- The hit Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” raised awareness about dating app scams, also called romance scams.
- Romance scam victims lost $1.3 billion total in the past 5 years, according to the FTC.
- Scrubbing your personal information from the internet and researching a date can help protect singles from fraud, says a cybersecurity expert.
Over the past five years, singles on dating apps reported losing an estimated $1.3 billion from romance scams, making them the most costly type of fraud in the US, according to the FTC.
Netflix’s February documentary “The Tinder Swindler” explored the issue and reignited conversation about con artists who hide in plain sight on dating apps. Shimon Hayut was banned from dating platforms, like Tinder and Hinge, after he posed as a wealthy diamond salesman and took hundreds of thousands of dollars from women he met on Tinder after convincing them he was in danger and needed the funds.
In recent months, other dating app fraudsters have also made headlines.
In January, a man in Denver told The Sun he lost $1.6 million after a Hinge match told him to invest it into a retirement account. In February, a 24-year-old woman said she gave a Hinge match her $300,000 in life savings to invest into a cryptocurrency exchange site that turned out to be fake, the New York Times reported. That same month, a couple was sent to prison for their involvement in a scheme to swindle multiple senior citizens out of $660,000.
There are ways to preemptively protect yourself from identity theft and financial fraud, Mark Kapczynski, SVP of strategic partnerships at cybersecurity service OneRep, told Insider.
He suggested removing personal information from Google searches, keeping your cell phone number private for as long as possible, and researching your date before you meet in person.
Scrub your personal data from internet searches
Even if a dating-app match only has your first name, general location, and picture, they can still track you down with a quick internet search, said Kapczynski.
“There are literally 150 or 200 sites that will have your personal information on them, and those sites make it super easy for someone you might meet online dating to look up your information, find your phone, find where you live, and, decide how they want to engage with you versus you controlling the situation,” Kapczynski told Insider.
He said someone could use this information to stalk or harass you, either in person or online.
That’s why he suggested scrubbing details like your address, cell phone number, and email from the internet.
To do that, open a private browsing window, like Google’s incognito mode, to avoid getting results based on your personal searches, said Kapczynski. Type in your name, and see what pops up. From there, you can manually opt out of data sharing on these websites, which typically have a button to do so at the bottom of their home pages, he said.
To streamline the process, he suggested using a service that does this for you, like OneRep where he works.
Ideally, you would do this before joining any dating apps, said Kapczynski, but if you’re already on these platforms, it can still help.
Google your date and do a reverse-image search
Once you’re swiping, Kapczynski suggested screening matches with your own Google search to verify their identities.
To do this, take one of their profile pictures and place it in a Google search. The search engine will conduct a reverse-image search, said Kapczynski, and find other details about your match.
While doing this, cross-check that their location, employer, and other details match with their profile, Kapczynski said. He added that only matching with folks who have verified profiles, indicated with a blue check mark on most dating apps, can be an extra safety measure.
Last, he said look out for certain behaviors, like intense persistence, or asking for money or to meet in a remote location.
