News / Events

Welcome to the Forever Young Club news and events centre. Here you will find out the latest news from Forever Young Club and details about any events of interest happening around the country.

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Forever Young Club has been approached by Swinburne University to assist in a research program on older adults and online romances.

The study conducted by doctoral student Sue Malta of Swinburne University is currently looking for mature Australians to be part of the research. Particularly interested in the views of people aged 60 years or over, the study will seek to gather data from those who are currently in or who have recently been involved in a romance that started online.

Ms.Malta has surveyed people aged 61 to 86 and believes people around this age bracket are often left out in research regarding the Internet and romance. Ms Malta said the indications from preliminary results were that older adults actively engaged in loving, romantic Internet-initiated relationships clearly reflected those of the younger generation.

If you are interested in being part of this research, please contact Dr Malta at smalta@swin.edu.au. Swinburne University has assured that all responses will be kept in strict confidence and names and identifying information will be changed to protect the respondent’s privacy.

Safety tips for dating online…

While the internet is mostly a safe place, there are similar traps and pitfalls you may encounter in real life. We believe the bulk of Forever Young Club members are genuine folk seeking friendship, yet there may still be a handful who choose to be to do the wrong thing and misuse the purpose of the site.

Only recently, the media has reported a woman falling victim to a Nigerian scam artist who lost up to a tune of $30,000. While cases like these are few and far between, it is always a good idea to take precautions when first communicating with a stranger online. While we might not be able to completely eliminate the threat of such scams, we believe that members can take preventive steps by simply being aware of a few tell-tale signs that we have listed below.

Watch out for inconsistencies. For example, it could be broken English when the person claims to be a native English speaker, or a phone number or email address that doesn't coincide with where the person claims to live.

Coming on strong? Be careful of anyone who comes on too strongly or who rapidly and repeatedly tries to get you to communicate with them outside of Forever Young Club.

Asking for money? Be careful if anyone asks you to send them money so that they can come visit you - this is another common scam. Often you will send the money and never hear from the person again.

Ask Questions! This is very important. If someone is only interested in learning about you there may be something wrong. Make sure they are willing to answer your questions as well, and always check that their answers are consistent.

Don’t reveal personal details! We strongly discourage members against revealing personal details through the site. Never include your last name, email address, home address, phone number, place of work or any other identifying information in your online profile or first correspondence with someone.

Request photos. See if you can view a few photos of someone. If you only get excuses as to why you can't see a photo, consider that he or she has something to hide.

Chat on the phone or use the audio / video capabilities on the FYC chat room. If you do chat on the phone, do not reveal your personal phone number to a stranger. Try a mobile phone number instead or use local telephone blocking techniques to prevent your phone number from appearing in a Caller ID.

Meeting up for the first time? It is important to employ common sense when going on a date. Go to a public place where there is constant human traffic and let a friend or relative know beforehand where you will be and the time you expect to be home. Carry a mobile phone at all times.

If things get tricky? If you are in any way uncomfortable at a meeting, use your best judgment and excuse yourself long enough to: call a friend for advice, ask someone else on the scene for help or just leave. Never worry or feel embarrassed about your reaction. Your safety is much more important than one person’s opinion of you.

At Forever Young Club, we strongly discourage members from revealing bank details and personal details such as phone numbers or addresses. For more tips on staying safe online, please look at our frequently asked questions regarding online security or visit www.romancescams.org for tips on how to safeguard yourself against internet dating scammers.