Generally don't meet with strangers but stick to doing bondage with your in real life friends or wait until you have developed a full friendship with someone. If you must meet with someone, just take things slowly. Don't feel pressured to jump into the TUG as soon as you meet them. Don't talk to someone for one day online and buy a plane ticket or whatever. Talk for a long time first. If you do meet, go slow. Go have some coffee and burgers, walk around the park, whatever. Just takes things slowly. If you get a weird vibe at all, GTFO; just leave and don't regret it. Just really meet with people who you really really trust, even if it that trusts takes a long time to develop. When you do meet, try not to think about the TUGs, they will happen later that day. If things go well and you two really hit it off, then continuing with the TUG part of the meet up will be easier for you and you'll have more courage and less fear. If you decide you don't want to play around, then make sure they know that is an option that might happen. You are free to leave whenever.
Don't let the TUG be the primary focus you have when meeting someone. So I guess, rather than meeting a stranger for bondage, go meet someone you know well online to have an in-person friendship. If bondage happens, then awesome. If not, then you have a new friend. Really just make new friendships and even better if you know beforehand those friends have an interest in doing bondage with you. Just don't make the friendship based on bondage and you'll find your courage increases. I trust my friends with everything and also with my life. Anyone you do TUGs with you'll also have to trust with your life, it's easy to forget.
You might find it easier to meet with someone in a more public setting. Check out kinky clubs in your area, attend basic bondage classes where there are lots of total novices, and maybe get paired with someone to practice on you. Maybe try meeting with someone who is well-known rather than someone who is more or less a random stranger on the net. The first several people I meet up with, had good presence online and a lot of experience and references I could out. I felt much safer with them than I would have with some who had never tied someone up before (or someone who said they had but couldn't provide any real proof). Try to find people who tie up nervous novices often, which I guess is my specialty xD. It might help.
If all else fails, you just invite me over there and I'll lasso you up like an American cowboy

and you won't have to worry about backing out.