Do you give a guy all your details as soon as you meet him in a bar? No you don’t and you shouldn’t do this online either. Dating online seems harmless fun but be careful as not everyone is who they say they are.

You shouldn’t only worry about the criminals looking for your identity or to hurt you in other ways. But there are also people online who you wouldn’t trust with your details in the real world and you need to protect yourself until you know someone well enough to give him this information.

Always trust your gut feeling but if your gut needs some extra help you should use these tips, especially if you sign up for a free account.

never use your full name

If you’re setting up your account just use your first name or even better pick a username you can use in all your communications. When someone knows your full name it’s easy to find out more by just going to facebook or any other social network and try to find out more about you there.

This isn’t as hard as it used to be with now almost everyone on the planet has a facebook account or uses a different social network to hang out with their friends (where you don’t have your guard up). It’s not just criminals you need to worry about, do you really want a potential partner seeing your facebook photos before he knows more about you?

Be careful with your location

If you live in a smaller town it’s not that hard to find out more about you especially if someone has other details already. If you live in a big(ger) city this becomes a bit harder but always be careful you don’t want strange men driving past your house every night.

Always use a cell phone

Never give out your landline number! It’s easy to get all your details from a landline number so if you want to date online and start chatting to guys on the phone either give out your cell number or invest in a "pay as you go" you can always give him your normal cell phone number once your dating seriously.

If you are serious go for a paid online dating service.

People who pay for an online dating service can be traced. Whether they use a credit card or any of the other payment options it leaves a trail that most people who joined for the wrong reasons want to avoid.

If someone has been a member for a few months he’s not likely using a stolen credit card. But just because someone pays for a service doesn’t mean he’s who he says he is. Always trust your gut and try not to believe everything he’s saying until you have some proof.

Everyone men and women should be picky who the give out there details to so if he doesn’t understand move on! It’s your safety your trying to protect.