Dating safety, the real lore

🔍 Before you meet

• Video call first. A short video call confirms they are the person in the photos. Someone who always has an excuse not to video call is a warning sign.
• Check their photos. Use Google Lens (long-press a photo, or the camera icon in Google) to see if their pictures appear elsewhere under another name.
• Look for a real footprint. Mutual friends, a consistent name across profiles, a job or university that makes sense. Brand-new accounts with few photos deserve extra care.
• Search their name. Drop the Lore members can search a name to see if others have shared an experience.
• Keep chatting on the app until you trust them. Don't rush to give your number, home area, office or university.

☕ On the first date

• Meet in a busy public place like a café or restaurant, in daylight if you can. Never at their flat, a hotel room or somewhere isolated.
• Get there and back on your own. Use your own ride or an app ride you booked yourself, and use the app's "share trip" feature.
• Tell a friend who you're meeting, where and when, and share your live location (WhatsApp or Messenger) for the evening. Agree on a check-in time.
• Keep your phone charged and some money for a ride home.
• Watch your drink. Don't leave food or drinks unattended. If you feel suddenly unwell or dizzy, tell staff and call a friend right away.
• Leave whenever you want. You don't owe anyone an explanation. Feeling uncomfortable is enough of a reason.

💸 Money and bKash scams

• Never send money (bKash, Nagad, bank or gifts) to someone you haven't met in person, however sad the story: a family emergency, hospital bills, a stuck parcel, a visa fee.
• Never share an OTP, PIN or verification code. bKash, Nagad and banks will never ask for your PIN. Anyone asking is a scammer.
• Be wary of "investment" talk. A match who brings up crypto, forex or a "guaranteed" business opportunity is a classic scam pattern.
• Abroad, rich and in love quickly? Someone overseas who falls for you within days and soon needs money is almost always a romance scam.

📱 Photos and online safety

• Think before sending intimate photos, even to someone you trust. Once sent, you can't control them.
• If someone threatens to share your photos (sextortion): don't pay and don't send more. Save the messages and the profile link, block them, and report it. Paying almost never makes it stop.
• Bangladesh Police run a cyber support service for women ("Police Cyber Support for Women", PCSW). Contact them through their official Facebook page.
• Lock down your profiles. Hide your phone number, home area and workplace on Facebook and Instagram.

🚩 Red flags vs 💚 green flags

🆘 If something happens

• Get somewhere safe first. Then call someone you trust.
• Keep evidence: screenshots, messages, call logs, profile links, receipts. Don't delete chats.
• You can file a GD (General Diary) at your local police station. It creates an official record.
• It is never your fault. Whatever happened, you deserve support.