It happens so often, it seems like these kinds of stories shouldn’t even be making the headlines anymore: Homeless “millionaire” scams women out of £50,000 via online dating .

And what happens as a result? People get turned off to online dating because they think it’s just a dangerous thing to do.

This is not the whole truth.

Yes, when you don’t meet someone in person, you do open yourself up to a higher risk of getting conned or tricked, but the same can be done when you’re meeting others in real life.

So the real question is – what can you do to protect yourself in love?

Love may be blind, but it shouldn’t be. You need to make sure you are keeping your eyes wide open as you enter into a relationship. Anything that seems off or that just doesn’t seem right should be carefully scrutinized.

And maybe we just need to make this point abundantly clear – if you’re just starting to date someone, don’t give them a large amount of money, no matter how nice they seem.

Dating is about getting to know each other, not about getting money from each other. The red flags should be flying as soon as someone asks for more money than the bar tab you have rung up.

Run away from these con artists – and online dating doesn’t have to be scary at all. But you’re the one that needs to do the running away as these thieves are always going to be around because people continue to fall for their trickery.

Don’t be the next victim.

News & Views Arragements, Love, Millionaire, Sugar Daddies

You’re talking to someone and they seem to be nice. You exchange a few emails, a few winks, and you even use a video chat feature. Everything seems to be going great.

And then a few days pass.

And then another few days pass without hearing anything back.

What did you do wrong?

Chances are good that you didn’t do anything wrong and that you are just the victim of a normal fact of life – the prospective partner just didn’t pan out. They might not have been interested in you or they may very well have found someone else.

You just never know.

But instead of crying over this date, let’s take a moment to reassess where things went wrong.

Did you ask them out after only a few emails? Many people don’t. Instead, they carry on these long and involved conversations over email that last months, only to find themselves not hearing back from this person they really thought they connected with.

Have you heard of the phrase – all talk and no action? That’s exactly what you’re doing wrong.

You need to be ready to meet this person in person after a few messages. This will save you both a lot of trouble as you will decide immediately whether or not this person is worth your time. If not, no harm done. If so, then you can start a real relationship.

After all, it gets lonely sitting in front of a computer night after night. You need more.

And when you ask for more, you never fail.

Rejection Breaking Up, Failure, Lonely, Rejection