Don’t believe a stranger

Don’t believe a total stranger saying he loves you.

This is the warning of Michell Roberts, Springs Advertiser’s head of Advertising, saying there are a lot of predators on dating sites, preying on vulnerable women .

Roberts had been on dating sites on and off for 12 years when she recently met a man through a dating site who, at the end, did not appear to be who he said he was.

What happened to her, she says, was minor compared to what these predators lured unsuspecting women into.

She knows of women who were scammed out of money by men who confessed their undying love to them.

Roberts says there are not only the internet dating sites, but also cell phone sites and dating agencies through which you can chat and eventually date with someone.

Through her years on the dating sites she learned that not all men are truthful in what they portray on their profiles and others want “favours” at your place after he takes you out for drinks and dinner.

She says many chats with men at times turn into those with sexual undertones.

She also found a lot of married men searching for relationships on these sites.

“Remember, he is still married when he says he is separated and don’t believe him when he says he is getting a divorce,” she says.

Roberts says there is a misconception that there are only desperate women on the dating sites, because meeting people on these dating sites is not only bad.

She had met a lot of men through these sites who are still her friends.

There are, according to Roberts, people who had met their partners on these sites.

She gave a few warning tips:

•  Don’t divulge your personal details or too much information too soon.
•  Because it is not wrong to be sceptical about the person you meet online, get to know this person through as many avenues as possible.
•  Meet in a public place.