Verify People Online

[G4rd3n_0f_3d3n]

Hey, Scarleteen!
Recently, I've been wanting to put myself out there more and try to meet new people. I went on a public Discord server, and said that I am 16 and looking for a new friend to DM, which is 100% true. Since then, I've been chatting with a bunch of different people, and sometimes even mutually flirting with them. I just wonder, though. I know sometimes people lie about their age online, and I don't want to accidentally start flirting with some crusty 50-year-old man trying to prey on teens. Here's my question to you, Scarleteen: Are there any subtle ways I can make sure someone is who they claim to be, especially how old they are? It doesn't really matter to me what their name is or where they live, but I just want to make sure I'm not talking to a child predator
Thanks,
G4rd3n_0f_3d3n

[Jacob]

Hi Garden of Eden!

I don't know of any subtle ways, but how about being unsubtle? Like asking for someone to send a picture of themselves holding a form of ID?

You can sometimes find info about a person by searching their username, asking around, seeing if their email address is listed anywhere, but you don't always get anything useful from that. Sometimes purchasing background-check software can yield more. But if you want to be sure, you usually need to be more direct than that.

Could that work for you?

(Also only the creepiest 50 yos develop the telltale crust, all the good ones are smooth as silk - I joke, but seriously let's not talk badly about aging unless we're exclusively talking about predatory behaviour)