I recently posted a comment on another thread about suggesting that the people who have actually meet people from online explain to the people who haven't how to do it safely. And posted a couple suggestions of my own. I had gotten some positive feedback for that comment in my email. So I figured it would be a good idea to start a thread where the experienced people can give suggestions to the newer people just getting into this.
In the post I had said They should start out verifying that they are actually talking to someone who is sincerely looking for a match. I would first suggest talking to the person on webcam or on the phone. The actual person that is going to wrestle you, not a husband, or boyfriend, or brother, sister ect ...
Hopefully some people who have done this IRL will add to this.