The Principles of the Online Dating and the Issues That Comes With it

While online dating may seem to be the easiest way to find a relationship it can be dangerous and there are some additional precautions one needs to take.

Due to the anonymity of online dating, criminals have an easier time committing felonies. One of the risks of online dating is being robbed. Debbie Best, a victim of an online dating scam, received a message from her "boyfriend" saying he needed 5,000 dollars to get out of a country. At first she refused saying she needed that money for her kids but after persistence on "John's" part she gave him the money (Hicken). In this instance "John" not only negatively impacted Debbie's life but he also took away money her children needed. Moreover, identity theft is another potential consequence that harms more than just the person being scammed. An English actress had her information used on an online dating site.

The actress, Karen Bartke, stated "I really object to someone taking advantage with people like that, using my photo." It would be upsetting if someone used your information online and gave you a negative reputation. While both of these outcomes are undesirable, the irreversible outcome has also occurred to online daters. Mary Beckmen broke up with her online boyfriend and came home to find him in her garage. She received multiple stab wounds but fortunately was able to make it out alive. Her ex boyfriend Ridley got away and did the same thing to his next online match and succeeded (Hoffman). Online dating causes people to be less careful about who they are dating.

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While murder and fraud are both real consequences of online dating, these situations can be avoided if one recognizes warning signals and takes precautions. One of the most common signs of fraud is claiming to be overseas. In the case of Mrs. Romano her online love interest "identified himself as a decorated soldier based in Kabul, Afghanistan" (Dubreuil, Jim, Gerry Wagschal, and Rena Lafaille). Obviously, claiming to be overseas gives the criminal an excuse not to meet you in person which in turn makes victims easier to fool. Another indicator that is common in fraud cases is the person seeming too interested too quickly. The FBI offers these helpful warning signs for safer online dating: "professes instant feelings of love" (Singer).

Once again, common sense should tell you someone you have never even met in person should not tell you they love you. Finally, the possibly harsh outcomes of online dating can be avoided if one takes basic precautions. According to The Huffington Post the three guidelines you should follow when meeting an online date are meet them in a public place, tell someone where you are going, and do research beforehand. Meeting them in a public place prevents them from knowing your address, telling someone where you are going allows someone to be able to alert the police of your whereabouts if something goes awry, and doing research should reduce the risk of ending up in a dangerous situation.

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