Dating safety guides
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Romance Scams That Start on Social Media: What 2025 FTC Data Shows and What It Does Not
What the FTC’s April 2026 Data Spotlight says about romance scams that began on social media in 2025, the tactics reported and what its data cannot show.
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Dating Someone Who Has Contact With Your Children: The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme and Scotland’s Keeping Children Safe Scheme
How parents can ask police whether a new partner poses a risk to their child, using the GOV.UK police check and Scotland’s Keeping Children Safe scheme.
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Threatening or Abusive Messages From a Match: The Communications Offences in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
What the Online Safety Act 2023 and Communications Act 2003 say about threatening, false and grossly offensive messages from a match, and where they apply.
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Romance Scam Figures for 2025: What the UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 Shows for Online Daters
UK Finance records romance scam losses of £39.2m and 6,335 cases in 2025, both record highs, and explains why repeated small payments are the pattern.
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When a Match Monitors Your Phone or Accounts: Tech Abuse Guidance From Refuge for People Who Date Online
What Refuge’s Tech Safety guidance says about tech abuse, how location, account and phone access can be misused, and safe steps and support for daters.
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Recognising Economic Abuse in a Relationship: What the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Covers
Economic abuse got formal legal recognition under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Here is what it looks like, and the early signs worth noticing while dating.
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Dating Again After Bereavement: Safety and Practical Considerations
There is no official timeline for dating again after bereavement. Here is what Cruse Bereavement Support says about approaching it.
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Marriage and Visa Sponsorship Romance Scams: How Immigration-Related Deception Works
Not every romance scam asks for cash. Here is how sham marriage deception targets UK immigration status instead, and how the Home Office investigates it.
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Online Dating and Autism: Navigating Unwritten Rules and Staying Safe
Online dating runs on a lot of unstated convention. Here is what the National Autistic Society’s own contributors say about navigating it, and safely.
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Fake Dating Apps and Clone Listings: How Fraudulent Apps Trick Users Into Installing Malware
Not every dating app listing is a real dating app. Here is how one documented malware campaign worked, and how to check a site or app is genuine.