As I've said in a previous article, online dating is now considerably safer than it was a few years ago. The online dating sites have tightened up their procedures so that the majority of the casual users have dropped out making online dating a safe environment to meet like minded people.
However it's still worth taking a few extra precautions online to ensure that your dating experience is as safe as it can be.
Let's start with the basics. If a user doesn't have a photo on their profile then it's probably safest to ignore them. A few years ago when I first started online dating I didn't have access to a digital camera or even a scanner. I had to send my photo to a friend in Texas to scan it and then send it back! Today, the accessibility of technology should mean that everyone has the ability to add a photo to their profile. If they're not displaying a photo the chances are they have something to hide.
If their profile is only a few lines of text and doesn't really say much, the chances are that they either hiding something (again) or they're pretty dull. Either way, avoid the really brief profiles. I don't mean to sound harsh but, come on, we can all write 500 words about ourselves surely?
If you receive an email from someone and it looks like it's been cut and pasted and sent to everyone, the chances are that it probably has. It's a chancer who is zapping out his standard email in the hope that by throwing enough mud at the wall some of it will stick. The same with the instant messengers who send you a "Hi how are you?" message without having first read your profile or emailed you. Chancers, the lot of them.
Finally the obvious no-no is responding to the person who asks you on a date in either their first e-mail or messenger message. Don't even answer them. It's pretty clear what their game is and the chances are you won't want to play it. If they persist, report them to the online dating site.