Especially in today’s digital age, meeting new people is more difficult than ever before, which is exactly why online dating services have become so popular. They’re a great way to gain friends and create relationships without having to spend time and energy going to clubs, bars, or other social events.
However, not everyone who signs up is actually looking for love. There are tons of scammers and criminals who take advantage of unsuspecting victims on these sites all the time. It’s important to be wary of potentially fake matches, but exactly how do you find out if whoever you matched with is really who they claim to be?
Here are 3 ways how to perform a background check before meeting your online date:
1. Check their social media profiles.
Most dating apps require users to connect their social media accounts to their dating profile. This is mainly so they can upload photos, profile information, and interests, but anybody can create a new Facebook or Instagram, add a couple of photos, and link it to their dating profile to seem legit.
Enter the person’s name, education, and/or work information that shows on their dating profile into Facebook to locate their full account. From there, you’ll be able to see if you share mutual friends, if they have other photos (including tagged photos from friends/family), their occupation, location, etc. If you can’t find anything on him/her after doing some research, then you know you have some more questions to ask and digging to do before setting up a date to hang out.
2. Conduct a reverse cell phone number lookup.
Has your match given you their phone number so you can text instead of message back and forth? Well, you should be using that number to gather more info!
Running a phone search will return a wealth of data, including the phone owner’s name, address, possible relatives, past employers, education history, mobile carrier, etc. Plus, if you didn’t find your match’s social media page the first time around, you can use the information you receive from the report to improve your search.
3. Utilize a professional background check service.
Background check your online date by signing up with a reliable online service like Hero Searches. Hero Searches is a public directory that allows anybody to easily run a search on names, numbers, or addresses. Similar to a reverse phone lookup, you will receive an in-depth report which includes data on the owner that will reveal who they really are, including any criminal records, arrest reports, and more.
These are just 3 ways to background check someone you met from an online dating site or app. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, so be careful while looking for love on the internet. Running a background search on your date is important for many reasons, but especially to validate who they claim to be before you meet them in person and it’s too late.
For more information, visit this related article on what you can learn from an extensive background check.
