Online Dating - Convenient, but is it Safe?

You've probably heard countless stories of people finding their soul mates online. There are online dating sites, chat rooms, and social networking sites that are all utilized for this purpose. Online dating can be a great way to find the person you will want to spend the rest of your life with, or just someone you think would be fun to go out with a time or two. While you have heard these success stories, there are some stories you probably don't know too much about. These are the stories where a highly dangerous criminal poses to be a decent, hardworking man or woman on dating sites, chat rooms, or social networking sites.

There are many people who pretend to be someone they're not on sites like this. In fact, this is the number one reason why some people won't utilize these resources to meet someone new. They might be a man who's married and has children pretending to be a single, attractive guy who is looking for a relationship. This can be the same for a woman. The person you are talking to might say they're a certain person, but can actually end up being totally different, even down to gender! While these scenarios might be humiliating and can even have the potential to break up homes and marriages, there is another possibility. Dangerous criminals haunt places like this, waiting for unsuspecting people to buy into their lies. They might seem charming, nice, polite and friendly. The most dangerous criminals are all of these.

This is unfortunate, because sites like these really can be your link to 'the one.' There are real, legitimate nice men and women on these sites that want to date or be friends. The criminals and other sketchy individuals are the ones that give sites like this a bad name. There are ways that you can make sure the person you are talking to is really who they say they are. By utilizing a reverse look up site, you can simply enter their e-mail address to find the name that is registered to that account. When you have their name and address, it's simple to perform background checks to see what kind of civil, criminal, or arrest warrant history the person has.

There are ways that these people can even enter false names, free e-mail addresses, and things like this to throw people off. But, if you search their e-mail addresses and name, and come up with an address in a different city than where they said they live, a spouse when they're supposed to be single, or any type of criminal activity at all, you know it's time to stop talking to these people. Another tip is to NEVER give out your address online. Even your home telephone number can give criminals access to your address. If you find someone that you think is truly a good person, meet them in a public place where there are lots of people around. Be safe. Check out who they really are, and take precautions. You could save your own life.

Here are a couple websites you can use to investigate people:

http://www.personreports.com - Find court records and lookup criminal history.

http://www.cellphoneregistry.org - Reverse lookup phone numbers to find out information about the owner and cross reference with criminal records.

The Best Dating Sites Online

To find the best dating site for you, it's best to ask some friends if they have any recomendations or read the best datings sites reviewed.