Dating Safety Tips

Last updated: 4 September 2026

Most people on Marabou are exactly who they say they are. A few are not, and the few are the reason this page exists. None of this is about being paranoid — it is the same care you would take meeting anyone new, written down so you do not have to think it up in the moment.

1. Before you meet: online

• Stay in Marabou chat at first. Someone pushing hard to move to WhatsApp or text in the first few messages is often trying to leave a moderated space. There is no rush.
• Video call before you meet. Five minutes on camera settles who somebody is. If they always have a reason not to — broken camera, bad signal, "I'm shy" — believe the pattern.
• Reverse-image search their photos. Save a photo and search it. Stock images and stolen model shots turn up quickly.
• Look for a real life around them. A job, a city, friends in photos, small inconsistent details. Scam profiles are strangely frictionless.
• Trust the mismatch. Perfect English in the profile and a very different voice in chat, or an age that keeps sliding, is worth pausing on.

2. Romance scams

This is the most common serious harm on every dating platform, and it does not begin with money. It begins with attention — fast, flattering, constant.

The shape is almost always the same:

1. Love bombing. Deep feelings within days. Talk of a future, pet names, "I've never felt this before".
2. Distance. They are on a rig, deployed overseas, working a contract abroad, travelling for business. Something always prevents meeting.
3. The crisis. A medical bill, a frozen account, a customs charge on a package, a phone that broke.
4. The ask. Small at first, then larger. Gift cards, wire transfer, crypto, or "just receive this money for me" — which makes you a money mule and is a crime you can be prosecuted for.

Other patterns worth knowing:

• Crypto and forex "mentors." A trading platform they will teach you to use. The early profits are fake and designed to make you deposit more.
• The verification scam. "Verify you're real on this site first" — a link that harvests your card details.
• Inheritance and package scams. Anything where you must pay to receive something.

3. Red flags in chat

• Asks for money, gift cards, crypto or bank details — at any point.
• Refuses to video call, or the camera "never works".
• Pushes for your home address, workplace or full name early.
• Declares love within days of meeting online.
• Wants to move off-app immediately.
• Sends sexual messages or images you did not ask for.
• Gets angry, sulks, or guilt-trips when you say no to anything.
• Pressures you to drink, to come to their home, or to change agreed plans at the last minute.
• Their story changes — job, city, family, age.
• Asks you to receive or forward money or packages.

One flag is a conversation. Two is a pattern. You never owe anyone an explanation for unmatching.

4. Meeting for the first time

• Somewhere public, and busy. A café, a restaurant, a bar with staff. Not their home, not yours, not a car, not an empty park.
• Get yourself there and back. Your own transport means you can leave whenever you want, without negotiating.
• Tell someone. A friend gets the name, the photo, the venue and the time. Many phones can share your live location for a few hours — use it.
• Keep it short. An hour for coffee is a complete first date. It is easy to extend and awkward to escape.
• Stay charged. Full battery, and cash in case your phone or card fails.
• Do not put your address in a rideshare in front of them, and do not let them book your ride.

5. While you are out

• Watch your drink. Order it yourself, watch it poured, and never leave it unattended. If it tastes odd, stop drinking it.
• Stay sober enough to decide. Judgement is the thing you are protecting.
• Leave when you want to. You do not need a good reason, a polite exit, or their agreement. "I'm going to head off" is a complete sentence.
• Trust discomfort. You do not have to justify a feeling to yourself before acting on it.
• Do not go anywhere second that you did not plan in advance and are not comfortable with.

6. Intimate images and sextortion

• Be careful about images that identify you — your face, tattoos, your bedroom, anything with your address in shot.
• Someone who pressures you for images after you have said no is telling you who they are.
• In the US, the FBI takes sextortion reports at ic3.gov. If you are under 18 or the images are of a minor, contact NCMEC's Take It Down service.
• Adults can use StopNCII.org to stop intimate images being shared across participating platforms.

7. Protecting your privacy

• Keep your surname, employer, street and children's names off your profile.
• Check your photo backgrounds — house numbers, school uniforms, your car registration, mail on a table.
• Do not reuse photos that appear on your public social accounts; they make you searchable in seconds.
• Use Marabou chat until you trust someone with your number.
• Consider Incognito mode (VIP Plus) if you would rather not be discovered by people you have not liked.

8. Marabou's safety tools

9. If something goes wrong

1. Get safe first. If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services. In the US that is 911.
2. Keep the evidence. Screenshot messages and profiles before blocking — blocking can hide what you need later.
3. Block and report in the app.
4. Tell us at support@maraboudating.app. If you tell us a crime was committed, we will preserve what we hold and cooperate with law enforcement.
5. Report financial fraud to your bank immediately — speed matters — and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov.

10. Where to get help

Outside the United States, contact your local emergency number and national helplines. We list US services because that is where most of our members are today.