Trust, or lack thereof

[Dax Mickelson]

It might just be me but I'm very leery in trusting people... especially if I've only every interacted with them online.  This might be due to my current career in IT as we are trained to not trust ANYTHING online.  However, I think the real issue is that I'm too trusting by default so I need to be extra vigilant when allowing people into my trust circle.

Anyway, my question is how do/can I trust here?  I'd like to ask questions, find networking connections, possibly even mentor/team with someone on some deals... BUT:
  * How can I ensure the person won't just "steal" my money or my deal?

  * Why would anyone provide "help" to a potential competitor?

There seems to be so many scams (most are obvious) online.  Alas, I live in a rural (small city) area so meeting people physically is going to be a rare event so I need to figure out how to overcome this fear/concern.