With the mantra “safety first,” we are constantly reminding members to be cautious and careful when chatting, meeting, and dating. Whether online or in the real world, there are types out there who don’t have your best interest at heart, so you should go into all interactions with your safety in mind.

Over on the Daily Mail, a duo of female safety experts, Joy Farrow and Laura Frombach, share their tips for trusting your intuition and protecting yourself from predators. Their upcoming book, Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living, will be published in October. 

Having unclear pictures or non whatsoever 

“The authors warned that you should watch out for images that are blurry, unclear, or taken from a far distance, which can indicate a person is trying to mislead you about their appearance. 

They said you should also be wary of someone who doesn’t have any photos at all.”

Sporting questionable tattoos  

“Farrow advised keeping your eyes peeled for tattoos with secret meanings.

She explained that certain symbols signal gang affiliation, racism, white supremacy, or prison time. “

Trying to get you alone

“Farrow and Frombach agreed that women need to take charge when it comes to meeting a date for the first time.

‘You want them to leave the computer to see if they’re a real person and this is what they look like. You want them to step out from there and go to a public place,’ the former explained, but you shouldn’t leave yourself vulnerable to a potential predator.

When planning your date, they advised picking a public place that you are familiar with and not letting the other person persuade you to go somewhere else. “

Testing your boundaries

“Farrow and Frombach warned against a date who tries to talk you into things — even if they are seemingly innocent  — instead of respecting your boundaries. 

‘We’ve all been in this situation where it’s the end of the night and you say, “Oh my gosh, I got to go to school, I got to go to work, I got to get up early tomorrow morning.” And they say, “What? Just one more,’ Frombach said. 

She noted that it’s a red flag when someone won’t ‘take no for an answer’ and tries to cajole you into doing what they want to do, saying you shouldn’t compromise. “

What do you think? What are your red flags when it comes to online dating?