Penpal safety information for children

Safety is our priority at Global Penfriends. We do a lot of checking behind the scenes to ensure penpals on the site are safe and genuine.

Below are some tips to help you stay safe whilst finding new friends from around the world:

  • Use our internal messaging system
    • Our internal messaging system means that you never have to give out your contact details (email or postal) to any potential penpals until you have established trust. We recommend waiting at least 1 month before exchanging personal contact details such as email or socials. On GPF, you can always reply to messages in your inbox for free (that applies to all members). Common excuses used by scammers to lure you away from the site, include:
    - I don't sign in here very often,
    - I haven't upgraded and it won't let me reply,
    - I prefer a platform to share photos,
    - I sometimes can't access this site,
    - My VPN is not working and I cannot get access,
    - I will be traveling and cannot access the site,
    Let your penpals know that you want to start your friendship on the site. If you must share photos, utilise a secure photo sharing site like https://imgbb.com/

  • Don't let gifts distract you
    • Some scammers will try to gain your trust by sending you gifts. We have had reports of members being sent bracelets and other forms of jewellery early in a friendship. Gift giving early in a friendship is unusual and should make you suspicious. Don't be overwhelmed by gifts. Gifts are generous but they do not make a penpal more trustworthy.

  • Select your preferred gender
    • In your profile preferences, you are able to select if you want replies from Males, Females or Both. If you aren't looking to correspond with the opposite gender, ensure you have your preference set correctly to prevent unwanted interest. Most scammers are targetting the opposite gender through romance related scams, so this settings can be a big help.

  • Money / Donations
    • A genuine Penpal or friends will never ask you for donations or money. If your penpal is requesting you send them money, Report them to us immediately.

  • Pictures and Videos
    • Global Penfriends does not offer photo or video sharing as this is a huge safety issue for children. Never put yourself in a situation where you have given compromising pictures or videos of yourself to any individual. If you wouldn't share it with your family, don't share it with strangers on the internet. No individual can guarantee the privacy of an image, video or digital file.

  • Build trust by asking questions
    • Establish trust with a prospective penpal by asking lots of questions. Ask specific questions and make sure you are getting answers to your questions. Genuine penpals will do their best to answer non obtrusive questions without being vague.