Reliable Romantic Dating Sites

Online dating has helped several people to meet new people and find potential partners. It allows individuals to interact with persons outside their social circle. Internet romances are much easier to initiate and there is less awkwardness if it does not work out.

The global number of dating app users hit 270 million in 2020, and it is expected to keep increasing. It is much easier to find a person with similar interest and hobbies online instead of in the physical world.

What are the risks of online dating?

While on your quest to find love on the internet, you are highly likely to come across scammers and fraudsters who will try to trick you into sending money. Fraudsters feed on the victim’s affection and trust and create an illusion of love and care to manipulate them. Apart from the general risks of signing on a social media platform, you may also be exposed to the following:

• Your date may not be who they claim to be and maybe feeding you fake information. This is also called catfishing.
• Most often, fraudsters build a stable relationship and gain the victim’s trust. Then they may ask for money under the guise of a medical emergency, or some debt, or visa documents.
• At times scammers may ask you to create bank accounts that could be used for some other fraudulent activity, making you a ‘money mule’.

How to protect yourself from being ‘catfished’?

Online romance frauds are committed by smart and expert scammer as they must seem believable to you. The following tips might help you from becoming a victim:

• Do not give dating sites or apps more information than needed, such as financial details or your address.
• Internet dating sites are filled with fake profiles. If the photos are too perfect and they match with you, it is highly likely that the person is fake and may try to defraud you.
• Some dating sites have been known to have bot profiles with celebrity-like photos. This is mostly harmless though and is a trick to attract more people to the platform.
• Be wary of overly friendly people. Do not meet anyone in a secluded place the first time.
• Never send money to anyone you meet online.
• Do not divulge any personally identifiable information until you meet your online match.

Our recommendation is to always first have a few video calls with your data before you share personal data or meet in person. Be extremely suspicious if your date suddenly starts asking for money. A normal person should have friends or family around them to help him or her in case of need.  

Reliable romantic dating sites

Here we list some reliable online dating websites and apps that are competent in protecting their users. Most of these require users to verify themselves using a photo or government ID and even connect to other social media pages.  

However, bad actors cannot be rooted out completely, so it is advisable to exercise caution.