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Unfortunately as in most industries the online dating services fall prey to the unscrupulous among us. It is a sad and genuine fact that there are people out there who will seek out singles purely to play on their weaknesses. Members of online dating sites are often vulnerable, a fact born from marriage or relationship failure or just simple loneliness.

These undesirable elements know in the industry as fraudsters are all too aware of the vulnerability of people looking for new love or a life time partner and they will do everything in their power to achieve their goals. So what is the goal of the dating scammer? It’s relatively simple, they are after your money.

Often the targets of these frauds are new to the online dating scene or new members to a particular site. They prey on the vulnerabilities of the weakened heart and the fact the member is naive to the processes of online dating. The target will be lured away from the sites chat rooms as soon as possible and onto one of the many instant-messaging services available. This is where the attempted fraud begins. There will be expressions of undying love, often within a short space of time. In concluding there will be requests for assistance for any one of a number of reasons. Almost always these requests will be for financial assistance.

So what do you do if you are the target of one of these frauds? These are the basic steps to take:

• REFRAIN from any further communication with them once they have revealed themselves by requesting money. Don’t ever feel any guilt about this (It may not be in your nature to be impolite but it is essential you make no further contact as difficult as this may be).

• REPORT the individual to the online dating site immediately (They may be doing this to any number of people at the same time so you could be helping someone who is less aware than you are).

• DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY, no matter how plausible the story is, no matter how long you’ve been communicating, no matter how trustworthy you think they are, and no matter how confident you feel that they are telling the truth.

If you are reading this after having sent funds, the chances are you have already been the subject of an international fraud. Unfortunately the chances of getting your money back now are very slim indeed. However, you should go to the Police and let them know and hopefully they will be able to advise you further.

In my opinion the most important thing to do is advise the online dating site immediately and report the member and tell them in detail what has happened. Most sites will investigate the event and delete the offender’s account.

If you search “singles dating” on virtually any search engine the result will show hundreds of thousand of choices for anyone thinking of trying to find love or relationships online. The choices are seemingly endless so the question has to be asked, what should a good online dating site offer?

The answer to that question comes two-fold as it depends on your intent or purpose. The simple reason for this is that online dating sites come in two very distinct categories. Firstly, there are sites that are geared towards matching people for long-term relationships and then there are those that are purely offering a service for more casual encounters.

Both types of sites can lead to long-term partnerships but it is the first type that is actually set up with this intent alone. This is the site model I am focusing on in this article as most singles seeking love online are looking for a permanent result. I will address the topic of online dating sites for those looking for more casual encounters without the ties of a relationship in a future article.

The following list of attributes are what I would consider common to any good online dating site where like-minded people meet to find meaningful relationships. So this is what to look for and on the better sites these features will be offered free of charge:

• Joining & profile creation
• Your own unlimited media library
• Search & view unlimited personal ads
• Send & receive unlimited flirts
• Multiple dating chat rooms
• Mail box filtering
• View a free image on every profile
• ‘My Kind Of People’ suggested profile matches
• Upload multiple video clips for your ad
• Advanced HD video & audio technology
• Set auto replies for your inbox & junk mail
• Free email alerts when you receive a message
• Full online help & technical support
• Free access to dating forums and lifestyle blogs

The best sites will allow you to create you own dating profile, view thousands of genuine personal advertisements for potential partners in your own local area. The free membership should provide you with access to member profiles, photos, videos and chatting without cost but these will most likely be restricted to some degree.

Over and above the features offered as free services to members any good online dating site will offer premium or advanced options in the membership packages. These additional features may allow you to have access to the following services:

• View unlimited full size member’s photos & videos
• Send & receive PRIVATE media messages
• Appear at the top of the search results
• Hide your media if you wish
• Show all your media to ALL members

No matter what your preferences regarding online dating sites I highly recommend taking out one of the levels of premium membership offered. You will have a much higher chance of success when seeking a new partner and in most cases just for a small outlay each month.

Whatever your choices I wish you all the very best of luck in your search. Online dating works and if you follow the simple guidelines to ensure your personal safety you are guaranteed a good time along the way.