Looking for love? Let your mouse do the prowling. Tens of millions of Americans rely on cyberspace to track down the love of their life.

Internet dating could be for you. But before you sign up, we've got some pitfalls, perils and warnings for you about looking for love online.

Bridget Beatovic signed up with an online dating service and spent about a year meeting people. Why online?

"Sometimes it's kind of hard to meet somebody at work, and the bar thing doesn't always work out," Bridget admitted.

She went on about a dozen dates with men she met at www.match.com. "I thought they were all kind of exciting. I guess I just really like meeting people for the first time," she said.

In fact, Bridget met her fiance through the dating site. Now she's making wedding plans. But not all her "matches" worked out so well.

"Kind of an older man, was talking about wanting me to come over and use his bathtub and he'd draw me a bath, and things like that, so I thought that was a little bit weird," she described one interaction.

That "weird" or "creepy" feeling is important to listen to, experts say. Because you don't really know who you're talking to online.

Glendale police officer Joel Dhein pointed out a lot of potential problems with online dating. "Conceptually it seems safe but it's not a lot of the time because you do not know who you're talking to and that can be a huge problem and a real safety issue for you and your family," he said.

Dhein said some people use online dating as a way to glean personal information about moms, really angling to get to their kids. Others are looking to steal your identity.

So how do you find love...Without finding a stalker or pedophile? We went to the expert, local writer Cherie Burbach.

Burbach went on 60 coffee dates in 6 months... And put all the gory details into her book, "At the Coffee Shop."

"For those people who were really leery about Internet dating, unsure about how to get started and I included anecdotes about the dates I went on and how I went about it and information with tips to help them succeed," she described her book.

She actually met her husband through one of those dates... but not all of them worked out so well.

Cherie said it's important to be cautious when setting up that first date.

"A double blind email system will protect you from that person knowing your email, you can block them later if they become creepy," she advised.

She also said you should always drive your own car to a date. And just schedule an hour for the first meeting.

The best way to weed out the losers... make sure your profile is true to you.

"You need a really great profile, you need to have something that gives people a look at your personality and doesn't just list things that you like doing," Cherie told us.

Cherie also said-- it's not going to be perfect. You have to give any relationship time to develop.

There are many dating sites online. And you get what you pay for. Some free sites are open to anyone. Other more expensive services do background checks on subscribers before allowing them to become members.