It can, but in this day and age, it's very common. Heck, I married someone I met on the internet
I too travelled by myself and met up with people I initially 'met' on a hockey message board (that's where I met my husband). A group of us became friends online through that forum, and many of us have met up in New York through our associations on that website.
BUT, would I have stayed with one of them on a first trip over? Heck no. All our meetings took place in busy bars / restaurants and hockey arenas.
I also met people from the Internet .. but to go abroad, to meet several men from Internet, that isn't very smart, it's naive and can be dangerous.