First-date safety checklist for India, the UAE and the US

• Stay on the app's chat at first. Moving to WhatsApp or Telegram early hands over your number and takes the conversation off a platform that can act on reports.
• Video-call before you meet. Two minutes on camera confirms the person matches their photos. Repeated excuses for not being on camera are a warning sign.
• Reverse-image-search their photos. Google Images and TinEye are free. If the photos belong to someone else, stop there.
• Check that the story holds together. A professional profile or mutual connections that match what they've told you is reassuring. Details that shift between conversations are not.
• Pick a public place you know. A busy café or restaurant, in daylight or early evening, with people around.
• Tell a friend. Share who you're meeting, where and when, turn on live-location sharing for the evening, and agree a time to check in.

• Get there and back on your own. Don't accept a ride from someone you've just met, and don't share your home address yet.
• Keep your phone charged and your drink with you. If you feel unwell or unusually drunk, tell the staff and leave.
• Keep the first date short. Coffee or one drink is enough to know whether you want a second.
• Leave whenever you want. You don't owe anyone an explanation, and a decent person won't push back.
• Trust your instincts. If something feels off, that's reason enough.

Romance scams work because they feel real. The US Federal Trade Commission describes the classic pattern: scammers say they can't meet in person because they're "living or traveling outside the country, working on an oil rig, in the military, or working with an international organization." Sooner or later, they ask for money.

Watch for someone who:

• Refuses to video-call, or always has an excuse.
• Says "I love you" within days.
• Pushes you to move off the dating app quickly.
• Asks for money, gift cards, crypto or banking access, for any reason. The FTC notes scammers ask you to wire money, buy gift cards and share the PINs, use money-transfer apps, or send cryptocurrency.
• Offers to teach you how to invest. The FTC warns that scammers "may even offer to help you get started in cryptocurrency investing."
• Asks for one-time passwords (OTPs), your government ID or remote access to your phone.
• Has only polished, professional-looking photos, and a reverse-image search turns up someone else.

The FTC's rule is the simplest to follow: "Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven't met in person." Our scam warning page covers the common patterns in more detail.

In an emergency, call the local emergency number first. Save it in your phone before the date.

• India: dial 112, the single pan-India emergency number (the Ministry of Home Affairs launched it in 2019). For online financial fraud, call the toll-free 1930 cyber-crime helpline and file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Report quickly: the government's fraud-reporting system exists to stop money being moved on, so the first hours matter.
• UAE: dial 999 for the police, 998 for an ambulance and 997 for the fire service, as listed on the UAE government portal. Customs and laws in the UAE differ from India and the US, so follow local law and keep first meetings in public places.
• US: dial 911. Report romance scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Our safety page also lists mental-health helplines for each country.

• Text your friend that you're home. It closes the loop, and it's a good habit.
• Decide in your own time. You don't have to answer "when can I see you again?" on the spot.
• Report anything that crossed a line. Report the person on the app and, if a crime occurred, to the police. Screenshot the conversation and profile before you block, so the evidence isn't lost.
• If you've sent money, stop sending more, call your bank straight away, and report it through the channels above.

On BiggDate, contact starts with a Soul Knock: each person answers a question from the other before chat opens, and photos stay hidden until then, which makes low-effort mass messaging harder. Members can add an optional Pink Tick by submitting a LinkedIn profile URL and a selfie, which our team reviews manually. It's a useful signal, but it isn't a background check, so every step above still applies. You can block and report anyone from their profile or your conversation.

BiggDate is free during early access in India, the UAE and the US. Whichever app you use, this checklist travels with you. If you're curious, see how BiggDate works.