Like most others have already said, yours and their safety should be top priority. Meeting for lunch, or at a public park, or a mall are always good choices. And you can usually tell after a few minutes of conversation if intentions are honorable or not. If they are equally as nervous or jittery as you, then it's a pretty good sign they are legit. If they are overly confident and extra reassuring that everything will be fine and really push you to meet somewhere private first, then I'd be hesitant to meet up.
Additionally, every one will struggle with cold feet, and if that happens, try not to get too upset over it, let everyone regather their composer and try again.