What to do if…
you receive an unsolicited meet me now message from an unfamiliar or spoofed account

What to do now

1. Create a safety buffer. Stay where you are if it is safe, or move to a busier public place. If you were about to leave, pause and do not go to the suggested meeting place.
2. Treat the urgency as a warning sign. A “meet me now” message from a spoofed, new, or unfamiliar account is enough to treat it as unverified until proven otherwise.
3. Verify through a channel you already trust. If the message claims to be someone you know, contact that person using a saved number, an existing chat thread you have used before, or another known method. Ask: “Did you just message me from a new account asking me to meet right now?”
4. Do not confirm useful details to the sender. Do not tell them where you are, whether you are alone, whether you are leaving, or what route you might take.
5. Use police routes if safety is at risk.
   • If a crime is in progress, someone is in immediate danger, or you feel in immediate danger, call 999.
   • If it feels threatening, targeted, stalking-like, or harassing but is not an emergency, call 101 or use your local police non-emergency reporting route.
6. If money, hacking, or sensitive details are involved, use the fraud route as well.
   • In England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, report cyber crime or fraud to Report Fraud.
   • In Scotland, report cybercrime to Police Scotland by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.
7. Preserve evidence without engaging. Screenshot the message, username, profile page, phone number if shown, and any links. Note the time and date. Keep the thread intact and do not forward it widely.
8. Report the contact through the relevant channel, then mute or block.
   • For a suspicious text message, forward it to 7726 if available through your provider.
   • For a suspicious email, forward it to [email protected].
   • For an app or social media account, use the in-app report option for impersonation, harassment, scam, or suspicious contact.
9. Check immediate privacy settings. Turn off live location sharing you do not fully trust, including phone-level sharing and app-level sharing. If you clicked a link, shared a code, or gave sensitive information, change the affected password and turn on two-step verification where available.
10. Tell one trusted person. Say that you received a suspicious “meet me now” message, that you are not meeting anyone, and that you would like a simple check-in.