The Scary Ways Online Dating Can Go Wrong

— -- If you think you've had a bad experience with a date you met online, this California man probably has you beat.

A woman was arrested in Thousand Oaks over the weekend after firefighters rescued her from a man's chimney. She had been trying to break into the house and had gotten stuck, police said. The homeowner told Los Angeles station KABC he had met the woman, Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa, online and they had gone out on a few dates, but recently ended the relationship.

Sunday was the second time the woman was found on his roof, he told the station.

Unfortunately, online dating can lead to scary situations and it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, relationship expert Rachel DeAlto said.

"Guys think they're so much safer and that they don't have to worry about security issues," she said. "But obviously, a woman in a chimney proves that wrong."

"You need to protect yourself and you don't know who's on the other side of the computer until you meet them in person. Have a couple of dates with them before you bring them into your bubble. Be very protective of where you live," DeAlto added.

She suggests people have a separate email address to use for online dating.

"Most of our emails have our full names attached to them and there is a lot of information people can get from that," she said. "Unfortunately in this day and age, it is very easy to find people."

And be wary of red flags -- like an online dating profile written in all caps, for example.

"It sounds so bad, but it's true," DeAlto said. "When you have a creepy person talking in all caps and not making sense in a sentence, then you might want to question who you're talking to. Don't just look at the photo."

Nunez-Figueroa was arrested for illegal entry and providing false information to a police officer, and later released. ABC News was not able to reach her for comment. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office does not know if she has an attorney. She is due back in court Dec. 16.