That's a wrong and bogus thing to say.
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/ni...
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarn...
NIRA is an org in a developing nation full of violence. The idea of conducting a business transaction with them over the internet from another country and expecting everything to be on the up and up is such privileged nonsense I've broken my personal embargo on using that word.
Chicago has a lot of violence. I would not go a day say America is a dangerous nation.
It fits the stereotype you crave for. Congratulations.
Of course, this is just an average. There are parts that are fairly civilized, no worse than any asian country, but there are also parts that are out of control.