As online dating has developed over the last few years it has moved away from it's rather geeky image. Online dating is the new black, after all! For a long time people considered online dating to be something of a "quick fix" to singledom. Nobody really expected to use an online dating service to find a lasting relationship and even if they were, online dating was full of criminals and ne'er do wells. Well that's all changed now as the dating sites have made the whole experience a lot easier and, more importantly, a lot safer.
Most of the popular online dating sites have revised their safety procedures and implemented enhanced screening of new members. Previously members could sign up for free to an online dating service without providing any kind of personal information. Whilst this made it easier to join, it also left the door open for the more unsavoury type of member. By introducing membership fees, for example, this has meant the casual users are less inclined to join up. The membership fees might be low ($5 a month) but the very fact that you need to sign up using a credit card and, therefore, revealing your real identity has meant that the number of casual users has dropped.
Pretty much all of the popular online dating services have some kind of code of conduct which users must adhere to. All of them will have some kind of tracking system in place to log IP addresses. Restricting the features available to a new user until they hit a certain threshold (i.e. number of posts, length of membership) is another example. These are just some of the measures taken by the online dating services.
Another way that online dating has become safer is that is now self regulates to a certain extent. There are a number of review sites which provide feedback about online dating services. They check the sites credibility, monitor standards and provide useful information for anyone looking to join.
The sheer popularity of online dating now means that service providers need to ensure that their members are adequately protected. It's big business and the last thing you want as an online dating service provider is the bad press generated by people abusing your system. Many of them provide advice on how to spot identity fakes or attempts to collect personal information. By putting into place their own regulations and creating a greater user awareness, the online dating sites have cleaned up their act and made it a fun, safe environment to meet new people.