In a week when some shocking stories about online dating sites and apps have been very high profile at the Old Bailey, with the trial of Stefano Brizzi, we felt it was exactly the right time to bring dating safely for over 50s to the fore and highlight the steps you should be taking to meet people safely and without worry, if you are single and looking to meet your ideal partner. As dating safely for the over 50s IS possible. We asked our Senior Membership Adviser at Avenues, Victoria Davies, who many years ago met her husband through personal matchmaking, for her views on keeping safe when meeting new people on dates. Say's Victoria "At Avenues we have been terribly shocked to hear the awful details coming out of the Central Criminal Court over the last week and personally I realise it is extremely off putting for many. I would temper this awful case however by saying that more and more people are single now in their 50s and 60s than ever before and we at Avenues know more than most about dating successfully in later life and for me the safety that we provide should really be the cornerstone of meeting new people in a safer, more confidential and discreet manner." Victoria continues "Many people don't realise that there are safer options to meet someone special once again, without using risky internet sites and apps. Avenues has been synonymous over many years for bringing people together in a well thought out, careful and measure way. Where every client is carefully interviewed, ID checked and vetted by our professional personal matchmaking team. It is also a highly confidential service, with no internet based profile or photographs that could easily be accidentally accessed by family, friends, neighbours or work colleagues and working with a Personal Matchmaker is also a great way of keeping very safe - as they know their own clients extremely well." Avenues also deploys a very comprehensive and advanced authentication and verification system that enables us to check out the authenticity of clients very accurately, to ensure they are who they say they are in 100% of cases. As online dating fraud is also a significant problem when meeting potential partners through online sites. But what are the keys steps you should be taking to stay safe? Once again we called on Victoria's experience and expertise within the mature dating marketplace to guide the readers of our blog on what they can do to stay safe when going on dates, with people they don't know and feel a little unsure of - here are Victoria's hints and tips:
Victoria's hints and tips to keep you safe
- Use a reputable dating agency first and foremost, an agency that promotes dating safely and takes steps to ensure that clients are thoroughly interviewed and vetted and are who they say they are. If they don't offer this service - steer clear of them as life is too precious to take risks.
- Try to ensure that the dating site or agency works discreetly and that their service is confidential.
- Read the terms and conditions of the website carefully, if you sign up, are they allowed to control your profile data and photographs for many years or even perpetually? Also ensure you do this before you pay for the service.
- Never provide personal information, address details, photographs of your home or locality (smart phones record the location these days, so you could be very easily traced).
- Be very careful about meeting someone in person for the first time, meet in a public place, where other people will be around in numbers and do take the time to get to know someone quite thoroughly before meeting, through messaging, emails, texts and phone-calls - you can tell a lot from a persons voice.
- Coffee Shops are often an ideal meeting place as you can stay just a short time if you're uncomfortable, but it's easy to extend your stay if things are going well.
- Give details of your meeting to a third part and ask them to ring or text you so that you can confirm you are safe and feel comfortable.
- Never under any circumstances be tempted to provide bank or credit card information to someone you don't know very well and never show a statement with account numbers visible - even if the person in question claims to be an expert and can help or advise you.
- Look out for the warning sign's - early declarations of undying love, someone wanting to help with your financial affairs, someone who needs your help urgently because they have found themselves in an emergency situation, particularly if it involves them needing money.
- Don't be tempted to drink alcohol on a first date, if possible drive yourself to the date and drive yourself home again - that way a drink is not usually possible and you stay in complete control too.
We thanked Victoria for her input and for sharing her knowledge and expertise, after the media coverage this week from the Old Bailey, it is refreshing to hear that there are still traditional personal matchmaking companies like Avenues, delivering a highly personal and very confidential service for discerning daters, who are simply not prepared to take risks any longer. If you would like to speak with Victoria personally about the service provided by Avenues and how you could benefit from it, then complete our contact form and we will usually get back to you within 24 hours. Alternatively please ring us at our expense on 0333 253 3588 - you may be very glad you did as we have an extensive database of executive calibre, over 50's singles and all at a cost that is less than some of the leading online dating sites at our entry level. We are open from 9am until 9pm everday, apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day and would love to hear from you, without any obligation whatsoever. We are waiting for your call.