Our Tips For Safe Dating

Dating can be lots of fun, but there are sometimes risks to meeting people that you don’t know. Here are some pointers on staying safe when using Antidate.

Your Antidate Profile

• Don’t put your email address, home address, place of work or phone number in your bio.
• Don’t share any images you wouldn’t want your mum or boss to see.
• Avoid putting provocative or explicit statements in your bio.

Getting to know people

• Take your time when chatting to someone new and trust your instincts. If your gut tells you something is up, listen to it and stop communicating with them.
• Don’t share too much personal information. A bit of mystery can be a good thing.
• Do your homework – before you meet someone for the first time search for their social media profiles – maybe check their LinkedIn or run a Google Image search to cross-check their photos.

First dates

• Before you go on your date, tell a friend where you’re going, tell them your date’s name and send them a photo of him/her. Keep checking in with your friend throughout the date.
• Make sure you take a fully charged mobile.
• Always meet your date in a public place, and one which has lots of people around. Never ever meet at your date’s house.
• Do not travel to or home from the date with your date.
• Watch it on the alcohol. Try to drink some water during the date and don’t drink on an empty stomach. Lots of our Antidate places do great food - try it.
• Never leave your drink unattended.
• Keep your purse, wallet, phone, and belongings with you.
• Leave at any time if you feel uncomfortable - a polite early exit is totally fine.

Scammers

Unfortunately some people are not who they seem and you need to watch out for this. Scammers want your money. The police and online protection agencies share the following advice about scammers:

• Never respond to a request for money.
• Never give out bank account or personal details.
• Beware of a sob story. Watch out for profiles that immediately pull on your heart strings such as ill relatives or relatives urgently requiring money.
• Avoid any investment opportunities which come to you online. Beware of too good to be true business deals.
• Don’t let the passing of time and a sense of closeness to someone cloud your judgment. Some scams may take time to come out in messages.
• Be wary of long distance and overseas relationships
• Don’t feel silly if you think there is a problem. Ask a friend – and if they advise you against the relationship, listen to them.
• Beware of sudden declarations of love. If a relationship progresses very fast, use your common sense and speak to a friend to get a second opinion.
• Weird behaviour. If a person seems vague or has an unlikely story then proceed with caution and report them to the site administrators.
• Scammers often try to take the conversation away from the app quickly – think before you do so.
• Report anyone who is acting suspiciously to the dating site you are using or the police.

Reporting someone

• If someone is abusive, rude or makes you feel uncomfortable, cease talking to them immediately and report them to us using the app. If you feel a crime has been committed, contact the police immediately.
• If you suspect fraud, you can also contact Action Fraud
• If you have been the victim of a sexual crime, you can also contact SARC for medical care, psychological counselling, legal advice and other support, all in one place from professionally trained staff. Do not in any way blame yourself.