Online dating is nothing new. But knowing how to distinguish between legitimate sites and sites that will waste your time — or rope you into a scam — can be hard.
One of the leading sites for upper-class dating recently rebranded itself, raising those questions all over again. SeekingArrangement is now simply Seeking.com, but the name change at the high-tech dating platform hasn’t put a stop to the question: “Is Seeking Arrangement safe?” This article will help you learn the answer for yourself, and give you some insight into a dating site you might not know very much about.
Seeking.com Has a Decent Verification System & Safety Rating
The biggest concern that most singles have about platforms like Seeking.com is security and safety. After all, a dating platform can promise successful men and beautiful women, but if your information isn’t secure or every other user is a fake profile, that’s just a waste of time. Fortunately, Seeking does seem to be making sure that users are who they say they are.
The dating service has a strong commitment to safety and security, with lots of tools and features aimed at keeping the platform free from scammers. In addition to providing key safety tips, the site uses a mix of AI and the human touch to root out bots and fake profiles.
Even if a fake makes it through the constant vetting processes and profile reviews, the site and Seeking app (available in the Google Play Store) include a lot of tools to make it easy to ensure your safety. The dating site partners with URSafe, a service connected to 911 and emergency services, to offer several different tools geared toward keeping each user safe on the app and during dates.
Tools include functions like Follow Me, which lets a trusted contact keep track of your whereabouts throughout a date, safety checks triggered to locations, and automatic and voice-activated emergency contact modes. All in all, a young woman meeting someone for the first time can focus on the date, knowing that she’s protected if something goes wrong.
One way the team behind Seeking keeps fake profiles at bay is by making people pay to access messages on the platform. If you’re really a successful man or woman and you’re able to provide financial support, then paying for access to messages should be nothing to you.
This pay-to-message system makes the online dating site less desirable for scammers, since they have to put in money to be able to run scams.
Other parts of the system include optional identity and net worth verification systems, which allow the high rollers to show that they’re the real deal and not just fool’s gold. As our Seeking Arrangement review points out, the biggest tool that Seeking has to prevent fraud and avoid scammers is the community itself, and the willingness that members have to use the tools at their disposal and actually engage with each potential match.
But We’ve Seen Reports of Fake Profiles
Unfortunately, even the best-designed security and verification systems still slip up from time to time. Reports of fake profiles on Seeking.com crop up from Reddit users and on other platforms. Of course, it’s impossible for any site to offer 100% guaranteed protection against scammers and fake profiles.
There are some red flag behaviors that young people tend to look out for and tell each other about, which makes it a little easier to avoid being taken for a ride. It can be frustrating to reach out to someone who seems to be a likely candidate and find they are all bragging and no truth.
Experts highlight the red flags to look for, like the ones in our article on the topic, to identify romance scammers in general. But definitely be on the lookout for unusually vague details (such as an entire state listed as a location rather than a city and state or city and country), photos that don’t look very high-quality or that look like stock photos, or attempts to get you off the platform right away to a less secure setting to talk.
Fortunately, if you do run into a fake profile or scammer on the site, Seeking makes it easy to report. Customer service is easy to use, and you can also report a profile or a message thread without having to navigate from the page. The help ticket system lets you provide details if you run into someone who seems like a scammer or bot. You can trust the team behind the scenes at Seeking.com to take care of the issue quickly and boot the user if needed.
The Premium Membership Can Offer More Security—For a Price
Another layer of insurance Seeking offer is the Diamond membership and income verification system. At the most basic level, Seeking checks into the income of their wealthy user base through a series of simple checks, including a credit card check.
For added confidence, users can submit to a more thorough report on their financial situation while keeping themselves as anonymous as possible. Seeking will verify additional details of your income and budget on a volunteer basis to show your financial ability to spoil a potential date and provides a badge for your profile page that everyone can see.
Seeking offers a few different levels of premium membership for the site patrons to choose from. For members who opt for the Diamond membership plan, benefits include highly increased visibility, profile boosts, and priority status when reaching out on the platform. A successful Diamond member is a catch, but Diamond members get an even bigger boost: They’re front and center for Attractive members, Seeking’s young and beautiful and highly in demand.
Thanks to the added hoops, Diamond members and Attractive members on Seeking.com can feel confident that who they’re talking to is who they say they are. They can also avoid the profiles that are more likely to have fakers and scammers behind them.
Of course, Diamond membership costs a pretty penny, but I’d say it’s worth it to make sure you’re showing up for the most attractive people the site has to offer.
Dating Site Alternatives to Seeking Arrangement
While Seeking.com is a big name in the dating world, it’s not the only site or app for people seeking a a confidential romance. These platforms make it easy to connect with the young and beautiful as well as the experienced and established, whether you’re looking for a sexual relationship or something more lasting and intense.
- Relationships: Hookups, Casual Dates, Affairs
- Match System: Search by age, location, appearance, and more
- Our Experts Say: With its massive user base and advanced privacy features, Ashley Madison is the #1 site for discreet hookups, dates, or relationships. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Ashley Madison may not be the first name you think of when it comes to a dating site, but many successful men are married. For the wealthy and married, getting a divorce is often not a comfortable option, so turning to an affair site to find a young and beautiful partner to spoil makes a lot of sense. Ashley Madison has the added benefit of enhanced security (even if that came at the cost of a scandal years ago), and privacy features to keep things quiet. The site is 100% free for women to use, so ladies won’t have to invest anything at all to find a wealthy partner for a discreet relationship.
2. Elite Singles
Elite Singles seeks out the crème de la crème, so it makes for a very happy hunting ground for exceptional singles who want to find someone who matches their prerequisites. More than 80% of the site’s membership have a bachelor’s degree or better, so wealthy men and women who want more than just a pretty face to while away the hours with can be confident that a match on Elite Singles will have something to talk about. The site also employs an intensive vetting process and fraud detection system to keep fakes and scammers off the platform.
3. Secret Benefits
Secret Benefits keeps things simple when it comes to sugar dating by avoiding flashy features in exchange for a sleek, user-friendly interface and a focus on what’s important. As with most sugar dating websites, sugar babies on Secret Benefits can communicate with anyone on the platform for free, but would-be sugar daddies have to pay to gain similar access. The site stands out from competitors like the Seeking Arrangement app by restricting who can join and in what capacity: Membership is strictly sugar daddies and female sugar babies, to keep things simple. The site uses high-tech verification tools and a constant monitoring process to make sure everyone is safe, secure, and who they say they are.
4. Established Men
Established Men may not be our experts’ favorite wealthy dating site, but the platform is a solid option for people seeking an age-gap relationship where wealth isn’t necessarily the only factor under consideration. Established Men definitely functions to connect older, successful men with younger women for patronage and companionship. But the lower cost of a premium membership means that the site tends to attract candidates on both sides who are more interested in quality. Established Men is a trusted platform for those who want something a little more romance-oriented.
FAQs: What Are the Safest Dating Apps or Sites to Use?
If safety is your top concern when it comes to online dating, there are a few sites that really take things to the next level when it comes to preventing fake profiles and keeping users in line. These sites cater to people looking for long-term romance as opposed to a strictly sexual relationship, and they do everything possible to help keep member information secure and the platform free of scammers.
Match
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
It’s no secret that our dating experts love Match, and there are a lot of reasons for that. A key factor behind our love for Match is the fact that the dating website has kept up to date with internet threats and keeps things secure for members. You can verify your profile with social media right from setup, proving your bona fides to other members. Match also keeps member information tightly locked down, and unlike a lot of online dating platforms, there haven’t been scandals about data breaches for Match. Finally, Match maintains an alert and vigilant team of content moderators, to respond quickly to any reports of fake profiles, scammers, or harassment on the platform.
eharmony
- Relationships: Casual Dates, Deep Relationships
- Match System: Personality test suggests matches
- Our Experts Say: Accounting for 2% of U.S. marriages, eharmony’s compatibility-based system and commitment-minded user base are ideal for those seeking a serious relationship. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
If you’re looking for long-term love, eharmony provides a safe atmosphere where you can find it. The features that this dating site brings to the table to ensure safety include both the common tactics, like site encryption and data security behind the scenes, as well as some less obvious hurdles. For one thing, free members can browse the site but can’t send messages to other users, which the team behind eharmony finds cuts down on scammers and fake profiles. The lengthy signup process is another deterrent to romance scammers. In addition, eharmony makes it easy to report suspicious profiles, and getting in contact with tech support and customer service is as straightforward as it can be.
3. Bumble
Bumble launched with the specific goal of providing a safe option for women, who often deal with harassment and other issues on dating platforms. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd created the woman-first platform in 2014, and the dating app includes a lot of features to keep things safe and fun. In addition to putting the first contact ball in women’s courts, Bumble’s team uses content moderation policies and other tools to boot bad actors from the app as quickly as possible. Not only is there someone looking out for hints of red flags, but users can access support readily, letting the team know there’s an issue.
Where Should I Go to Meet a Real Wealthy Person?
Because the idea of a mutually beneficial relationship is far from new, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are a lot of options for the young and beautiful to meet up with the wealthy and established. Wealthy singles have specific demands when it comes to dating services, so of course a number of apps and sites exist to cater to their needs.
Millionaire Match is a great resource for wealthy singles who want to improve their love lives. The dating site makes it easy to decide which platforms fit your needs the best, and provide a good bit of research and insight. It’s geared toward helping millionaires find each other.
Raya is like a secret club for wealthy and influential singles, down to the waitlist and the possibility to have an existing member vouch for you to speed things up. You don’t have to be wealthy to join, which makes it an excellent hunting ground for would-be sugar babies to find the right fit.
Miss Travel connects travel-loving singles for dates to exotic locations around the world, providing a straightforward method to negotiate a specific kind of relationship. Users specify their preference for one of three travel types (“Travel With Me,” “Come to Me,” or “Show Me Your Town”), and one of three payment methods. Sugar babies can specify that they’ll need someone to pay for them, and sugar daddies and sugar mommies can flaunt their ability to pay to take a potential match to a new and exciting location.
What’s a Good Adult Dating Site for Casual Relationships?
Not everyone wants something serious, and several dating sites for casual relationships and hookups exist to cater to people who want to keep things light and sexy. Our experts are big fans of two platforms in particular for their level of security and ease of use.
NaughtyCharm puts the adult content right up front, and encourages users to be open and honest about what they’re looking for. Even for free members, the dating site makes it easy to find your next hookup without worries: The base-level encryption and security keeps data secure and your information locked down.
If you’re especially security-conscious, NaughtyCharm has two premium packages provide extra perks: The Extra Security and Premium Dater packages come with full encryption, incognito mode, and browser clearing history. You can also gain access to premium messaging and video content options with paid membership, which keeps the fun going any time of the day.
Adult Friend Finder (AFF) has had issues with security in the past, but the veteran casual dating and hookup site took the lessons that previous breaches provided.
Although it couldn’t be easier to sign up, the team behind the scenes at AFF constantly monitors for risky behavior and scammers, making it a safe place to search for your next one-night stand. While you can join, post a personal ad, and participate in public discussions without paying, you’ll want to be a premium member to gain full access to one-on-one communication tools and especially to get expanded access to livestream and video content.
Our Seeking.com Review Is Positive—With Some Caveats
Signing up for a dating website can be a tricky proposition, whether you’re a young woman or a wealthy man. Fake calls, scammers lying about their wealth, age, or other personal details, and plenty of other pitfalls can make the search for a mutually beneficial relationship tense and fraught instead of fun and sexy.
While the Seeking Arrangement website rebrand to Seeking.com includes a lot of new elements to make things more secure, no system is perfect.
Seeking.com has a dedicated team in San Francisco working to make online dating safer and easier for high-income individuals. Such singles need to keep their wits about them as they browse for a high-end date.
Even with the best security system in the industry, users on any dating site should vet their matches thoroughly before agreeing to meet. Is Seeking.com safe? It’s definitely safer than many other dating websites, but the ultimate responsibility remains on the user to exercise good judgment.
