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Dating Safety Tips

by Eharmony Editorial Team - March 18, 2021

 A message from eharmony regarding COVID-19

At eharmony we care about your health and safety. eharmony has always been a safe place to meet new people and start meaningful relationships. We encourage you to stay informed and maintain a social distance, while still enjoying your search for that someone special. In addition to our Safety Tips below, for updated information on COVID-19, please visit the World Health Organization’s website at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

As you start your eharmony journey, we want you to have a safe and fun experience on our site and app.

Our Trust & Safety and Customer Care teams have compiled a list of advice and tips so you can find your most compatible match while staying safe online. If you have any questions, please view our help pages at support.eharmony.com.

Mission

Our Trust & Safety team works hard to ensure that you have the best possible experience. We routinely review accounts for inconsistent or suspect behavior. When communicating with or meeting a match, don’t ignore your instincts. In any circumstance, your judgment and intuition are necessary to protect yourself.

Use eharmony’s Secure Messaging

Always be wary of someone who immediately requests to move communication off the eharmony platform. Users who don’t have the best intentions, try to take the interaction off the eharmony site, as soon as possible.

Never Share Financial or Private Information

  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information.
  • Never share your Social Security Number, mother’s maiden name or other private information like your address that can be used to access your financial information.
  • Never send money or goods to a person.

Please stop communicating with a match that pressures you for this information and report the user to eharmony. You can view how to report a match here. This will escalate your concern to our Trust & Safety team for review.

Use Your Best Judgment

Always trust your judgement when you’re on eharmony. If you’re feeling like a user has bad intentions, it’s better to be safe and pause communication. Here’s a list of common red flags when you’re getting to know someone new:

  • Claims to be from the U.S. but is currently living, working or traveling abroad.
  • Claims they are experiencing an emergency situation that requires your assistance, in either goods (i.e. computers or gift cards) or money.
  • Disappears suddenly from the site then reappears under a different name.
  • Wants the relationship to progress faster than you are comfortable going.
  • Messages are poorly written and escalate quickly from introduction to a deeper connection.
  • Asks inappropriate questions.
  • Tells inconsistent or exaggerated stories.
  • Gives vague answers to specific questions.
  • Urges you to compromise your principles.
  • Constantly blames others for troubles in his or her life.
  • Insists on getting overly close, very fast.
  • Claims to be recently widowed.

Protect Your Account in Public

When accessing your account from a public or shared computer, use caution and be aware of your surroundings so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.

Keep Your Personal Information Safe

  • Never include your last name, email address, home address, telephone number, place of work or any other identifying information in your profile or email messages during early communication. You can use our secure eharmony Messaging process to protect your identity.
  • Once you’ve given out personal information, you cannot take it back.

Do Your Research

  • We encourage you to do your own research before meeting a match in person. This type of search can include:
    • Typing your match’s name into a search engine
    • Searching social media profiles, etc.
  • Pay attention to the details your match shares with you. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your judgement and stop communicating with them.
  • If you receive a message with a link (most commonly directing to view photos), please know that eharmony does not have a place outside of the profile, to view photos.
  • Use good judgment and be cautious when deciding to click on any URL links. In particular, be aware of links that lead to web pages which look similar or identical to the eharmony homepage, including its log-in fields. These links are typically sent as attempts to “phish” for log-in information from users in order to compromise user accounts. – Not familiar with “Phishing”? Please visit our help pages
  • Report any phishing scams to our Trust & Safety team by reporting the user to eharmony. You can view how to report a match here.

Meeting For the First Time

Meeting in person is exciting. Have fun and explore the level of chemistry you share with your date while keeping your safety as your first priority. These tips can help you feel comfortable when you meet your matches in person:

  • For your first few dates, meet your date in a public place. If your date pressures you to meet at their house or at an isolated place, please cancel the date.
  • When it comes to drug and alcohol consumption, don’t let your date pressure you to do something you’re not comfortable with. Know your limits and be confident in your decisions.
  • Use your own transportation, so you can leave when you want to. Never agree to be picked up at your home and wherever possible, drive yourself or use a ride-share app.
  • Tell at least one friend or family member about your plans and when you will return. Arrange to check in with them after each of the first few dates.
  • Carry a fully charged mobile phone with easily accessible emergency numbers.
  • Make sure your purse and any drinks are always kept within eyesight.

Match Termination Notification

In the event eharmony removes a match/closes an account for suspicious activity or inappropriate behavior or falsified information, you may be notified via email to discontinue communicating with the match in question. We strongly encourage all of our members to review emails received from eharmony to ensure this communication is received promptly.

Keep It Positive

Not every match is going to be right for you, so closing communication with matches and having matches close communication with you is a natural and healthy part of the process. It can be hard to be rejected or close off communication with someone, but if you do, please be honest, direct and polite.

External Resources

If you are in immediate danger, please call 911 or the number of emergency services in your area. Below are resources that can provide advice and support if you’ve had a bad experience with a match. We would like you to report any bad dates or violent incidents to our Trust & Safety team, so that we can take the appropriate action. You can view how to report a match here.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Call 1-800-273-8255 | https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline

Call 800.656.4673 | https://hotline.rainn.org/online

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-SAFE (7233) | https://www.thehotline.org/

National Sexual Violence Resource Center

1-877-739-3895 | https://www.nsvrc.org/

National Human Trafficking Hotline

1-888-272-7888 or text 233733 I https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center

https://www.ic3.gov

LGBT National Help Center

1-888-843-4564 | https://www.glbtnationalhelpcenter.org