She was excited to finally date a stranger from Instagram — until her BFF found his old Facebook profile and immediately barred the door
Her friend didn't wait for a second opinion; she just blocked him and called the date off
Online dating has both pros and cons. But one of the scariest risks people take is meeting strangers without a proper background check. A woman who goes by u/foxxymama1 on Reddit experienced something similar through her friend. On July 2, 2026, she recalled how she stopped her best friend from going on a date with a man after she looked him up online. Well, her BFF and her date had been following each other on Instagram for a long time but decided to meet only after he reached out. The woman was super excited for the date until the author found an old Facebook account and exposed the man's horrifying criminal record. The post has 25,000 upvotes.
A dark past
The two friends were discussing her BFF's date when she briefly recalled the man mentioning that he can't get a passport since he was a felon. When the author asked about the charges, her friend said that she did not know the details and "glossed over it." The author, who had 15+ years of experience researching people's criminal records and prisoner information, began digging. Initially, nothing came up, but eventually she stumbled upon an old Facebook account and found 23 charges within 10 minutes. The charges began in 2013 and continued into 2024. Some of his charges include domestic violence, a restraining order, a custody hearing, and more. Moreover, the author also discovered that her friend's date also had a son.
Dodged a dating disaster
After discovering this shocking information, the author immediately informed her BFF, who then blocked the man on social media. She wrote, "I’m usually not one to encourage ghosting, but she blocked him immediately after we found his record, without telling him why. And with his history, why even risk a bad reaction?" While the author believed that people can change, in this case, she trusted the 10-plus-year pattern. She concluded her post by suggesting everyone do their research before meeting strangers in real life.
Online stalking — precaution or invasion of privacy?
Thriving Center of Psychology surveyed more than 1,000 single Americans and found that 38% admitted to researching a date online. They found that more than half (65%) of women and 34% of men agreed that it was socially acceptable to stalk a date online. Additionally, 18% ran a background check on their date. In today's age, looking someone up online before going on a date with them has become incredibly common. In fact, it is viewed as a measure of precaution, rather than an invasion of privacy.
'You saved her life'
Meanwhile, netizens praised the author for looking out for her friend. Several others left advice on how to do a background check in different states. u/Flat_Web7170 commented, "You are a fantastic friend. Always listen to that voice inside that asks questions." u/googley_eyes69 added, "You may have literally saved her life; at the very least, you saved her from some major trauma. I hope she is grateful to have you."
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