Protecting your Money Online

Online dating is generally a safe way to meet new people, but unfortunately there are still lots of cases of people who loose thousands of pounds to online scams.

So how do you protect yourself from online scams and financial loss while using online dating services?

Choose a reputable website

When you are looking to join an online dating website, make sure to do your research. Ask friends about which websites they have used, check out online reviews and Google the name of the website to find out more about it.

Take a look at the terms and conditions

The terms and conditions of the website will tell you what measures are in place to help to detect scammers and to prevent online fraud. If you are unsure about what the terms and conditions are saying, you should get in touch with the website administrator and ask for clarification.

Look for https on the payment page

When you come to make a payment online, take a look for ‘https’ before the website address.  The ‘https’ is a safe protocol for secure communication.

Be wary of offers that are too good to be true

If someone seems too good to be true, then they may well be. If you aren’t sure about someone, try Googling some of their text and see if it appears on any scam websites.

Don’t send money 

If someone asks for money from you to pay for flights to come and see you, or a phone so that they can keep in contact with you then it should raise a red flag.

Don’t become penpals

The aim of online dating is to meet up with someone and to begin to date them. Most people will send a few messages via an online dating website before arranging to meet up.

An online scammer can often spend a lot of time grooming a potential victim. They will try to contact you via un-monitored contact methods such as phone calls, or email.