You're fooling yourself.

Online dating is safe...as long as you never intend to meet anyone in the flesh. There is little danger in playful banter through online communications. It gets scary when you have to actually meet face-to-face. Now you have entered the world of real dating and this presents real problems. How can you protect yourself from meeting the wrong "special someone?" How about a background check! After all, the end goal of dating is normally marriage and why would you start down that road with a total stranger. If he/she has something to hide, wouldn't you like to know about it before you commit yourself.