Online and Offline Dating Safety Tips

There are some things to watch out for both online at LetsHangOut and offline on a date.

Never share your personal or financial information with people you meet online and people you don't know very well. LetsHangOut.com is a 100% free site, so it is helpful to keep in mind that we do not accept payments to use the site. Never give out personal information such as your credit card numbers, social security numbers, checking account numbers, physical address, phone numbers, and other personal information to people you do not know.

Red flags to watch out for:

• Users requesting any kind of payment by wire transfer. These are payments that are nearly irreversible with almost no protection against loss. The Western Union or MoneyGram scam is one of the oldest and most common scam tactic.
• Users asking for money in general
• Users who disappear and reappear under a different usernames
• Nigerian prince (or anyone else) wanting to give you an inheritance, a bunch of money, or a gift - asking for your address
• Someone who claims they are from your country, but has foreign grammar or very bad grammar.
• People trying to sell you something

There are a few guidelines you should follow when dating someone online or offline:

• Try to stay as anonymous online. Don't share your real name, personal address, work address, phone numbers or any other sensitive personal information until you know them well enough. Remember: you are in control of your own dating experience.
• Keep your private messaging on LetsHangOut until you know them well enough. If there are problems, you can report a user and we can look into reported messages on our side. When it comes to instant messaging, again do not share sensitive personal and financial information.
• Get to know them and get comfortable with them online before you meet them offline. When you have more information about them and you are planning on meeting them offline, do some background checking on the internet.
• If members are being abusive or hostile to you on LetsHangOut, such as making you highly uncomfortable or asking for personal and financial information, you can always block the user at any time and prevent them from contacting you.

Offline dating for the first time is very serious as you are meeting with a complete stranger. Here are some tips to follow:

• When meeting for the first time, Always meet in a public, populated place. Do not meet up in a remote location with no one else around! If your date insists otherwise, avoid them.
• Tell a friend or family member about your dating plans and where you plan on hanging out, so someone knows. Take your phone with you if you have one.
• Do not get drunk. Drinking = bad decisions and bad judgment.
• Be aware of where your personal items are and always keep your drink with you. Do not leave them unattended as you do not want your phone, money, keys or anything else getting stolen, and you do not want your drinks being tampered with.
• Be able to drive yourself to and from your meeting (or have a taxi available). Be in control of your transportation in case the date goes bad, especially if you are in an unfamiliar area.
• Do not home with them nor allow them to come home with you, always stay in a public place until you get to know your date a bit better first. If they continue to insist otherwise, end the date immediately and leave.
• If you are in a long distance relationship and meeting for the first time: Always stay at a hotel, do not stay at their home. Use a rental vehicle or taxi for transportation; do not allow your date pick you up in their personal vehicle, even if they volunteer. Keep your hotel location confidential and always meet your date in a public place.

Still cannot find what you are looking for?

Please check out our dating community and support forum to ask questions or get help on a particular subject. A great forum in the community is: Questions & Suggestions, where you can post questions or search for previously answered questions by other users. If all else fails or if you need to contact us directly, feel free to email us at: contact@letshangout.com. We receive thousands of emails daily, so the forum or the FAQ help page may provide you with a quicker answer.