The dating world has changed dramatically over the past decade. Online dating sites have become a standard tool for those searching for a potential partner, and social media is another popular way of meeting new people. It is no longer uncommon to get to know someone quite well before you ever go on a first date.
Though the changes in how we date significantly widen the pool of potential partners, it also poses its own brand of risk. It is easy to pretend to be someone completely different over the internet and hard for someone on the other side of a screen to know with whom they are communicating. Thankfully, technology has also kept pace with the need for increased safety tools that make dating a bit less risky.
One of the essential tools for dating safety is online background sites like Check People or its competitors to order a background check on any potential romantic interest. You do not have to use a background check site, as you can do the work yourself. However, it is tedious and time consuming to collect the volume of data available on the multitude of instant background check sites.
Reasons you should do a background check
The information available on online background check sites can help you determine if the person you are talking to has been honest about themselves, and it can also serve as an early warning system if they are hiding important information. Some of the things you can find out about a potential boyfriend, or girlfriend, includes:
A criminal record—it may not be a big deal to find a 10-year-old reckless driving charge. If you find out they have a criminal history of assault or sex crimes, that lets you know you need to proceed with extreme caution. You do need to understand that some arrests may show up that never resulted in formal charges ever being filed, or the person may have been found not guilty.
In a criminal background, you can expect information about arrests, convictions of both misdemeanors and felonies, court records, warrants, and sex offenses. Juvenile records are often sealed and will not appear on most background checks.
Sex offender registries—an online background check will do an exhaustive search of all sex offender registries to give you peace of mind that you are not dating a registered sex offender. If you have children, it is always a good idea to do a background check before you allow someone you are dating access to your children.
Find all their social media profiles—a background check may reveal hidden or undisclosed social media profiles that differ from the profiles they have shared with you. Finding out that they have social media profiles that they have kept from you reveals deceit and diversion that you want to know about before entering into a relationship.
Education and employment history–it is far too easy for people to portray themselves as something they are not, especially in online relationships. Before proceeding in the relationship, a background check will reveal if they have been dishonest about their education or employment. People are often dishonest about these things as they want to create a more impressive persona and feel that their real job or education is not impressive enough.
Bankruptcies or tax liens—relationships can eventually progress to sharing finances. You do not want to wait until you are heavily involved with someone to find out that they have kept a messy financial history from you.
When you meet someone new, especially online, you have to separate fact from fiction. There are plenty of honest people out there who have nothing to hide. However, the potential damage that can be caused by someone who is hiding the truth about who they are can be dangerous. To avoid placing yourself at risk of being deceived, or worse, take a few minutes and do an online background check. Trust is a crucial part of any relationship, but if the person is trustworthy and has nothing to hide, then you will not find anything shocking on the background check.
