By Karen Abby

With the online dating becoming more popular, you need to be prepared for the dates that you may arrange by using common sense and by doing a little research to cut down on your chances of meeting one of the online predators that get in to the mix from time to time. Having met my spouse on line, I must say there were a few weird ones before I found the one for me. Dating on line can be fun and allow you to come in contact with some interesting people and possibly you will be lucky enough to find your soul mate. However, proceed with caution.

People that are pretending to be interesting in your dating profile can sometimes turn out to be nothing like they have described themselves. Red flags should go up when anyone that wants to meet immediately. Take a few weeks of online chat and phone calls before considering meeting another person, go with your feelings, if it does not feel comfortable do not meet them in person until you are ready. Be cautious of links people send to you during on line chats and email. Do not click on a link without first knowing what it is and never download any programs on your computer. These programs are often some type of spy ware programs that can steal information from your computer like your passwords and credit card numbers.

These online predators can put a real strain for online dating but if you are smart, you should not have any problems. You need to protect yourself by not giving out too much personal information and by staying out of financial matters.

When you do decide to meet someone, keep your personal information with you at all times, your credit card information or other personal information can be used to steal your identity. This will not show up sometimes for weeks after your meeting, but when the ball starts rolling it will take months and sometimes years to undo the damage.

Lastly, if things do start to get scary or you start to feel uncomfortable, try to excuse yourself from the situation and get out of there. If this opportunity does not come up for you, you need to have a backup plan in place. I suggest that you have a personal alarm, a pepper spray on your key chain and a small stun gun in your purse or pocket and know how to use these self defense tools, they could make the difference in you ability to escape form a very dangerous situation.

Karen Abby is a womens self defense and security products author and a major retailer of date rape prevention weapons.

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