Catfished
There’s a documentary on Netflix called ‘The Tinder Swindler,’ which recounts the story of Simon Leviev, a man who used dating apps like Tinder to pose as a wealthy diamond mogul and con women out of large sums of money.
The documentary features interviews with some of Leviev’s victims, who were defrauded of an estimated $10 million across various countries between 2017 and 2019. Unfortunately, Leviev isn’t the only predator out there.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 64,000 Americans were fleeced out of over $1 billion in romance scams in 2024, which is more than double the amount from just four years earlier. Approximately 55 million Americans used online dating apps in 2022, representing about 1 in 5 adults. Shockingly, about half of the people who are using dating sites say they’ve come across somebody who’s tried to scam them.
Representatives Brittany Pettersen, a Colorado Democrat, and David Valadao, a California Republican, believe tech platforms need to do a better job of protecting their users. So, the pair introduced the Online Dating Safety Act, which would require dating apps like Tinder or Match.com to notify users if they’ve been in contact with a scam account or if they believe there is a significant risk that another member will attempt to commit fraud against them.
Under the new measure, apps must share the username or other identifier of the scam artist as well as the most recent time the member sent or received a message through the online dating service. When the online dating service believes there is a significant risk of fraud, they are required to remove or suspend the member within 24 hours.
“Notifying users if they have been in contact with a potential scammer is a basic security feature that every online dating service should provide,” said Pettersen. “This bill is a great step towards reducing online crime and keeping Americans safe.”
In addition, the Act would place further responsibilities on dating apps to reduce the risk of fraud, including providing advice, links to online resources and contact details for customer service. It also requires dating services to send members a statement that the banned member may have been using a false identity or attempting to defraud members.
The inclusion of this statement requirement within the Act is intended to address the common tactic of scammers who meet a victim online but then move their conversations to other communication platforms, such as WhatsApp or text messaging. So, even if a fraudulent account is removed from the app, the victim might not know they are still communicating with someone who has been removed from the dating platform. The Act seeks to fill this gap by requiring platforms to send a fraud ban notification to anyone who has communicated with someone with a fraudulent account.
“No matter how advanced you think your ability to understand what’s out there, they’re going to deceive so many people and we really have to get in front of this,” Valadao said. “While we can’t stop all criminals from abusing these platforms, the Online Dating Safety Act is an important step to enhance online safety, combat fraud, and help people make more informed decisions.”
Match.com released a statement saying they’ve already begun rolling out fraud notifications and will work with senators to finalize the bill, which will hopefully be passed during the next session of Congress.
A man and his mother met at a restaurant one night. After many awkward moments of silence, the son finally said, “We probably should have used our real names and photos on the dating app.”
Reg P. Wydeven
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