Online Dating for Seniors: How to Stay Safe While Online Dating
Many seniors these days find themselves single after getting a divorce, losing a spouse, or deciding it is time to settle down. Those who are in their golden age and dive back into the dating pool will find that is very different than in the past. Online dating has made it possible to seniors to meet new people easily and find a romantic relationship or companionship during their golden years. While the prospect of dating again at a mature age is exciting, it is important to be careful when dating online, and the following tips will help you do just that:
Use dating websites dedicated to senior meet-ups
There are many dating websites these days that aim at a young crowd, and many of them are intended for casual meetings and not necessarily serious relationships. If you want to meet someone your age that whom you have things in common, you should try dating websites that are dedicated to seniors, like DateMyAge, Senior Match, eHarmony, SilverSingles, and others. These websites let you pick the ages that you are interested in, provide your hobbies, and let people know a bit about you before you meet up. So, you can find someone who is right for you and in the age range that you are interested in.
Do not disclose too much information about yourself
Unfortunately, there are people who try to take advantage of seniors, so they go on senior dating sites to find their victims. By asking personal questions and getting information about seniors, scammers can use your information to steal your money or identity. So, if someone is pressuring you to provide personal data or you feel that something is strange, you do not have to continue the conversation. Delete that person from your match list and move on.
Do not provide financial information
Much like other personal information, you should avoid talking about your finances with people that you meet online, even if you feel comfortable with them. There are scammers who seek out affluent seniors to steal their money, so you should avoid financial discussions as much as possible.
Run a search on your date
As the conversations progress, you will likely want to meet the person that you are speaking with in person. Before you do so, you should make that your date has provided truthful information about themselves. How can you do that? A people search directory, like the one available to you on ProPeopleSearch.com will provide you with all the information you need; by entering a name of an individual into the search directory, you will receive their full name, aliases, access to birth records (to discover their real age), access to marriage records, criminal records data, and much more. You can also perform a reverse phone number lookup on the site and find out everything you need to know about your dates before meeting them.
Set up a video date
During this time, it is a bit problematic to meet in person, due to the COVID-19 socializing restrictions. This provides you with a great excuse to have a video-chat date before you meet your date in person. A video chat allows you to discover if the people that you converse with told you the truth about themselves or if maybe they lied about who they are. If someone keeps avoiding video chats, it could be because they posted pictures of other people on their dating profile or they are hiding something else from you. So, before setting a date in real life, go on a virtual date with a video chat app. It is a great barometer to test your connection with the other person and discover if they might be hiding something.
Meet in a public place
If you decided it is time to meet in person, you should only set a date in a public place and do not let your date pick you up so they do not know where you live. Instead, tell your date that you will meet at a certain location and at a certain time, and make sure the place that you chose is well lit and is relatively crowded with other people.
Senior Online Dating Red Flags
Aside from playing it safe on dating sites and in-person dates, you should also notice red flags that may indicate someone may be trying to scam you:
They ask you for things – scammers usually make their intended victims comfortable and secure in order to get to their real goal – asking for something. If someone that you met on an online dating website asks you for something, it could be a scam and you should cut off communication.
They are always in poor health – this red flag is a bit tricky because seniors tend to have more health issues than young people. While it stands to reason that your date is ill from time to time, if they are always sick when you try to set up a video chat or a date, it is highly likely that they are lying.
They avoid seeing you – whether it is online or in-person, constantly rejecting a video chat date or an in-person date is a big red flag when it comes to online dating. If an individual keeps giving you excuses as to why they cannot see you, or if they do set a chat/date and cancel it, you may be facing a scam artist.
They claim to be ex-military/currently in the military – being in the military means that a person can be called to duty at a moment's notice and that they sometimes have emergencies that prevent them from following through with plans. Also, many con artists say that they need urgent money wire because they are on duty and do not have access to their bank. Keep watching if you are speaking to someone in the army, and do not agree to wire money to anyone.
Dating at a later stage in life is fun but it can also be risky, especially with senior online dating. When speaking to people on senior online dating websites and apps, keep your guard up and make sure to check the people and be critical of what they tell you before you agree to meet in person.
