When looking for love, you want to be sure you’re safe. No one willingly falls for a romance scam and loses thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Online dating scams are on the rise. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that romance scams hit a record high in 2021 with victims losing US$547 million.
So how can you stay safe on online dating services?
Why Trust Doves-of-Love
- Faithfully reviewed over 1000 International online dating and matchmaking services.
- Experienced & dedicated team of dating bloggers and writers.
- Author of dating ebooks, including ‘International Dating Digest For Men: Finding Love Overseas’.
- Contributed in many publications including Notsalmon.com, Marriage.com, or Medium.com.
Are There Any Risks in Online Dating?
There are various risks when it comes to online dating. You can:
- Be subject to abuse - verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual.
- Become a victim of human trafficking.
- Fall in love with someone who is trying to scam you.
- Be harassed.
- Be lied to by a scammer.
- Be tracked down in real life.
- Be hacked.
- Not delete your data from the online dating service.
- Suffer financial losses when online dating subscription payments keep auto renewing even when you’ve canceled the service.
- Be rejected.
- Be made uncomfortable when someone engages in conversation on topics that make you uncomfortable and not respect your boundaries when you say no.
- Get more phishing emails.
- Be matched to a bot, and not a real person.
- Be recognized by someone you don’t want knowing your business.
Safety and Scams Are the Biggest Concerns of Online Daters
When people are looking for love online, their safety and the risk of being scammed are their main worries.
Like I mentioned before, no one WANTS to be scammed. You are putting your heart on the line in the hopes of meeting your soulmate and hoping you’ll meet a like-minded person who has your best intentions at heart.
Some statistics to let you know just how dangerous online liaisons can be:
- According to Kaspersky, 55% of online dates have experienced a problem or threat.
- Roughly 10% of sex offenders use online dating sites.
- The FTC reports that 2021 losses from romance scams were 80% higher than in 2020.
What Is the Safest Dating App? No Single App Is Scam-Free And 100% Safe!
Unfortunately, there is no online dating site that can promise to keep you 100%. It is up to you to keep yourself safe and use online dating sites responsibly.
There are, however, dating sites that are more reputable and safer than others – so find these and use them when looking for love.
Helpful Dating Safety Tips
Use these tips to keep yourself safe when dating online:
- Ask specific questions to try and catch someone out on their lies.
- Reverse image search profile photos on Google and see if the photos are stolen from other sites.
- Limit how much personal info you share - on your profile, the photos you share, and in text messages.
- Do your research and choose reputable, safe(r) online dating sites.
- Secure your accounts and identity.
- Don’t send money if your love interest asks; this is a red online dating flag.
- Beware of other red flags that pop up like details not matching what the person writes on their profile, what they share in initial messages, and what they type or say later on.
- If you are meeting your date, choose a public place, share details with loved ones you trust, and don’t leave drinks unattended.
- Report suspicious members to the company.
5 Safe Dating Sites & Apps of Our Choice
We only recommend a site that’s been thoroughly checked, tested, and reviewed. Dating sites need to be reputable, cost-effective, safer than others, have good profile quantity and quality, and easy to use.
eHarmony
eHarmony is a US-operated online dating site. The dating service has been around since 2000, so they have two decades worth of experience in the dating world.
eHarmony is the first online dating service to use a “proprietary matching system” to match singles with each other. The matches are supposed to be with people who are highly compatible.
The company’s algorithm uses the compatibility quizzes members need to fill out when they join eHarmony.
- Use customizable filters to search for potential love interests
- Send a smile to start flirting
- Send 5 site-generated questions to start chatting
The usual services like signing up, creating your profile, and searching and browsing are free. To send messages, set up a video date, and more, you need to pay. Read more: eHarmony Cost: Pricing Options in 2023
eHarmony has three subscription options:
- Platinum Light - 6 months - US$65.90 per month - a once-off US$395.40
- Platinum Plus - 12 months - US$45.90 per month - a once-off US$590.80
- Platinum Extra - 24 months - US$35.90 per month - a once-off US$861.60
- Great dating service for serious relationships
- Longer registration process, resulting in better matches
- Mobile app on the Google Play Store or the App Store
EliteSingles
EliteSingles is also a US-operated online dating platform. Most of the members are educated professionals looking for love with like-minded singles.
Like eHarmony, EliteSingles also works on the basis of new members filling out an involved personality test.
The test determines your match preferences. The algorithm uses your test results and runs through the database of results to see who’d be the best match.
- Able to save your progress on the personality test
- Access to the Elite Singles Magazines for dating tips and more
- A swiping Tinder-like feature called “Have You Met?”
On EliteSingles, you can do access basic for free:
- Sign up
- Create your profile
- Answer the personality questions to get matched
- Get new matches daily
- Send likes and smiles
If you want to send and receive messages, get a detailed explanation of your test results, and more, you need to pay.
EliteSingles offers three subscription plans:
- Premium Light to send and receive messages and get intelligent matchmaking at US$37.95 per month for a 3-month subscription (a once-off total of US$113.85)
- Premium Classic to get what Light offers and see all member photos, see profile visitors, and see message read receipts at a discounted US$21.95 per month for a 6-month subscription (a once-off total of US$131.70)
- Premium Comfort that includes everything Classic offers at US$19.95 per month for a 12-month subscription (a once-off total of US$239.40)
- The customer support team verifies every profile, so chances of romance scammers slipping through are reduced (+ verified profiles get badges)
- You need to fill out a detailed personality survey, making sure matches are highly compatible individuals
- The team immediately bans suspicious accounts
SilverSingles
If you are 50+, SilverSingles is one of the safest dating apps for you. The international dating site was created in 2009 and is managed by Spark Network Services GmbH, a Berlin-based company.
SilverSingles requires you to fill out a detailed personality test when you sign up. The company then finds the best possible love matches for you based on your test results, increasing your chances of finding love.
You’ll find all compatible matches on your Home Feed.
- Get Wildcard Matches
- Can’t see profile images for free so you can’t just go for someone based on looks
- Customer service members quickly bans suspicious profiles
On SilverSingles, you can access the following services at no cost:
- Register, fill out the personality test, and create your profile
- Add members you like to a Favorite list
- Search and browse
- Send smiles
If you want to send and receive message and more, choose one of the three subscription options:
- Premium Light to send and receive messages and get intelligent matchmaking at US$22.95 per month for a 3-month subscription (a once-off total of US$68.85)
- Premium Classic to access Light services and see all member photos, see profile visitors, and see message read receipts at a discounted US$13.95 per month for a 6-month subscription (a once-off total of US$83.70)
- Premium Comfort that includes everything Classic gives you at US$11.95 per month for a 12-month subscription (a once-off total of US$143.40)
- Detailed profiles
- Great customer service if you need to reach out
- Mobile app on the App Store and the Google Play Store
Seeking.com
In 2006, the dating service launched as SeekingArrangement.com. The purpose of Seeking.com is to provide a luxury dating website for singles and to encourage them to date up, not settle, and seek (aka look) for their true love.
When you sign up, you need to fill out basic info like your gender and what genders you are attracted to.
Then you need to choose between a sugar daddy/mommy – called Successful Members – or sugar babies – called Attractive Members. You’ll need to type in how much you want your sugar mommy/daddy to spend on you or how much you can spend on a sugar baby if you are a sugar mommy/daddy.
- Optional third-party background checks to further verify someone is real
- Messaging is free
- Voice-activated security features
Basic services like registering, creating your profile, searching for matches, and chatting are free.
If you want more privacy features, inbox filters, no ads, and more, you need to pay.
Seeking.com has two subscription and two once-off options:
- Premium subscription for 30 days for a once-off US$99.99 or 90 days for a once-off US$269.99
- Diamond subscription for 30 days for a once-off US$249.99
- Premium one-time for 90 days for US$269.99
- Diamond one-time for 30 days for US$249.99
Subscription options are set to auto-renew unless you cancel.
- Mobile app available on the Google Play Store
- Service is available in 8 languages
- Security features like two-factor authentication
Coffee Meets Bagel
The online dating site, Coffee Meets Bagel, wants to offer something different to the saturated market on swipeable dating apps. The site was launched in 2012.
You need to download the mobile app as Coffee Meets Bagel isn’t available as a desktop website.
It’s easy to register on Coffee Meets Bagel, and from there, you get matches. Women get six matches daily.
Men get 21 matches, called Bagels, at 12 pm daily, and they have 24 hours to like or pass the person.
The algorithm of the dating site uses information from your Facebook account to find matches of friends of friends.
- Choose to have the app grab up to 9 photos from your Facebook account
- Detailed profiles
- Discover feature to let you meet more matches in your area
Like other dating sites, the basic services are free. If you want an activity report on your matches, get 6,000 beans a month, and more, you need to open your wallet.
Coffee Meets Bagel’s Premium Membership costs:
- 1 month at US$34.99
- 3-months for a once-off US$74.99
- 6-months for a once-off US$119.99
- 12-months for a once-off US$179.99
Coffee Meets Bagel’s Beans (aka credits to unlock extra features like Rematch, Mirror Mirror, and more) cost:
- 100 credits for US$1.99
- 2,000 credits for US$23.99
- 3,000 credits for US$24.99
Why We Recommend Coffee Meets Bagel
- Mobile app to download on the App Store or Google Play Store
- Lots of unique dating features like Woo, Give, Take, Ready to Meet, Question of the Day, and more
- Can delete your personal information when you’ve found the love of your life
Final Thoughts: Keep Yourself Safe When Online Dating
Online dating doesn’t have to be the big bad scary wolf. There are risks in everything we do in love, and sometimes, you have to risk for love – but safely!
So make sure you sign up on the safest of dating sites only and do what you need to protect yourself.
Good luck! Your soulmate is out there (among the scammers, so take care!)
Wanna find out how to meet an amazing foreign woman and have experience in International dating, but you have no idea how to start it. Keep calm, we are right here to help! ☝️ Ask Krystyna
