This is the exact reason I don’t send within my own country. Sorry, but not sorry, there are some real weirdos in the USA.
I had previous strange and uncomfortable experiences with two other postcard exchange websites back in the “old days” when I also started with Postcrossing (around 2004-2006). That’s one of the reasons I stopped participating in PC for years, because of those experiences from the other postcard exchanges.
Thankfully since 2019, participating here again has been a wonderful, fun, and thoroughly enjoyable experience 
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I’m not worried about it. First of all they would have to actually be a creepy person, then they would have to be interested in being creepy to me specifically, then they would actually have to go through with it. Seems like pretty long odds to me.
You do you. You’re missing out on meeting a lot of cool people though.
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That’s why I got a PO box. It’s expensive (around $220 USD for a year), but worth it to me for peace of mind
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I’m in USA, never had a problem with using my home address.
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I have been doing Postcrossing since 2011 and have never had an issue sending to my own country. The U.S. is so large, the chances of getting anyone close to you are pretty slim. I have seen some people will use their first name and last initial, or just first name, so that might be an option if it makes you feel more comfortable.
I like how quickly the postcards travel, plus there is plenty of variety within the U.S.
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More for you 
But there are actually lot of cool people in other countries as well so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything when not sending within my country. The small, maybe not even true, safety feeling weighs so much more.
Perhaps this is something one understands better (only?) when one has had some creepy person or incidents 
you stop thinking how unlikely it is, or how they should do this and this, when someone already did it.
Edit. here is a little similar topic:
I remember that somewhere was the information that you shouldn’t get cards from same city members, but it wasn’t there.
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I’ve enabled this option from the very beginning. I like sending postcards to and receiving from my own country.
Once I told a friend about Postcrossing and she said she would never ever enable that option nor use her real name or address. Too many weirdos and stalkers outside there.
Well, yes, there are. But to a real creepy and stalking person there aren’t any borders. If YOU get into the focus of of a psychopath, then they will not be stopped by borders or distances.
Of course one should only choose what makes them comfortable. And if it feels wrong to enable the own country option it is the best to disable it.
But always keep in mind that maybe you won’t receive a postcard from the nice teenager from the capitol city of your country 500 miles away but from the stalker 20 miles away in the neighbour country 
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This is true, and good point.
Also like you wrote the stalker can be from another country.
I always think, not sending in my own country is only small safety thing, and in reality, mostly an image or illusion of being more safe. Most likely scenario to me is, the stalker pretends to make a surprise or that they know me, and lost my address, and want to send a birthday card etc. and the person is so good at it, that they get the address. I wouldn’t worry that they actually get my address officially. I think a stalker personality is not that who playes by rules and sends cards, but manipulates others for their purposes.
They would look who I talk to here, choose the Finnish ones, contact them and pretend they have new phone or moved, tell some personal information about me, to “prove” they know me. And be very polite and friendly, almost like getting the information is not that important.
It has happened someone gave my information (not here). They had thought he really is my friend, because he was so normal, calm, polite and handsome.
Yes, they can get my address from another member, but I think a member in Germany would not so easily believe, that this “friend” doesn’t get my address from any Finnish person.
There will always be some nice person who you don’t get a card from.
Just in fear of missing out a card, I would not feed that anxiety, I think it’s enough problem in our society already.
It can happen you get a card from 8 kilometers away, in another country, and they are nice. And not 600 kilometers away, from your own country, and they were boring 
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Oh, it was meant more in that context, that exactly for that reason, for not to feed the anxiety, that someone think they would be on the safe side if they disable the option and then after all, they come across weird people.
But yes, I also think that it is more likely to meet someone like this in the near or far Environment than at Postcrossing.
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Oh ok. (I think I need to also point, that I definitely don’t want to feed anyone’s fears with my choice! It can easily sound this way.)
With all my sent and received, I feel safe enough, I have exchanges cards with Finnish members, members from other countries, with women or men, or not knowing, young and old, and I’m happy.
I agree 100%
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Thank you! I appreciate your support, trust, and empathy, despite the fact that you don’t know more details about what happened.
Thankfully I already have so many awesome folks in the US that I already correspond with. It’s so nice to have the kind and diverse Postcrossing community so I can extend my correspondence to the international mail community as well. The best of both worlds! 
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