There are only two free dating sites I can recommend that are fairly safe, datingnmore.com, and asianlonelyhearts.com.
Most dating sites, free or otherwise, do not bother to do much checking of new profiles, or monitoring activity on the site. By 'monitoring' activity, I do not mean reading your messages, or spying, but there are usually ways to watch site activity without invading your privacy, and scammers do tend to operate in predictable ways, and usually exhibit some known traits.
Most of the knowledge a site operator needs to have to spot these scammers is pretty easily acquired. You just have to be interested in protecting your members, and operating a 'clean' site. Most dating sites don't do this.
Datingnmore.com is a large, free, safe dating site, owned and operated by a friend of mine, who is probably the leading expert in internet romance scams, in the world. The site is friendly, and has an extensive array of members from throughout the world.
AsianLonelyhearts.com is a new, free, small 'Asian' dating site I am involved with. We hope to offer the best free 'Asian' dating site available.
We need new members, and really need new female members.
It will take a while for Asianlonelyhearts to become a busy, active site, but we prefer to build the site honestly, and with real people. Why waste your time on fakes, scammers, and players?
Please join, and help us build this site.
So? You look at these two sites and think they are boring, and not as exciting as most dating sites? Do you realize you are used to typical CRAP found on dating sites? Fake profiles of half naked people. Stolen pictures of celebrities. Hundreds or thousands of profiles of people you try to contact, but never reply? ( they're fake profiles!)
Do you think PAYING for a site offers you some safety and value? It usually doesn't! The scammers operate on virtually every site, paid, or free.
The one exception in paid 'Asian' dating I can offer is Christian Filipina Dating. Christian-Filipina is one of the few sites that actively checks new profiles, and has some unique methods to screen members. Give it a try if you prefer a 'paid' site, or try all of the sites I suggest!
Regardless of which online site you use, please remember: Never send money to somebody you only know from the internet, or phone calls!
Always expect to see a face on webcam. Do not accept 'no cam' and pictures as proof you are in contact with the person they claim they are.
Keep the age gap reasonable. Yes, you may know of an 80 year old man with a 20 year old Asian bride, but that combination usually doesn't last long or work out, and somebody usually ends up broke and unhappy. (and it's not the girl who was broke to start with)
Be careful, and good luck.
You can find a 'fantasy' romance online very easily. Sometimes the fantasy is fairly short.