Safety Tips

The online dating guidelines have been put together to help you avoid uncomfortable situations and other problems.

Keep your anonymity

Take your time and ask lots of questions. Don't give out any personal information, including your email address. Use all the interactive features such as email and IM , which allows you to send and receive messages and communications without revealing any personal information. The forums can also give you an insight into people on UKAFRO. You can get a good idea of what a person may be like before you give them your email address. You can set up free email accounts through services such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and others. Never give out your last name, home address, phone number, work information, or any other identifying information in your profile or initial emails. Don't communicate with anyone who attempts to pressure you into giving this information. Simply ignore them.

Use common sense and be cautious.

Don't believe everything you read or are told, whether it is on a profile, in a IM, on the forums, in the email conversations. Watch out for a person who is simply too good to be true. Watch closely for odd behaviour, the person may not be what he or she says. Trust yourself and your gut instinct! You're responsible to take all the time you need to make sure a person is honest and trustworthy. If your gut tells you that someone is lying, they very likely are. Don’t make yourself vulnerable by becoming prematurely intimate with someone you’ve met online.

Ask for a photo

A photo will verify a person's profile information and give you a good idea of appearance. If you keep getting excuses, it is probable that he or she is trying to hide something. Our site will scan in a photo for free, so there really aren't any good excuses for not doing it. A person may also send you a photo of somebody else. Be cautious. One option is to ask for a photo of the person holding a recent newspaper, this will make it difficult for that person to use another person’s photo from the Internet.

Use the telephone

At the right time, a phone call will tell you many things about a person’s ability to communicate. Keep your number anonymous by blocking your number, and use the conversation to find out more about the person to make sure you want to meet. Only share your phone number when you feel absolutely sure about trusting the person.

Meet only when you are ready

Many times our excitement about a person makes us impatient but please be patient! One of the wonderful things about meeting somebody online is that you can gain so much information about a person before you feel you need to meet. You have NO obligation to meet anyone, ever. Stay away from that people that make you uncomfortable.

Warning signs

Behaviour such as anger, demeaning or disrespectful comments, physically inappropriate comments and behaviour, intense frustration or attempts at pressuring or controlling you are obvious warning signs. Stay away from people like this, just ignore them. Below are a few more things to watch for:

Meeting the first time, never go alone

Take a friend, always! Choose the safest possible environment. Even if you think you know every detail about a person and you trust them implicitly, meet in public where many people are around. Also, tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Give your date's name and telephone number or any other information to that person. Use your own transport to get to and from the date. Go somewhere very familiar to you.

Travelling for the date

Don't allow your date to make the arrangements. If the location where you are meeting seems unsafe, awkward, or inappropriate – don’t go ahead. And of course, make sure a friend or relative knows your plans and has the date details. Take a mobile phone with you and make sure it is charged and has sufficient credit.

How to get out of a difficult situation

Just leave. Its always better to be safe than sorry. Your safety is obviously more important than worrying about embarrassment, or what another person may think of you. Just leave.