Meetville. Safety Tips

If you read nothing else:

• Never send money to anyone you met here. No exceptions, no matter the story.
• Keep conversations on Meetville until you genuinely trust the person.
• Meet in public the first time. Get yourself there and back.
• Tell someone where you're going and who you're meeting.
• If something feels off, leave. You never owe anyone an explanation.

Take your time. There's no prize for moving fast. Anyone worth meeting will still be there next week.

Ask questions. You're allowed to screen. Ask what they do, where they're from, what they're looking for — and notice whether the answers stay consistent over time.

Try a voice or video call before meeting. It's the single most effective screening step. Someone using stolen photos will find reasons to avoid it. If someone won't do a short video call after weeks of conversation, that tells you something.

Look at the profile properly. Very few photos, no face clearly visible, or images that look professionally shot or generated are worth a second thought. So is a profile with almost no written information.

Don't share personal information early. Your home address, workplace, financial details, identification numbers — none of that belongs in an early conversation.

Be careful with your routine. Details like "I'm at the same gym every Monday evening" or "I walk my dog in this park at seven" tell someone exactly where to find you. That's more information than it looks like.

If you have children, limit what you share about them. Avoid their photographs, names, ages, and where they go to school — both on your profile and in early conversations. Your children didn't choose to be on a dating service.

Check what your photos reveal. Street signs, house numbers, licence plates, a work badge, a distinctive view from your window — people have been located from less.

Consider your username and photos elsewhere. If you use the same photo or handle on other social accounts, someone can find those accounts in seconds. That may be fine — just know that it's possible.

Keep conversations here while you're getting to know someone.

Messages on Meetville are subject to our safety systems. People with bad intentions know this, which is why pushing to move to text, WhatsApp, Telegram, email, or phone within the first few messages is one of the most reliable warning signs there is.

There's nothing wrong with eventually moving to another channel with someone you've come to trust. The question is how quickly they're pushing, and how hard.

Never send money to someone you met on a dating service. Not by wire transfer, bank transfer, payment app, cryptocurrency, or gift card. These transactions are close to impossible to reverse or trace.

Never make investments, open accounts, or download trading platforms at the suggestion of someone you met here — including services or websites they recommend, however professional they look.

Never share information that could give someone access to your financial accounts.

If anyone asks you for money, report them immediately. Not later, not after you've thought about it. They are almost certainly doing the same thing to other people at the same time.

How romance scams actually work

They rarely start with a request for money. That's the point. A typical pattern:

Weeks one to three. Constant attention. Long messages, good-morning texts, quick emotional intensity. They tell you they've never felt this way. They may talk about a future together within days. This speed is the tactic — it's called love bombing.

They're always unavailable in person. They work on an oil rig, they're military deployed overseas, they're a surgeon on a contract abroad, they're a businessman travelling. There's always a plausible reason they can't do a video call or meet.

The first request is small and urgent. A phone card. A customs fee to release a package. A visa problem. A medical emergency for a family member. A stolen wallet abroad. It's small enough that refusing feels petty after weeks of intimacy.

Then it escalates. Once you pay once, the requests grow. Some scammers instead introduce an "investment opportunity" — cryptocurrency or forex — showing you a platform where your balance appears to grow. You can withdraw small amounts early. You cannot withdraw the large one. This pattern is common enough to have a name in law enforcement: pig butchering.

If you recognise this pattern, stop paying immediately, stop communicating, and report the account. Do not warn them that you know — they may have information they can use against you.

Being targeted is not stupidity. These are organised operations, often run by teams working from scripts, and they target intelligent people. If it's happened to you, report it here and to your local authorities. In the United States you can report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Long-distance and overseas. Be cautious of someone who claims to be from your country but is stuck somewhere else — particularly if they eventually need financial help getting home.

Avoiding questions. If someone deflects basic questions about their life while pushing for emotional commitment, that mismatch is the signal.

Rushing intimacy. Declarations of love before you've met in person are not romance. They're a technique.

Pressure of any kind. Pressure to send photos, to move platforms, to meet somewhere private, to keep the relationship secret, to drink more, to decide quickly. Pressure itself is the red flag, whatever it's about.

Requests for intimate images. Anything you send can be screenshotted and used against you — this is the basis of sextortion, which typically begins with a request that feels flirtatious. If someone threatens to share your images, do not pay them: payment almost never stops it. Report it to us and to your local authorities.

Inconsistencies. Names, ages, jobs, locations that shift between conversations. Photos that don't match the described life. Try a reverse image search on their photos — it takes thirty seconds.

Don't rush it. Take the time to get to know someone first. There is no obligation to meet on any particular timeline.

Meet in public and stay in public. A populated, public place — never at your home, their home, or any private location. If they pressure you to go somewhere private, end the date. That pressure is the whole answer.

Tell someone your plans. A friend or family member should know when you're going, where, and who you're meeting. Consider sharing your live location from your phone for the duration. Arrange to check in with them at a specific time.

Control your own transport. Get yourself there and get yourself back, so you can leave whenever you want. Don't be picked up from home on a first meeting. If you're driving, have a backup — a ride-share app, or someone who can collect you.

Charge your phone. Have it with you, charged, all evening.

Know your limits with alcohol and drugs. They impair judgment and alertness. If your date pressures you to drink more than you want, hold your ground and end the date.

Watch your drink and your belongings. Only accept drinks poured or served directly by the bartender or server, and know where your drink is at all times. Substances used to facilitate assault are frequently colourless, odourless, and tasteless. Keep your phone, wallet, and anything containing personal information on you.

If you feel uncomfortable, leave. Early, without apology. You don't need a reason, and you don't need to be polite about it. If you feel unsafe and can't leave easily, ask the bartender, server, or a member of staff for help — in many places, staff are trained for exactly this.

Trust your instincts. People often say afterwards that they knew something was wrong and talked themselves out of it. Don't talk yourself out of it.

You owe nothing. Not a second date, not an explanation, not a reply. If you don't want to continue, you can simply stop — and block if they don't accept that.

If something happened. If someone assaulted, threatened, coerced, or defrauded you during or after a meeting arranged here:

• Your safety comes first. Get somewhere safe and contact local emergency services or law enforcement if you're in danger or a crime has been committed.
• Report the account to us at [email protected] with the subject line "Safety Report." We act on reports about conduct that happened offline — see Section 2.3 of our Acceptable Use Policy.
• Preserve what you have. Screenshots of the conversation, the profile, and any other messages. Don't delete the conversation before reporting it.
• None of it was your fault. Not what you wore, not that you agreed to meet, not that you had a drink. Responsibility sits entirely with the person who chose to harm you.

We believe in the inclusivity of all gender identities and sexual orientations. The reality is that nowhere in the world is entirely without risk, and some countries have laws that specifically target LGBTQ+ people.

Before travelling, review local law. Research what legal protections, if any, exist based on sexual orientation and gender identity where you're going. ILGA World publishes current sexual orientation laws by country at ilga.org.

Exercise particular caution in those countries. Law enforcement in some jurisdictions has used dating services as tools for entrapment. Some countries have introduced laws criminalising communications between individuals on same-sex dating services, with increased penalties where such communication leads to a meeting.

Consider your profile visibility. If you are travelling in or through a territory where this is a risk, consider hiding your profile or removing information about your sexual orientation or gender identity from it for the duration. You can adjust profile visibility and profile content at any time in your settings.

Be aware of who can see what you share. Information about your orientation or gender identity that you publish, or share in a message, can be screenshotted and passed on. In some places, that exposure carries consequences far beyond embarrassment. Deliberately exposing another person's orientation or gender identity is a serious violation of our rules — see Section 4.4 of our Acceptable Use Policy.

Consent. All sexual activity must start with consent, and consent continues throughout — it isn't given once. Verbal communication helps both people understand each other's boundaries.

Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Sex is never owed to anyone, regardless of what was said earlier, how the evening went, or who paid for what.

Do not proceed if your partner seems uncomfortable or unsure, or if they are unable to consent because of the effects of alcohol or drugs. Someone who is incapacitated cannot consent. Uncertainty means stop.

Protect yourself. Used correctly and consistently, condoms significantly reduce the risk of contracting and transmitting STIs including HIV. Be aware that some infections, such as herpes and HPV, can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. The risk of some STIs can be reduced through vaccination.

Know your status. Not all STIs produce symptoms. Regular testing is the only way to know. Your local health service or a sexual health clinic can advise.

Talk about it. Have the conversation about sexual health and testing before you become physically intimate. In some jurisdictions, knowingly transmitting an STI is a criminal offence.

Report anyone who crosses a line. You know when it happens. When it does, we want to know.

Report directly from any profile or conversation, or email [email protected].

Report these in particular:

• Requests for money, donations, investments, or financial information
• Anyone you believe is under 18 — stop communicating and report immediately
• Harassment, threats, or abusive messages
• Inappropriate or harmful behaviour during or after meeting in person
• Fraudulent or impersonated profiles
• Requests for or threats involving intimate images
• Spam, solicitation, commercial links, or attempts to sell you something

Blocking. If you don't want to hear from someone again, block them. You don't need a reason and you don't need to explain.

Reporting is confidential. We do not tell the reported person who reported them.

Useful subject lines: "Safety Report," "Urgent — Minor Safety," "Urgent — NCII Report."

Most people here are exactly who they say they are, looking for the same thing you are. These tips exist because of the minority who aren't — and because a few habits, kept consistently, remove most of the risk.

Take your time. Trust your instincts. Tell someone where you're going.

Related documents: These Safety Tips accompany our Community Guidelines, Acceptable Use Policy, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy, and Accessibility Statement.

Contact: [email protected] Operated by: Sequoia Network, Inc., a Delaware corporation, operating the Meetville platform at meetville.com.