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Online dating safety guidelines |
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Chancetomeet.com has created a fun, simple to use and safe environment in which to get to know and meet new people. It provides a community of members, all with the same goal of seeking friends, romance and relationships.
Chancetomeet.com has a big advantage over conventional methods of meeting people in its anonymity. This means you can progress a relationship in line with your own comfort zone and you do not have to reveal your real contact details, such as your name, real email address, phone numbers, home address etc., unless you choose.
This is a great tool for you to use in your search for a perfect partner. However, as with conventional ways of meeting people, there are certain things you should and should not do online to ensure your safety and well being.
Follow the simply guidelines below to take full advantage of the chancetomeet.com website and enjoy a safe and exciting online dating experience.
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| Be careful with your identity |
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| Communication online |
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| Meeting |
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| Long distance or international meetings |
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| Internet scams |
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Do not post any identity information in your profile such as your real name, phone numbers, home address, place of work, private email addresses etc.
Be truthful, polite and courteous with the text you write in your profile. There's nothing to be gained be stating things you can't back up later or will feel uncomfortable about.
Show a recent photo of yourself. Do not show a fake photo, this will waste your time and other peoples'. If you're serious about meeting people then be yourself.
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Have fun with your messages, be creative, inquisitive and flirt a little if you want to. But don't forget that you might meet this person in the future, so don't say anything that would make you feel uncomfortable later.
Use the anonymous email system as it is intended. Therefore, do not give away personal contact information in your emails, chats or conversations until you feel safe and comfortable revealing yourself.
For extra security, consider using a secondary free email address such as hotmail just for your dating messages. As you get to know a person, you may decide to reveal your real email address to them and if you change your mind, you will then be able to easily change your email address if you need to.
If you call another member by phone, hide your number if the facility is available until you are sure of that person.
Do not be persuaded or pressured into meeting someone or using a private email address or phone number someone has given to you. You can always say no. If they are genuine they will understand your reasons. If they persist, then we recommend that you block them from contacting you.
Using chancetomeet.com is intended to be fun and enjoyable. If you feel something is not right with the person with whom you are corresponding. If they seem vague or give contradicting information then withdraw from the correspondence. If they display abusive behaviour then block them from contacting you.
Examples of inappropriate or abusive behaviour are: harassing or offensive emails, people who lie about their current relationship/marital status, fraudulent registration details and photos, members asking for money, spam or people trying to buy or sell and criminal activity.
Trust your gut feeling on these matters. If you are not comfortable with something, don't do it or stop corresponding if you're not sure. Be responsible for your own actions.
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To develop any relationship requires time and a progressive approach of give and take, however, a little common sense and caution will help you to make good decisions about who you should and should not meet, when and where. By far the greater majority of people are genuine, but there's always the chance that the person you are meeting is not what they portrayed themselves to be or how you imagined them to be. Dishonest people can be found in all conventional meeting places, such as bars and pubs etc. The internet is no different.
Always meet in a public place and tell someone you know well where you are meeting and when. Call them before and after the date to tell them things are ok.
It is a good idea to keep the first date informal and short. You can always make a longer date next time or extend the first one if it's going well. Always have a pre-planned reason to leave, just in case you are not comfortable with your date or the situation.
Don't get drunk, especially the first time you meet someone. It won't make a good impression and you'll want to be able to make sober decisions, not through a drunken haze.
Use your own transport or public transport to and from your date. Don't allow your date to pick you up from home or take you back home afterwards.
Don't leave personal items, food or drinks unattended.
Don't take your first date home, especially if pressured.
By all means setup your next date if the last one went well, but don't give in to pressure if it's not what you want to do.
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With air travel being so much more prevalent these days, combined with the emergence of online dating. It is now much more straightforward to travel to another country or meet someone a considerable distance away. Though the prospect of doing this can be very exciting and romantic, there are just a few common sense guidelines to add to the above meeting recommendations.
Stay in a reputable hotel and not at your date's home. Remember, no matter how well you think you know them, until you arrive in their country or city you'll have never met.
Keep the location of your hotel private until you feel comfortable with your date.
Don't use transport arranged by your date, make your own arrangements. Don't get into a private vehicle with your date, use taxis or public transport.
Keep family and friends informed as to your schedule.
If you're in a strange city or country, you need to be more aware of people and things around you and take extra care with personal effects and valuables.
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Over the last few years, we have all become aware that confidence tricksters have taken to the Internet. Fortunately, these people are by far in the minority, but annoying none the less. Most of the activity seems to come from West Africa and Russia and their emails contain a range of themes. However, they are all looking for ways to extort money out of you.
Some typical themes are as follows:
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| An offer far too good to be true, this usually involves you opening a bank account for them and you placing your money into it.
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| A good luck or extreme hard luck story that tries to exploit your good nature.
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| After building up a good email rapport, they suddenly have a disaster which requires you to send them money to resolve it.
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| Tell tale signs of a scammer at work |
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Scammers can be blatantly obvious and just send you their unbelievable story in the first email or they can be quite subtle at the start. Be aware of a potential scam by keeping a watchful eye for any of the following signs:
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| Short emails declaring you are going to be the love of their life very early in the email exchange. These emails usually contain very bad English with bad grammar and spelling.
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| The inclusion of private contact information or an email address in the first email received.
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| A statement urging you to reply to their email as they have something very important to tell you or to disclose to you.
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| The person you are emailing does not answer your questions or is vague in their answers.
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| The person you are emailing asks very few questions about you, but is still declaring undying love for you.
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| Only being sent 1 or 2 photos or only sending you what look like professionally produced photos.
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| To protect yourself |
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If you are suspicious that the person you are emailing is a scammer, subtly check them out. Do a bit of research on the internet and subtly ask them questions they should know the answers to. Questions about where they live, their job etc. Be sure the person with whom you are exchanging emails is where they say they are from and not from some part of West Africa. Most Internet scams originate from that part of the world and are run by organised criminals. If their response makes you suspicious, withdraw from the correspondence.
Never send money to anyone you have never met, no matter how life threatening their circumstances may seem.
Never provide bank details or any other personal financial details through an email, no matter who the email appears to be from.
Chancetomeet.com will never ask you for any payment information using email and chancetomeet.com will never provide a link in an email for you to use to enter your personal and payment details for any reason.
If someone asks you for financial assistance, withdraw from the correspondence. Never pay for someone's hotel, air fare or travel arrangements who you have never met. If it is a scammer, they will let you spend the money and never turn up.
If you have reason to believe that the person you are emailing is a scammer, then we urge you to report them to us using the "report abuse" link in their profile. Withdraw from correspondence with them and move on. There are plenty more deserving people who will want to get to know you.
Following these simple guidelines will help you to enjoy an informed but safe and exciting online dating experience. Many thousands of people meet using the internet and we wish you good luck in your search.
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