is it really dangerous to meet people off Facebook?

[joe.attaboy]

Bad idea. Very bad.

You're playing with fire anytime you meed someone on the Internet, especially from a foreign country. Chatting with them on line is okay, to a degree, but NEVER make arrangements to meet ANYONE you meet on line anywhere, no matter what country it is.

First of all, how do you know he's 17? Because he told you. I could create an account here and convince you I'm a 15-year-old girl, but in reality (and I mean I really am) a 54-year-old man with a wife and grown daughter. But you would have no way of verifying that, would you?

Here's what you should do. before you make your trip to Germany, go watch the movie "Taken." Now, I know it's only a movie, and there aren't too many men in the world who can take on a crime family like Liam Neeson did in that picture. But the scenario of what happens to his daughter is NOT far fetched. Hopefully, what happens to her will scare the crap out of you.

Just remember, arranging to meet this "really hot German guy" could wind up being something you never expected, something you won't like very much. And I really don't want to read about you on the news, OK?

By the way, as I said, I'm the father of a 22-year-old girl. I would never, ever let her do anything even remotely close to this while traveling when she was younger.