Safety and Scam Policy — Ask Around
Last updated: June 17, 2026
Ask Around connects people nearby who need help with people willing to provide it. While we work hard to keep the platform safe, we want every user to understand the risks involved in interacting with strangers and what we do — and do not do — to protect you.
Read this document carefully before posting a request or offering to help someone.
1. Our Commitment to Safety
We take the safety of our users seriously. We review every report personally. If a user is found to have violated our policies, their account is permanently banned. We do not tolerate scams, deception, harassment, or any activity that puts users at risk.
However, Ask Around is an intermediary platform. We connect people — we do not supervise, accompany, or monitor in-person interactions. Your safety ultimately depends on the decisions you make. This document exists to help you make safer ones.
2. Known Scam Types to Watch Out For
2.1 Fake Requests to Lure People
Someone may post a genuine-looking request — to move furniture, deliver something, or provide any other form of help — with the intent of luring a stranger to a location for harmful purposes. The request may appear completely normal.
How to protect yourself:
- Always check the requester's profile before agreeing to help
- Look for a filled-in bio, age, gender, Instagram, and LinkedIn — an empty profile is a red flag
- Ask questions in the chat before committing to meet
- Meet in a public place first, not a private residence
2.2 Payment Fraud
This can go both ways:
- A requester agrees to pay for help, receives the help, and then refuses to pay, delays payment, or pays with fake currency
- A helper asks for advance payment, receives it, and never shows up
How to protect yourself:
- Agree clearly on the payment method and timing before any help is provided
- For larger amounts, consider meeting in person before any money changes hands
- Do not pay large sums in advance to someone with no profile information
- Prefer meeting in public and exchanging payment in person rather than digitally to a stranger
2.3 Identity Fraud
Someone may create a fake profile using another person's name, photos (linked via Instagram or LinkedIn), or credentials to appear more trustworthy than they are.
How to protect yourself:
- Do not rely only on what someone says in their profile — verify independently
- If a profile has an Instagram or LinkedIn link, check that the account actually exists and looks genuine (real posts, real history)
- Be suspicious of profiles that appear overly polished or that were recently created
- A completed profile is a good sign, but it is not a guarantee of identity
2.4 Location and Contact Harvesting
Some bad actors may use the app to collect phone numbers, home addresses, or live location data from users with no intention of helping or being helped. Once you share this information, you cannot take it back.
How to protect yourself:
- Never share your home address in a request or chat
- Share your live location only after you are confident about the other person
- Share your phone number only when you are ready to have that person contact you directly
- If someone is pressing you to share location or contact information early in a conversation without good reason, treat that as a warning sign
3. General Safety Principles
Regardless of the type of interaction, we urge all users to follow these principles:
- Check before you act. Before agreeing to meet or help, review the other person's full profile — bio, age, gender, Instagram, and LinkedIn. An incomplete profile does not automatically mean the person is unsafe, but it means you have less information to make a decision with.
- Meet in public first. For any in-person interaction, especially the first one, suggest a public location rather than a private residence.
- Tell someone. Let a friend or family member know where you are going, who you are meeting, and when you expect to return.
- Trust your instincts. If something about the interaction feels wrong — the tone of messages, an unusual request, pressure to act quickly — do not proceed. You are never obligated to continue a conversation or meet someone.
- Do not share sensitive financial information. Never share your UPI PIN, bank account details, OTPs, or card numbers with anyone through the app.
4. The Emergency Feature
The emergency feature allows users to broadcast an alert to nearby people when they feel unsafe. It is intended strictly for genuine personal safety emergencies.
- Use it if you are in immediate danger and need help from people nearby
- Your location is shared with people in your vicinity when you post an emergency
- Misuse of this feature — fake emergencies, pranks, or testing — is a serious violation of our Terms of Service and will result in immediate account termination
5. How to Report a User or Request
If you encounter a scam, suspicious behaviour, or a user who makes you feel unsafe:
1. In the app — use the report option on any request to flag it for review
2. Block the user — use the block feature in any chat to prevent further contact
3. Contact us directly — email us at siddusiddharth630@gmail.com with details of what happened
When you report someone, include as much detail as possible — screenshots, chat messages, the nature of the incident. The more information you provide, the faster and more accurately we can review the case.
6. What We Do When a Report Is Received
- Every report is reviewed personally by us — no automated filtering
- If the reported user or content is found to violate our policies, the account is permanently banned from Ask Around
- We take action based on evidence. Unsubstantiated or vague reports may not result in action, which is why detailed reports help
- We will acknowledge receipt of your report and inform you of the outcome where possible
7. What We Cannot Do
We want to be honest about the limits of what Ask Around can offer:
- We cannot recover money. If you were defrauded of payment, we have no ability to retrieve those funds. Payment disputes are between users and outside our control.
- We cannot undo information sharing. Once you have shared your phone number, location, or contact details with another user, we cannot remove that information from their possession.
- We cannot supervise in-person meetings. What happens between two users in person is beyond our platform and our reach.
- We cannot guarantee identity. We do not verify that users are who they say they are beyond their email address.
8. Law Enforcement
If you have been the victim of a crime — including fraud, assault, or any other offence — we strongly encourage you to file a report with your local police. If law enforcement contacts us as part of a formal investigation, we will cooperate fully and provide relevant account data and chat records to assist them.
If you need help documenting what happened on Ask Around for a police report, contact us at siddusiddharth630@gmail.com and we will assist where we are able.
9. User Responsibility
Ask Around provides tools — profiles, chat, location sharing, reporting, blocking — to help you make safe decisions. The decision of whether to meet someone, share information, or exchange money is always yours. We urge you to use those tools, read profiles carefully, and proceed with caution when dealing with strangers.
No platform can eliminate all risk. Staying safe on Ask Around requires your active participation.
10. Contact
To report a safety concern, scam, or any issue that requires our attention:
Siddharth Chaula
Email: siddusiddharth630@gmail.com
We aim to respond to all safety-related reports within 72 hours.