gift card instead of a bank transfer or a check is a big red flag.
• Excuses to not meet:  Maintaining a false identity is much easier online than in real life. To maintain their illusions, romance scammers prefer to work from other states or countries and may even refuse to video chat. Beware of a long-distance relationship with anyone who is constantly finding reasons not to see you in person.
• Elaborate storytelling:  Romance scam artists are great at fabricating complex backstories that make victims more likely to fall for them and send money. Common elements include abuse, legal trouble, being trapped in a foreign country, or needing money for phone or internet bills so the relationship can continue.
• Secrecy and isolation:  To keep the target’s friends or family members from catching on, scammers discourage their victims from telling others about the relationship. Most provide a fabricated reason, such as fear that others won’t accept their love.
• False sense of urgency:  Like all con artists, romance scammers rely on bypassing your critical thinking skills and getting you to act on instinct. When asking for money, they’ll often concoct reasons they need funds immediately, such as their phone card being minutes from running out.

To learn more about Privacy Journal’s study, visit privacyjournal.net/safest-states-for-online-dating .

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How Language Influences Your Choices in Online Dating

When a dating app allowed users to mute specific words, phrases and emojis, singles quickly curated their lists. How did a few overused phrases become an “ick” for so many?

By Sam Corbin

Being “fluent in sarcasm,” a love of tacos, an uncontroversial opinion followed by the words “change my mind.” These are a few well-trodden tropes of the online dating world, and there may be a linguistic explanation for why they don’t work on you.

The popular dating app Hinge added a new feature called Hidden Words this month. It allows users to hide the profiles of matches who use certain words, phrases or emojis in their messages.

Online singles were quick to express their eagerness to take advantage of a “mute” button for specific language that turned them off. “I wish I could mute the phrase ‘pineapple belongs on pizza,’” said Mitchell Allen, a 31-year-old in Toronto who uses Hinge and Bumble, and lamented a lack of meaningful connections on the apps. Mr. Allen said he would also mute any phrases relating to love languages and Myers-Briggs typology: “I don’t believe anyone who speaks like that lives in a universe of reality.”

Liking pineapple on pizza is innocent enough — but expressing it, according to much of the online dating world, is intolerable. And those using such clichés may not realize that they’ve consigned themselves to semantic purgatory.

All dating apps allow users to filter potential matches according to their age, gender and proximity (most also paywall other filters ), effectively rendering invisible those who don’t fit the bill. But users’ enthusiasm for a filter according to word choice exposes just how specific their dislikes, or icks, can be.

Malia Griggs, a 34-year-old who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., said that she couldn’t help being turned off by poor grammar, such as someone using the wrong “you’re” or “their” in a message or profile.

“I wish I could filter for punctuation almost,” Ms. Griggs said. She admitted that, while her dating coach had encouraged her to view habits like spelling and grammar as changeable, she continued to see both as a definitive sexual turnoff. “To me, it feels like you’re not taking the time to even read your own profile a couple of times, and we don’t have the same values. My values are grammar.”

Even if spelling errors and grammar aren’t holistic indicators of a person’s dateability, the best online connections are often forged by finding those who communicate through screens the same way you do.

This is often called “typographical tone of voice,” a phrase coined by Gretchen McCulloch, a popular internet linguist, to describe how online writing has come to contain the same social nuance as face-to-face interactions. It may follow, then, that glib statements such as “no drama” and “since apparently it matters” convey far more than those writing them realize — including an inability to read the (virtual) room.

“A lot of these cliché phrases, a lot of people take them to imply something else,” said Erika Ettin, an online dating coach in New York City. “‘No drama,’ for example, might be a euphemism for ‘Don’t bring up your issues to me because I don’t want to hear about them.’”

Having spent years swiping for her clients, Ms. Ettin said she wasn’t surprised to hear that daters could get the ick from an idiom. “I mean, I could go on all day about the cliché phrases that everyone is sick of,” she said, listing off a series of generalizations of abundant variety — including “I like to go out” and “I like to stay in” — and the bizarrely pervasive love of tacos. “Like, OK, tacos are fine, but gee whiz.”

Adele Goldberg, a professor of linguistics and psychology at Princeton University, suggested that associating a simple phrase and the negative conversations that often follow it might eventually make the two synonymous in daters’ minds.

“This is basically priming,” Professor Goldberg said. “If you hear the word ‘apple,’ the commonly associated word ‘orange’ will also come to mind.” Using a word or emoji that had been primed to be associated with something else in recipients’ minds — like an eggplant emoji (apple) and a particular body part (orange) — was unlikely to pass muster, she said, even if the sender intended it innocently or ironically.

Ms. Ettin was skeptical that certain words could be divorced from their double-entendres on dating apps and was confident in banning a word like “oral” from exchanges. “I don’t think anyone’s talking about an oral report in the first message,” she said. “‘How was your oral report on Woodrow Wilson?’ I don’t think so.”

Reached for comment, a Hinge representative emphasized that Hidden Words was primarily a safety feature and a means of “giving people the agency to create personal boundaries around the types of interactions they want to have.”

But in a swipe-addled era that has increasingly led hopeful romantics to burn out , app users’ boundaries may be a barrier to interaction itself. Ms. Griggs would be happy never to see a profile referring to “The Office” again: “We’ve all seen it. Like, I don’t … it doesn’t even matter if it’s a good show anymore. Get a new show.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the age of Malia Griggs. She is 34, not 32.

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Sam Corbin writes about language, wordplay and the daily crossword for The Times. More about Sam Corbin

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