Safety Tips (dating)

All new profiles are checked personally by a member of the Chameleon Vibes Team to ensure that they are a genuine profile. We do this to increase protection for our members. We take online safety very seriously and especially now as online scammers become ever more sophisticated. We would like to ask you to help us here by doing your bit as a member. Below are some helpful tips to staying scam alert and safe while you enjoy dating.

Profile information

If you doubt any information provided by a member on their profile, you are probably right to think something may be “off”. Always use common sense and trust your gut instinct. Avoid contact if you have any doubt.

What information is safe to share?

The golden rule is to be comfortable with the information you chose to share. Remember that once you have shared it, you will not be able to retract it. For example your personal contact details. If your partner is very persistent, is trying to obtain information that you are not ready to share, this may be a warning sign to avoid contact. It is always safer to use Chameleon Vibes platform to communicate and get to know each other before sharing any personal information.

Money

If your partner or a profile requests or suggests / demands any financial transaction, report it immediately to the Chameleon Vibes Team for further investigation, as this is likely to be a fraudulent account.

Take your time – There is no rush!

You have been getting on really well with your new partner, you feel a real connection and you are eager to meet as soon as you can but remember that despite this feeling you are still very much strangers to each other.

Consider the following points when you are meeting up, especially for the first time:

  • Meet in a public and neutral place, for example, a coffee shop, restaurant, or shopping centre.
  • DO NOT invite them to your house and DO NOT go to their house for your first date
  • Tell someone you trust that you are going on a date, where, and with whom.
  • Avoid excessive drinking and /or drug-taking.
  • Keep your personal belongings in sight.
  • Do not leave your drinks unattended.

Help us help you

If you are even slightly suspicious of a profile, please alert the Chameleon Vibes Team immediately.

 

Download the booklet “Staying safe from ROMANCE FRAUD” by Dr. Elisabeth Carter, University of Roehampton and Thames Valley Police, UK.

Based on the original research paper: Distort, Extort, Deceive and Exploit:
Exploring the Inner Workings of a Romance Fraud. The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 61, Issue 2, March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaa072