Safety Tips
Standfirst
This is the compressed version. If you read nothing else here, read the five rules.
The Safety Center has the reasoning behind each of them, and the country and city pages have the parts that are specific to where you are.
The five rules
1. Video call before you meet. Someone using another person's photographs cannot appear live as that person. Every excuse will be plausible, and there will always be another one. The pattern of refusals is the answer.
2. Meet in public, the first time and the second. Not their home, not yours, not a private room, not a car. A public place you can leave.
3. Arrange your own transport, both ways. Do not be collected, and do not depend on anyone else to get home. This single rule removes most of the ways a meeting can go wrong.
4. Tell someone where you are going, who with, and when you expect to be back. At any age. It feels like being supervised and it is not, it is the same precaution you would want a friend to take.
5. Never send money. Not for any reason, at any point, in any amount, no matter how long you have spoken or what badges they hold. There is no exception to this rule.
Before you meet
Keep the conversation on the platform until you are comfortable. Moving to another app early is a common first step in fraud, because it removes the conversation from where it can be reported.
Do not share your home address, workplace, daily routine, financial details or identity documents. Not with someone you have not met.
Check your photographs for things you did not mean to include: your street, your building entrance, your car registration, a child's face, a work pass.
Search their name and reverse image search their photos if something feels off. It costs two minutes.
Trust the feeling. If something is wrong you will usually notice before you can explain why. You do not need a reason to stop replying.
At the meeting
Keep your phone charged, and keep it with you.
Watch your drink being poured and do not leave it unattended. Drink spiking followed by robbery is a documented problem in several cities, and the city page says where.
Do not go on somewhere private, however well it is going. There is always another evening.
Leave whenever you want to. You do not owe anyone an explanation, a full evening, or a polite exit. "I am going to head off" is a complete sentence.
If you feel unsafe, tell a member of staff. In many places asking a bartender or a member of staff for help is understood immediately.
Money, specifically
The single most important page on this site is Financial Safety, because money is where the most serious harm happens.
Nobody who wants a relationship with you needs your money. Not for a medical emergency, a customs charge, a plane ticket, a frozen account, a legal fee, or an investment that only needs a little to release a lot.
Never receive or forward money on someone's behalf either. That is money laundering, the money is usually stolen, and you are the person the authorities can identify.
A verified badge changes none of this. Verification confirms only the specific check stated.
If something has already happened
You have sent money: contact your bank or payment provider immediately, before anything else, then report here and to your local police.
Someone is threatening to share private images: do not pay, do not delete anything, screenshot everything, report and block, and tell one person you trust. Paying increases the demand rather than ending it.
Someone will not leave you alone: block, then report. No warning required.
You are in immediate danger: contact your local emergency services. We are not an emergency service and cannot dispatch help.
Related
Safety Center · Financial Safety · Safety FAQ · Community Guidelines · Safety and Reporting help · the country and city pages for where you are
Disclaimer
This page is general safety information and is not legal advice. MingleExtra does not conduct background checks and does not vouch for any member. Verification confirms only the specific checks stated and does not confirm a member's intentions, honesty, financial circumstances or safety. Never send money to someone you have met online, and never receive or forward money on their behalf, regardless of the reason given or their verification status. Following this advice reduces risk; it cannot eliminate it. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. MingleExtra is operated by NEX MINGLE HOLDINGS LLC and is for adults aged 18 and over.
