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CrayRate.com: Online Dating Safety
Hiding Behind Dating Site Usernames – Is Over

It’s still true! Online Dating platforms is the best way to meet and date new people online. In this alternative dating universe, dating apps still have the power to find those wandering hearts and namelessly transport you to a secret meeting place where someone will embrace you for whoever you say you are. These cloud based vessels, we call dating apps, server there purposes extremely well and continue to grow in popularity. However, many have found a more sinister use for the platforms. Exploiting the lovelorn and vulnerable through Online Dating apps has proven to be extremely fruitful because of its anonymity aspects.

Targeting Online Dating victims from behind electronic screen is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. With little dating safety measures in place the online dating world has become fertile hunting ground for Predators, Scammers, Dine and Dash Daters, Catfishing, and DWM’s – Dating While Married. Dating apps can be a minefield - you may meet your match, or you may get hooked on the line of someone who’s completely batsh!t crazy. Let’s face it, some downright dangerous types regularly troll popular dating services like Match.com, Tinder and even totally free dating sites like PlentyofFish and Okcupid.com.

Surely, we know in this cloud-based alternative dating universe, people lie. But researchers at Cornell and University of Wisconsin-Madison found that roughly 80% of Online Daters lie in their profile. One thought suggests, this may be because people are emboldened hiding behind Dating Site Usernames never revealing their real name or true intentions. And without a first and last name it is almost impossible to perform online dating background checks on a person – which helps to perpetuate predatory behaviors.
Take for instance, Los Angeles native, prolific online dater and recently convicted serial Dine-and–Dash Dater Paul Gonzales. His notorious capers can be traced back to 2016.  Gonzales found women on popular dating apps like PlentyofFish (POF). He set up dates using multiple identities, enticing unsuspecting women to meet at expensive restaurants, sometimes ordering enough food to feed a table of four – explaining that he was on a special high caloric diet. After satisfying his hunger pains, he excused himself from the table to take a phone call, then abandoned his victims while leaving them with an enormous bill. After being convicted of the dine-and-dash crimes in November, Gonzales surrendered in January to serve a 120-day jail sentence in Pasadena. In addition to the jail time, the Judge threw “the plate” at Gonzales and placed him on probation for three years.
He was also ordered to pay restitution to two of his victims and to stay at least 100 yards away from five restaurants where he perpetrated his gastronomic crimes. The Judge also barred Gonzales from the dating sites PlentyofFish and Bumble; and was informed that he is subject to search and seizure conditions involving electronic devices and accounts.

But with 22 victims revealed over many months, from Long Beach to the San Fernando Valley, this has got to make online daters pause before they meet another date without doing at minimum a cursory check on a date before they agree to meet. With Paul Gonzales, women were hurt financially, but we know there is far worse and it all has to end. Online Daters need to be a bit more suspicious of the strangers they are communicating with and meeting in cyber-universe.

Predictably, with the prevalence of Online Dating, which Statisticbrain.com reported over 50 million people utilized within the last year, online sexual harassment and online dating assaults are on the rise across the U.S. In a study, by Consumers’ Research 57% of female respondents and 21% of male respondents reported experiencing harassment on a dating service. In addition, sexual assault among dates who met on online dating platforms across the U.S. is on the rise. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen reported troubling findings which still hold true in 2019: online dating crime statistics shows internet predators are committing more than 16,000 abductions, 100 murders and thousands of rapes each year. This shows that predators are just as comfortable trolling dating platforms today as they were years ago and little has been done to prevent the patterned behavior from occurring. Online Daters, both men and women cannot allow online dating to drive the next generation of #MeToo. Dating site members have to be cautious and stay a step ahead of the trolls because honest people are getting hurt every day - and not just emotionally. Online Dating Safety must be on the forefront of every daters’ minds.

There are proactive steps which daters can take in order to “date smart from the start:” Background checkers are great tools. A few are dedicated to Online Dating safety. And, although none are 100%, they are all focused on keeping you webdate savvy and help you make more informed decisions about the people you communicate with. Below is my favorites:



Cost: Free or small monthly fee
https://www.CrayRate.com
Watch group for Online Daters
How It Works: CrayRate.com is a one-of-a-kind crowdsourced & socially networked community dedicated to separating the Sketchy Dates from Soulmates – before you agree to meet an Online Date in person. CrayRate.com allows members to “Date Smart from the Start,” bringing transparency & a community-based Online Dating Background Check system to an otherwise opaque industry. With as little as a dating site username, CrayRate members can check a potential online date's “CrayRate” (date rating) before they meet their date. Best of all, there’s no more super-sleuthing for a first and last name to conduct a background check on a potential date (which is almost impossible, anyway).

Similar to Yelp, CrayRate relies on date reviews. Anonymously, CrayRate members (Tipsters) trade dating stories for free access. The Tipster Review includes: Date’s Star Rating, written review, photos, mugshots, text messages and more. It’s super simple!

CrayRate is part serious, part edgy, part exciting and part fun – but at all times, it’s focused on Online Dating safety. CrayRate is not a dating platform – it’s a neighborhood watch group – watching over the “Datinghood.” CrayRate.com is the ‘must have’ web app for generations of online daters.

More ways to be Date Savvy:

Be wary of communications that ask you to act immediately, offer something that sounds too good to be true, or asks for personal information. There are certain red flags to watch for that may indicate you’re dealing with a scammer. Be aware of anyone who…
 – Quickly asks to talk or chat on an outside email or messaging service
 – Claims to be from U.S. but currently travelling, living or working abroad
 – Asks you for money
 – Vanishes mysteriously from the site, then reappears under a different name
 – Married people or minors using the service
 – Talks about “destiny” or “fate”
 – Claims to be recently widowed
 – Asks for your address under the guise of sending flowers or gifts
 – Makes an inordinate amount of grammar and/or spelling errors
 – Emails containing strange links to third-party websites

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s advice to avoid online romance scams is available here: http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0004-online-dating-scams
Be cautious and use common sense. If personal details provided by another person don’t seem to add up, they behave suspiciously or pressure you for personal or financial information – block communications with that person and report them immediately. https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Examples of reportable offenses include:
   – Asking you for money or donations
   – Members sending harassing or offensive emails/IMs
   – Members behaving inappropriately after meeting in person
   – Fraudulent registration or profiles
   – Spam or solicitation, such as invitations to call 1-900 numbers or attempts to sell products or services

Offline Safety Tips
First meetings are exciting, however, always take precautions and use the following guidelines.
Get to know the other person before meeting them offline – Always check their CrayRate before meeting and use the technology on dating sites that protects your anonymity to get to know someone before disclosing personal information or meeting in person. Conduct a criminal background checks on daters, so if you would like more information about someone, I recommend using the Internet and government resources available to everyone. This can include typing the person’s name into a search engine, reviewing public information made available by government offices, or using a paid service to obtain a full background report.

Safe Dating Practices

- Always meet in public- Meet for the first time in a populated, public location – never in a private or remote location, and never at your date’s home or apartment.
- Stay in a public place- It is best not to go back to your date’s home or bring them back to yours on the first date. If your date pressures you, end the date and leave at once.
- Tell a friend- Inform a friend or family member of your plans and when and where you’re going. If you own a mobile phone, make sure you have it with you.
- Stay sober- Keep a clear mind and avoid doing anything that would impair your judgment and cause you to make a decision you could regret.
- Drive yourself to and from the first meeting- Just in case things don’t work out, you need to be in control of your own ride – even if you take a taxi.
- Keep personal items with you at all times- You don’t want to risk having personal information

Following these simple steps can provide insight and a healthy dose of adventure to the Online Dating experience.

I know your match is out there, don’t compromise your safety to find it – always Date Smart from the Start!

Article by: Connie O’Grady
March 6, 2019