There are some very fundamental pitfalls associated with any form of on-line communication, on-line dating suffers from them all, to a fairly large degree. Possibly the major dilemma faced by people who communicate on-line is the fact that social conscience is lessened, if you were to meet somebody new in a bar, and they asked what you did for a living, there is a very strong chance you will tell the exact truth, not so on-line, as people find it easier to lie or exaggerate as they do not have to tell the untruth to a real live person.  In on-line dating, this is a potential problem, as you are relying upon the people using the site to give an accurate profile of themselves.

Most other dangers and pitfalls fall into irrelevance when we introduce the topic of violent and sexually abusive users. There are dozens of documented cases, where an on-line dating site user has agreed to meet in real life, with a person that seemed charming and quite safe on-line, only to be either physically or sexually abused during the meeting. This is particularly poignant when the aspect of paedophilia is introduced; on-line dating sites and chat rooms have been accused of giving this particular classification of sex offender, a simple and reliable means of contacting and communicating with possible victims. All in all, anybody wishing to meet up with somebody they have met through an on-line dating site should take significant precautions to make sure they do not become the victom of foul play.