Dont Be Catfished Tips For Safe Online Dating By Angela Guzman

According to the Washington Post, 40 million people in the U.S. have tried online dating. In 2012, Zoosk was the most popular online dating site with over 50 million visitors per month. Recent studies report that one out of five relationships start on an online dating website.

Since online dating has become some popular, a new term called "catfish" has surfaced. Catfish can be defined as when a person involved in an online relationship is lied to or deceived. MTV has developed a movie and a reality TV series based on the concept of being catfished. In their reality show, the host helps people in online relationships meet their significant others for the first time. Unfortunately, in most cases, the person is not who they were portrayed to be. Attractive bachelors are actually middle aged women or teenagers portraying a different identity.

Others may find out that their significant other doesn't even exist. The latest example is the publicized scandal of Notre Dame Linebacker Manti Te'o. A friend of Te'o set him up and made up an online girlfriend. The woman was real on Facebook but had no knowledge that her information and photos were being stolen from her social network page; which left Te'o in love with a figment of his imagination.

Don't be catfished like many others. Check out these tips for safe online dating.

Investigate

Before you decide to proceed with online dating make sure that you research and investigate everything. Do a background on yourself and check what information is available on-line about yourself. Knowing what is already out there will help draw possible red flags and help you take steps in securing your information from the internet.

A simple Google (or internet) name search will open several windows and provide you with information about the person you're interested in. Searching someone online will disclose possible criminal charges and/or if the person even exists. Google allows you to perform an image search as well which could confirm whether or not an image of a person is being used in an online relationship scam or other internet hoaxes.

Facebook Friends

Don't treat Facebook like a dating website. Instead of accepting every friend requests that comes across your newsfeed, check out and look into who you are actually "befriending." Check the lists to see who your mutual friends are, where you would know this person from and/or where they are located.

Use privacy settings on Facebook so people, who are not your friends, don't have access to your social networking page. Being secure will prevent others from taking pictures and information from your site. Keep in mind there are other social networks that you may use such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pintrest, MySpace and the Google+. Use privacy settings and precautions when utilizing these networks.