How Can I Safely Meet People Online?

Online dating horror stories. I think we've all heard of a few and unfortunately, they do happen. The good news is that stories like these aren't the norm and that it's very easy to have a safe and enjoyable online dating experience.

We have a lot of in-depth safety tips in the Safety section of the CatholicMatch Help Center, but I want to highlight a few of the biggest, most important things that you should know as you meet people online.

1. Spotting Scammy Profiles

If they sound too good to be true, they probably are. Be on the lookout for inconsistencies, like having a Doctorate degree but typing at an elementary school level or having an eye color that differs from what they've stated in their profile. Don't be afraid to search for sentences from their profile on Google or do a reverse image search for their photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ow9gW81p7A

2. Communicating Online

Take your time getting to know people. CatholicMatch takes a lot of steps to keep you safe, including scanning communication for phrases and other content that scammers are known to use in their communication. These security features are provided with your subscription, so make sure to use them to your advantage. If someone is trying to move the conversation offsite really quickly, there's rarely an innocent reason. Let them know that you'd prefer to communicate on-site for a bit longer. If they're here for the right reasons, they'll respect that.

3. The Bottom Line

Never send money to anyone you don't know offline, no matter how sad or believable the story is. If someone makes this request or if you notice anything else that seems to be suspicious about a person you've met online, report them to customer service. Your safety is the highest priority on CatholicMatch, and we would much rather review reports for 100 profiles that turn out to be real Catholics who are here for the right reasons than to have one person on the site who is here for the wrong reasons.