Most online dating services are now becoming highly professional in their approach, especially the ones that charge some fees for their services. Many lay down fairly stringent membership rules and even perform background checks. They try to check if the person becoming a member is truly single and if he or she possesses any kind of criminal record. Despite all these precautions taken by the dating service, it is also the responsibility of the members enrolling into the service to take some safety measures while dating online. Let us provide you with a quick checklist that you can use to safeguard yourself.

When you first join an online dating website, you may feel very assured about the amount of flexibility and privacy the service offers. However, once you decide to take your relationship to the next level and meet your date in person, you may need to take some extra precautions. You may be very comfortable speaking to this person and he or she may sound extremely genuine. However, it is very easy to get carried away while chatting online and one should always keep the following guidelines in mind before agreeing to meet the person face to face.

1. Never give away too many personal details like where you live, or names of your children, where they study or where you work in the very first few meetings. Provide only as much details as are necessary to get to know each other. Once you are convinced of the person’s genuineness, you can slowly divulge some more details.

2. Trust your intuition – if it is telling you that something is wrong, there probably is. Use your common sense to get out of an uncomfortable situation.

3. Take everything the other person is saying with a pinch of salt. Don’t worry – there is nothing wrong with you. It is perfectly all right to be wary of strangers.

4. Ask whatever questions you need, to make yourself feel comfortable with the other person – note their responses to your questions. The answers as well as their body language will speak volumes.

5. Do not rush into things. Take your time, get to know this person and make sure you are absolutely comfortable with him or her.

6. If you do decide to go on an actual date with a person you have met online, then let your meetings take place in a public place and do not give your address right away.

7. Before going out on a date, inform at least one more person about whom you are meeting, where you are meeting and leave the number of your phone as well as that of the place with this friend.

8. Either take your own car or else arrange for your transport. This way you can be sure that you have a definite way of getting back home, no matter how the date turns out.

9. Stay grounded no matter how wonderful you think the date is turning out to be. If you feel something is too good to be true, it almost always is. Trust your intuition again and give yourself more time to be convinced about this new relationship.