For sugar baby apps, Secret Benefits, SugarDaddyMeet, and SugarBook are popular choices, but safety relies heavily on personal vigilance; look for platforms with video verification and robust reporting, use secure messaging like Signal or Telegram for off-platform chats, and always meet in public places initially, prioritizing discretion and red flags.
Sugarbook is Australia's real platform for intentional sugar daddy dating, built for adults who prefer clear expectations, open communication, and genuine companionship.
Look for red flags in profiles and conversations, such as a lack of detail or inappropriate requests, and prioritize green flags like transparency and respectful communication. Maintain safety by keeping conversations on the platform, meeting in public places, and using an alias.
There are no truly "safe" payment methods in sugar relationships due to the inherent risks of scams and exploitation. However, if you do exchange money, try to use a service like PayPal with buyer and seller protections or established escrow services.
Receiving money from a sugar daddy via a payment platform, like PayPal, is the safest option. You don't have to give out your personal information, you just need an email — one designated for your sugar baby payments is safest.
Conclusion. As you know, giving someone your Cash App tag is safe. However, that doesn't mean it can't be misused. Scammers can still use your cashtag in phishing attempts and fake payment scams—just like with many other online or payment-related tools.
To avoid PayPal's 3% fee, use your linked bank account or PayPal balance for domestic transactions, send money as "Friends & Family," and ensure you're not doing currency conversions by sending and receiving in the same currency. For business or goods/services, these fees apply, but you can reduce them by using your bank/balance instead of cards and by having the recipient cover conversion costs if applicable.
In a chargeback scam, a fraudster makes a legitimate purchase through PayPal, but once they receive the item, they contact their bank to reverse the payment, falsely claiming the transaction was unauthorised and / or they never got what they paid for. This leaves the seller out of pocket and without their product.
Credit and debit cards may offer some protections that can help you recover your money for purchases you don't receive. If you pay with a credit card, your bank will likely reimburse you if you don't receive the goods. If you pay with a debit card, your bank will try to recover your money from the scammer's bank.
If there is a reason to receive money from a stranger — for an appliance or piece of furniture sold on an online marketplace, for example — it might be a better idea to ask them to send money by email or through PayPal with a phone number. That way, there's no need to share bank transfer details.
But it does provide some rough guidelines as to how soon may be too soon to make long-term commitments and how long may be too long to stick with a relationship. Each of the three numbers—three, six, and nine—stands for the month that a different common stage of a relationship tends to end.
In dating, GGG stands for "good, giving, and game," a term popularized by sex columnist Dan Savage for describing an excellent sexual partner who is skilled in bed (good), focused on mutual pleasure (giving), and open to trying new things (game), often seen on dating profiles to signal sexual openness and enthusiasm.
Sociologist Maren Scull identified seven types of sugar daddy relationships from interviews, moving beyond simple transaction to include: sugar prostitution, compensated dating, compensated companionship, sugar dating, sugar friendships, sugar friendships with benefits, and pragmatic love, highlighting varied dynamics from purely transactional to emotionally complex arrangements.
The 333 rule in dating is a TikTok-popularized framework for evaluating a connection in phases: 3 dates (to check attraction/chemistry), 3 weeks (to see consistency/effort/potential), and 3 months (to decide on exclusivity or moving forward seriously). It's a guideline to avoid rushing into serious commitment or getting stuck in a situationship by setting clear checkpoints to assess if the relationship has genuine potential.
Coffee Meets Bagel: Quality Over Quantity
Popular in major Australian metros. The Experience: Each day at noon, you receive a curated batch of matches (“bagels”).
Online dating red flags include profiles with low effort (few pics, vague bios), people who move too fast (love bombing, demanding immediate commitment), inconsistent stories, and those who avoid video calls or meeting in person; also watch for requests for money, excessive negativity about exes, or overly sexual/controlling communication, as these often signal scams or unhealthy behavior.
Yes, a scammer can potentially access your bank account with just your phone number, primarily through a SIM swap scam, where they trick your mobile provider into transferring your number to their SIM, letting them intercept 2FA codes, or by using your number for phishing/social engineering to get more info and bypass bank security. While having only the number isn't usually enough for direct access due to bank security, it's a powerful tool for identity theft and account takeover, especially when combined with other stolen info.
Here are some tips to help you determine if an app is safe to download:
The "15" and "3" refer to the days before your credit card statement's closing date. Specifically, the rule suggests you make one payment 15 days before your statement closes and another payment three days before it closes.
Will Cash App refund money if scammed? Cash App generally does not reverse Cash App-to-Cash App payments. However, if a scam is reported and verified through a chargeback or support claim, users may receive a refund. Cash App encourages users to send money only to people they trust.
Use two-factor authentication
In addition to requiring a username and password when logging in, your bank likely has two-factor authentication (2FA), which adds an extra layer of protection to your account. This involves getting a one-time code sent via email or text message to complete the login process.
To scare a scammer, you could waste their time with silly responses, pretend to be an automated messenger, or resend them the messages they sent you. Report all text scams to the Federal Trade Commission's Report Fraud site, filter messages from unknown numbers, and avoid opting in on company sites.
For a $100 domestic transaction in the U.S., PayPal generally charges around $3.20, calculated as 2.9% ($2.90) plus a fixed fee of $0.30, though rates can vary slightly by country and payment type (like QR codes or specific business accounts). International transactions incur additional fees, typically an extra 1.5% or more, increasing the cost.
You can withdraw money from your PayPal account balance through the PayPal app or on their website. You can choose between two options - Standard transfer, withdrawing straight to your bank account or Instant transfer, withdrawing either to your bank account or to your card.
No transaction fees1 when you send to friends and family within Australia from your bank or PayPal balance. We never charge you fees when you pay for goods and services Australia or in AUD. 2.6% plus a fixed fee per AUD transaction when you send money using your debit card* or credit card.