How To Avoid Married Matches Online

Online dating, practical and effective though it is, can be a mixed bag at times. On most occasions, it's a great way for singles who are tired of, or unable to participate in, the traditional dating scene to meet, but in some instances, it can also be a convenient tool for dishonest married individuals to find additional partners. In fact, some research has shown that a third of people using online dating sites are married!

Beatriz Avila Mileham, a researcher who studied online infidelity at the University of Florida, offers the following reason for the troubling trend: "With cybersex, there is no longer any need for secret trips to obscure motels. An online dating liaison may even take place in the same room with one's spouse." To put it simply: men and women cheat online because it's easy.

So how do you avoid matches who are looking for extramarital flings when you're looking for a stable, long term relationship? Here are a few questions to ask that will help you identify cheating con men and women online:

• What do his or her pictures look like? If their pictures are so grainy or blurry that it's nearly impossible to make out any features of the subject, or if there aren't any pictures at all, consider moving on to greener, and more well photographed, pastures. Married people are frequently reluctant to post their photos online, for the obvious reason that they might be recognized by someone who knows them or their spouse.

• How consistently is he or she in contact with you? Married people have to devote time to their jobs, spouses, and potentially their children, which doesn't leave them a lot of free time to spend on online dating sites. If responses to your messages come on an extremely irregular basis, there's a chance that your match is leading a double life and must communicate with you in an erratic fashion in order to maintain secrecy.

• When you're ready to take things to the next level, will he or she exchange phone numbers with you? And what number is it? Married people will typically take your phone number, but are unwilling to share their phone number with you in return. If they do offer a number at which you can reach them, it is most likely a mobile phone number, as calling a workplace or their place of residence would be extremely risky. In most cases, you can rest assured that your match isn't married if A) They give you their contact info without any hesitation, and B) They give you their home phone number.

Most online dating users are likely to run into a philandering affair-seeker at some point during their online dating careers, so continue on to "How To Avoid Married Matches Online: Part II" for more tips on how to steer clear of these trouble-causing tricksters.