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Dating has changed significantly over the years, with technology now helping millions of people across the world to find love. In 2023, dating apps are more popular than ever, and nearly two million people are using Tinder alone. For instance, the dating app industry in the UK is now worth £11.7 billion, and predictions claim that by 2035, 50% of all new relationships will start online.
While dating apps have helped bring people together, they’ve also led to several issues. Many apps are plagued by scammers who take advantage of lonely people to make money. These scammers create fake accounts, a practice known as catfishing, and then lead the victim into a scam. In 2021, catfishing and romance scams reportedly increased by 40%.
Photo by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash, free license
Naturally, dating apps have responded to this problem with better information on how to spot if someone’s dating profile is fake. Not only that, but some dating services are beginning to use technology to stop scammers and help protect this growing industry. If you need actionable advice on how to spot someone’s dating profile is fake, check out ExpressVPN’s guide on spotting a dating scammer.
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The Campaign to Stop Romance Scams
Romance scams are becoming a serious problem as more people embrace technology to look for love. Typically, scammers will impersonate another person online, creating a fake account using pictures of someone else. They’ll form an online relationship with a person and build trust before asking them for money, usually using the victim’s emotions against them.
In response to this issue, most dating apps and websites now provide users with information on how to avoid such scams. This includes in-app messages which provide lists of red flags and tips on common behavior used by scammers. Users are warned not to trust those that are unwilling to video call or meet in person and to be wary of anyone asking for money.
In general, people have become more aware of scams since widely reported cases such as Simon Leviev, who scammed several women out of millions of dollars. The case was made into a film called the Tinder Swindler and helped to shine a light on the growing threat of romance scams. Raising awareness of the issue helps make people less likely to fall for scams, but the issue is still growing due to the increased popularity of online dating.
How Technology can Stop Scammers
If dating apps want to continue to grow and make money, it’s important that they do more to protect users and prevent scams from becoming commonplace. Aside from offering advice, most dating platforms now offer ways for users to verify their identity to make fake accounts and scammers more obvious.
Dating app Fluttr takes it one step further, ensuring that all users complete biometric verification before they can use the service. It has partnered with digital verification firm Yoti, which also works with clients such as the NHS, to ensure that all users provide accurate personal details that are verified by government-issued ID.
While technology can be utilized by dating apps to provide a safer platform, it can also be exploited by scammers. It’s a constant game of cat and mouse, with scammers reacting to the methods dating services and law enforcement use to stay ahead. Modern romance scams are increasingly complex, using multiple accounts across social media and spending more time building trust with victims before asking for money.
One area of technology that could change the game and make romance scams far less common is AI. Through training machine learning algorithms on messages, dating profiles could employ this technology to screen the messages of users and identify scammers. While romance scams have become more complex, there are still things in their messages that would give them away to a well-trained AI.
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