If you believe you are a victim of fraud, have concerns that your pen pal is a phoney/catfish, feel threatened, or that your safety/security has been compromised, please email info@geekgirlpenpals.com with all the details. If you feel you are in immediate danger, please call 911 or your local emergency hotline.
We take pen pal safety very seriously. Sure, IGGPPC is a rad, awesome place with an amazing community of people. But it’s also on THE INTERNET. Anyone can get on the Internet and attempt to be a creep… sometimes people are just trolling, and other times they are actually trying to hurt you, by getting personal sensitive information out of you like your address, credit card information, or even explicit photos.
These people are not cool. So it’s up to us to be vigilant like superheroes, and to use common sense when beginning an exchange with someone on this site, or anywhere!
Do not give anyone on this site your home address until you have exchanged at least an email or two to get a feel for them. We recommend chatting a little first anyway in order to make a good connection and find out what you’ve got in common! This helps you get the person’s “vibes” as well. Another good tip when making initial contact with your new pen pal is to ask them to exchange social media handles, if you are comfortable.
If the person you’ve been paired with still seems sketchy, do not give them your address! Just let us know you do not feel comfortable with them and we will address the situation.
Also, be aware of what people are posting and talking about here and report any and all suspicious activity to us immediately! All you have to do is email info@geekgirlpenpals.com and we’re ready to help. That’s how we roll.
So take some basic safety precautions and do not give sensitive information out online, be it explicit photos, home addresses or credit card info.
Yup yup, safety is awesome! Let’s look out for each other peeps, and be smart!! Let’s keep this community safe and full of love.
Safety FAQs
We have no foolproof way to do this; all we have is the trust that our community is full of mostly good, honest people, who want to share and connect with other geeky peeps on a global scale and be nice to one another. Once we have paired you up with your pal, it will be up to the two of you on how you want to proceed! You may want to chat a little over email first, to do your own sort of screen on the person. Maybe you can exchange Facebook links if you are unsure.
Yes, you can get us involved. If you’ve got any kind of bad feeling or aren’t sure, just reply back to us and ask for our help.
No, we are not.
Once we have put you in contact with a new Pen Pal, we cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any contact of any kind made between you. We do hope you use common sense, and if you decide you feel uncomfortable giving your address out, don’t. Just let us know you would like us to either find you a new Pen Pal or you would like to drop out altogether. We wouldn’t want you to do anything you don’t feel 100% about.
Ask them for their social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram.) Ask them to Skype with you beforehand. Ask them to snap a pic of themselves with your name handwritten on an index card. Ask them for a bit of background on themselves without being too specific (what kind of job they have, what their geek loves are, how they found out about the club, if they go to school, etc.) If they are a true friend, they will understand your safety concerns!
Never give out any information like this to any pen pal, no matter how much you think you can trust them. A pen pal should not ever ask you for this kind of sensitive information.
Do not respond to them, and do not give them your address. Immediately email info@geekgirlpenpals.com with a full report of all the details. We cannot help you if you do not report it. If you feel you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency hotline such as 911.
There have been no confirmed cases of catfishes using our club. If you suspect someone isn’t who they say they are, stop communication immediately and reach out to us at info@geekgirlpenpals.com. You can also check out our Safety page.
Of course, here it is:
Once we have put you in contact with a new pen pal we cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any contact of any kind made between you. By confirming you have read this disclaimer you are acknowledging that you have permission to join this service.
We do hope you use common sense and if you decide you feel uncomfortable giving your address out, don’t. We wouldn’t want you to do anything you don’t feel 100% about. Your participation is totally voluntary.
If you are sending gifts with your letter remember to check that there are no international restrictions on posting said item.
Swaps Safety Rules
Ready to participate in some fun, snail mail swapping action? Wonderful! We have a few rules for all swaps participants to keep in mind.
First, a general principle we abide by:
Swappers host and/or participate in swaps at their own discretion.
In the spirit of IGGPPC’s safety guidelines, we ask you tread carefully when you’re finding new friends to swap with. If you feel sketched out by someone, don’t give them your personal info! Instead, notify your swap organizer. If you ever feel personally threatened or unsafe, contact IGGPPC staff immediately.
Please play nice and don’t bite off more than you can chew. On occasion, people DO flake on their swaps. This is unfortunate, but you’ll find for the most part our community members are very active and friendly. If you’re concerned about a delayed package or if you find yourself running behind on a swap, please shoot your swap partner a friendly email! A little communication can go a long way.
The rest of our rules are as follows:
- Do not post personal information to social media or in our Discord server.
- Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated.
- Complaints/concerns must be handled by each swap’s respective organizer. Organizers, if you ever feel concerned about handling a difficult situation, contact Iggle Swaps ASAP.
Thanks for helping to keep swaps fair and fun for all iggles!
Our Pen Pal Registration/Pairing Disclaimer:
Once we have put you in contact with a new pen pal we cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any contact of any kind made between you. For those of you who have been left in pen pal limbo, please either sign up for the next open round or reach out on social media with #IGGPPC to say you are looking for a pen pal. Please note that for safety reasons we do not pair anyone under the age of 17. By confirming you have read this disclaimer you are acknowledging that you have permission to join this service.
We do hope you use common sense and if you decide you feel uncomfortable giving your address out, don’t. We wouldn’t want you to do anything you don’t feel 100% about. Your participation is totally voluntary.
If you are sending gifts with your letter remember to check that there are no international restrictions on posting said item.