How to Avoid Dangers of Online Dating Sites

Millions of people have used the slew of online dating sites out there, and most of them say they'll do it again. But an unlucky few found themselves caught up in online dating horror stories.

Online dating sites are designed to allow people to be honest about themselves and find someone with whom they're completely compatible. The inherent nature of these sites means that a ton of extremely personal information is easily available. Scams range from the superficial to the super financial, violent or just plain bizarre.

Recently, one woman lost thousands of dollars in jewelry in a scam. A man convinced her he loved her, proposed and moved in all within two months -- which should have been a red flag! And the day after he moved, the woman came home to an empty house. All her jewelry was gone, as was her TV all her expensive shoes and even a designer lamp. Scams can even come in simple misrepresentation, thousands of people report getting stuck on dates with people that promised to be athletic who are fat or people who are hitched that said they were single. Or some dates lead women in to very scare situations that end in violence.

It's not hard to avoid these online dating pitfalls, just using some common sense is enough to avoid the worst of the scams. Online dater says he's rich man or wealthy business owner? see if he's telling the truth! Use Google to search someone's name, the results could go a long way in proving them right. They say they're not married, but something seems fishy? Try looking him up using a criminal records search site or your county registry where you can search public records such as marriage and divorce records.

With a quick background check you can look into someone's past and possibly save yourself from danger.