Is MeetUp Safe?: How MeetUp Scams Happen When Meeting People in Your Group

For those who are bored, lonely, just moved to a new area, or just looking to make new friends; you’ve probably wondered how to make meeting more people with your same interests easier. You can’t just walk in a grocery store and know by looking at someone what their same interests are and how to bond with that person. That’s why the website MeetUp exists so that people can meet others with similar interests, like music, the LGBTQ community, sports, other hobbies, etc.; but we also have to ask is MeetUp safe?

MeetUp is a Website Geared Toward Group Meetings

When you sign up for MeetUp, you have a ton of groups to choose from, and you select the group you would like to join. Within that group, they have group meetings that you can attend to get to know people. At these meetings, you will meet real people and will know that you’re not getting virtually catfished, and you’ll also know that they are fairly local since they had to drive to get to this meeting. Because of this, it is fairly safe to meet with the groups that are on MeetUp, though you need to be careful about individuals within the group.

Is MeetUp Safe?: Meeting Up with These Members Alone Might Not Be As Safe

All you need is an email to sign up. There is no identity verification process within the MeetUp site to verify that you are who you say you are. Therefore, people can lie about their name and age even though you know what they look like in public. The reasons people might do this are having a criminal record or not having good intentions.
They can still trick you into stealing your money. Even though MeetUp allows for people to meet in person within their groups, these suspects can still scam their lovers in real life. They can come up with excuses as to why they need your funds, such as needing money for a group MeetUp event, and not stop until they have soaked up your bank account.
They can lie about their intentions with you. Someone can tell you how they want to form a relationship with you, and yet still use you for alternative reasons. Kidnappers, scammers, or people who just want you for inappropriate reasons exist even if you meet that person in real life.
They lie about meeting within a group, but its really just them. Make sure you check your surroundings when meeting with a group to ensure all members show up before interacting with the group.

Enlarge

3 MeetUp Scams to Look Out For

Premium Girl Scams: Girls target guys within the same MeetUp group they are in and tell them that if they pay them, they will send inappropriate pictures and videos to them. Once they pay them for pictures and videos, they ask for more and more money to get more content until you go broke.
- How to Avoid: If a girl offers to send you inappropriate content in exchange for money, don’t fall for it. This is usually a scam and they won’t stop bugging you until they have stolen every last penny from you.
Cryptocurrency Scams: Cryptocurrency scammers intrude in other MeetUp groups that pertain to a business subject and start advertising a way to make digital currency. They even leave fliers for group members to take and hopefully sign up for their service. They then pay all this money for a digital currency, only to find out it isn’t real and the person who claimed to be an expert on cryptocurrency is actually a scammer.
- How to Avoid: When someone randomly advertises a service in your MeetUp group, avoid purchasing that said service because chances are it is nothing but a scam.
Romance Scams: Romance scammers can email people on MeetUp groups and form a relationship quickly with them. They usually pretend to be from the town that the group is in and also pretend to be stationed in a foreign country for a job. In reality, they will start asking you for money continuously once they build up your trust enough.
- How to Avoid: Be wary of people who email you out of the blue and want to form a quick romantic relationship with you. Always video chat or meet them in person before becoming too serious and avoid giving anyone money for any excuse.

Ways to Protect Yourself When Meeting Someone on MeetUp

Don’t give anyone you meet in the groups your personal information. There is no reason to give out your address, social security number, bank account information, or any other personal information to someone you just met in a group. If someone feels the need to ask for this, report it to MeetUp immediately and find a different group to attend until the person is blocked from the group you’re in.
Don’t give anyone within the group money unless it’s the group leader. And even if you give money to the group leader, be careful so that you aren’t taken advantage of. Asking for 2-3 dollars a meeting for board games isn’t a big deal or even 20-30 dollars at a meeting for camping supplies. However, when the amounts get higher for things that don’t make sense, that’s when you should question if it’s a scam or not.
When meeting with people for the first time, meet in public places. There are people with bad intentions out there that use people for a variety of reasons. Because of this, you should protect yourself and make sure that you meet with people in public places. This prevents them from attacking you in any way or asking any weird questions in public. Don’t meet with them in private unless you’ve truly gotten to know them.

Enlarge

Meeting with new people can be nerve-wracking, especially when you are trying to figure out if they have good intentions. If you need help determining someone’s intentions, Social Catfish has got your back! We can reverse search their names, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media usernames to make sure they are who they say they are. We can even search their images to make sure the name matches up.