Today, conversations over text message and the internet replace much of the necessity for face-to-face communication as a primary source of socialization. If someone is lonely, they can get on Facebook and talk one of their hundreds of friends. If no friends are on or appeal, then they can choose to talk to random strangers on the internet. A site that offers this as an option is Omegle.

On Omegle, you are matched with a random stranger based on shared interests or shared lack of interest. You can talk for as long as you choose and disconnect at any time. Of course, it can be difficult to find someone who actually wants to have a conversation. Most of the time, it ends in disinterest or disgust. Only occasionally do you find a person you have a lot in common with that you want to keep talking to. Or, in the event that you are a roleplayer, a person who makes you want to continue the roleplay beyond your current chat.

Omegle does not allow for this. Once you are disconnected from the chat, you are completely detached from that person. Therefore, it stands to reason that if a person wants to continue a relationship of some sort with the other person, they need to have an account through a different medium or on a different site.

This can be dangerous. You never know exactly who is at the other end of the conversation, especially when it is through a medium that does not allow you to hear their voice. Obviously, giving out your real full name or allowing them access to a personal account is a bad idea. Thus, I present you with the idea of a Stranger-Danger Account.

Basically, a Stranger-Danger Account is an account that you create in which you do not use your real name or real details about yourself. Basically, it is what Catfish use, but as a means for protection rather than for deception.

I will never advocate for talking to strangers online. It is dangerous and can lead to extremely unsavory situations. However, if you make an account that has a different name on it than yours and is not affiliated with you in any real manner, the other person has to work for your information. Because, really, all they need is your full name, a few interests, how you type and perhaps where you live and they can find you. It is easy.

However, it is also easy to set up another email, skype, kik or Instagram that does not have your personal information on it. It is unlikely that you will be able to achieve full anonymity—how you type, the words that you use, the things that you know about tell a story, after all—but you will at least have put a barrier up.

Stranger-Danger accounts are useful for other things, too. For instance, they can allow you a screening process for people you meet in real life. Instead of giving them your number, you can give them your Stranger-Danger email and find out if they’re decent people. This way, if you regret your decision, they don’t have much usable information. It is also much easier to block someone over the internet.

This is by no means a foolproof plan. However, the Catfish of the internet have teeth. The least you can do for yourself is to put on leather gloves before they try to gobble you up. In other words: if you are going to do something risky, make it as safe as possible.