Today’s guest post is by Sandy Glover, President Gold Shield Legal Investigations, Inc. Sandy is a retired police detective from the Metro-Atlanta area, a licensed private investigator and owns her own agency and Confadate, which specializes in background checks for business and personal safety.
Thousands of men and women enjoy the services of an on line dating provider. Thankfully many end up in the “Happily Ever After” category, some the “No way”, and unfortunately, some in the “Tragic mistakes”. There are identity thief’s and sexual predators lurking on the Internet. Well, let them lurk. I’m going to give you some pointers on how NOT to become a victim.
Say you decide to meet the on line someone, arrange to meet him (or her) in a public place that you feel safe being in. Provide your own transportation to the date site. This puts you in charge of when you leave, and if this date is falling on the “NO WAY” category, you have a way home. It goes without saying, do not get into this person’s vehicle or agree to go to their home until after you have gotten to know this person very well.
Tell a family member or a friend of the date arrangements (date, time, place). Ask them to call your cell (or send a text) 45 minuets to an hour in to the date This is not only for safety reasons but can give you an excuse to end the date early if you are thinking, “No Way”.
Getting a “Prue-date” background check done before the date, just to make sure this person is not a criminal or a sexual predator. You can find dozens of “free background” sites on the Internet, but you must be careful, there are laws that apply to what you can and cannot access when checking into someones background. To avoid the tables being turned against you, I suggest using a licensed private investigator or a licensed background screening company. Better yet, select a dating web site that conducts background checksbefore posting a profile.
Gentlemen, while your guys probably will not fall victim to a sexual predator, you can have your identity stolen very easily if you are not careful. When ever possible use cash when paying for dinner or drinks( and no it is not a good idea for your to flash a wad of bills around to impress your date) If you must use a credit card, you hand it to the waiter, you sign the receipt, and you accept the approved copy for your records..don’t leave this priceless bit of information laying around for just anybody to copy. Remember a identity thief only needs one of the following: your date of birth, your name, or your social security number and your identity belongs to someone else.
Searching the Internet to find someone who you can enjoy a relationship with is fun and exciting. If you follow these easy steps and use your good common sense, you can meet some great people!
