How to spot a Tinder scammer

The world connected by the internet has brought several facilities in everyday life: from keeping in touch with family members who live in different cities, states or countries, to even meeting a suitor online. And just as it's easy to find a person to date online, it's also easy to unintentionally get into a trap. Today we are going to talk a little about the famous “Tinder scammer“, that person who creates for himself a fantasy life or impersonates someone else to get, most of the time, money from victims. Come with us!

What is a “Tinder Scam”?

The term has been popularized after several victims have gone through similar situations. Scams usually boil down to exploiting the emotional vulnerability victims and, according to their manipulation, manage to extract money from them. The speeches used by the scammers are several, such as those who work or live in other countries and need some amount, those who ask for money to buy tickets or medicines and even those who ask for gift card codes to be sent, a way more “anonymous” to redeem some value.

At other times the coup plotters preferred to apply their activities in old people — usually women — who didn't have as much access to technology and are considered more emotionally vulnerable. Nowadays this scenario is not focused that way, causing scammers to target people from any age, because the popularization of the smartphone ended up bringing this facility.

This kind of practice It's not just Tinder much less is something recent, scammers who take advantage of weaknesses and emotional vulnerabilities have been in the world longer than we can imagine. The issue here is that since dating apps have been around for at least a decade, and Tinder being considered the principal of them, it would be interesting to let readers know about the risks that some users of the platform may pose.

Netflix Documentary

A Netflix launched, on February 2, the documentary series entitled “The Tinder Scam“. In it we see the real story of an Israeli man named shimon hayut, who deceived women on the platform by posing as a Russian, by the name of simon leiev.

Hayut claimed to be the son of a diamond tycoon. Within this context, he would claim to victims that he and his family were being threatened by criminals who were looking for a cash ransom to leave them alone, and this is where he accessed victims' emotional vulnerability, matching their motive. be there emotionally and exploring this gap to further impact them with this fallacy.

Hayut was arrested in 2019 for the crimes he committed on the platform, and sentenced to 15 months in prison - but he ended up serving only 5 months of the sentence and was released in May 2020. The man was banned of Tinder and the app made a point of not allowing him to gain access to the platform under any other pseudonym. Other dating apps have also banned you from creating an account, such as hinger, Match, Meetic, peirs, PlentyofFish e OurTime.

The documentary exposes the scammer revealing several victims he made, mainly across Europe. Despite the fact that he only spent so little time in jail after managing to extort about $10M monthly victims, now they seek justice by saying everything they went through in the documentary. The criminal also stated that he will tell his version of this story in the future.

Identifying a possible scammer

Many gimmicks are used by online scammers, and these traits can usually be easily identified. Many of them usually deliver a profile that is precisely available to those people who are there: a person affectionate, sometimes no acquisitive status, without traces of power and if it's someone humble.

Talking to a person who can easily offer to move to another city can also be a sign that the person is a scammer. Another trait that usually highlights this profile is the people who ask for money or even information from credit cards for emergency situations.

In some cases of refusal, the scammer may continue to insist, which should be viewed with even more suspicion. Upon the victim's refusal, the scammer can try to blackmail or even coerce the victim in various ways, and at the slightest sign of any possible violence, block the person and prevent any type of contact.

Avoiding being the next victim

After the Netflix documentary aired, many of the dating apps, including its own tinder, changed their policies of use and included some announcements users showing good usage practices that can avoid some online scammer. But before any warning on dating apps, it is always good that you keep in mind some tips to deal with any unknown person, even in real life, but preferably online. Some of them are:

Relationship going too fast

Many scammers invest in creating a faster emotional bond than usual, trying to offer a sense of security and exclusivity to victims. In these cases, if you hear an “I love you” too early, stay tuned.

Confirm the authenticity of photos and videos

Try to find out if the photos and videos your suitor sends you are really his. Many scammers take photos and videos from the internet, be it for Google searches or of some social network that he has, claiming to be his own. Look for patterns in these media and confirm that he really is there — try to make a video call within the relationship app itself, or through platforms such as WhatsApp, Facetime, Google Meet and Zoom.

Personal information

Sometimes your personal information — like your address, place of work, and date of birth — can be more valuable than the money sent to the scammer. In this case, try to leave a minimum of information people available on your social networks and especially on relationship apps.

Relationship exclusively online

Watch out for suitors who don't make a point of face-to-face meetings. People who refuse to meet, or make excuses to avoid face-to-face meetings, may indicate that that person does not want to be seen and/or identified. On the other hand, someone who insistently wants to meet you in person, without having had much contact, can also be a bad sign. the ideal is balance the will to meet between both sides.

unknown asking for money

And reinforcing everything we've seen before: always be suspicious of a person you don't know (or barely know) asking money — whether in the form of transfers, purchase of tickets, gifts or anything that incurs a cash disbursement. Regardless of the reason that is said, be aware of who asks you for money online.

Other dating apps

O tinder it is usually focused on serious relationships and dating, something more lasting. Other apps, on the other hand, have a more focused intention for those who just want to flirt and search for casual sex. Regardless of the intention of the application or the user, the tips for identifying a scammer are valid for any type of relationship application or even for possible face-to-face meetings — a practice that can prevent an online scam, but does not exempt the user from other scam attempts. In any case, be careful when relating to unknown people and seek as much information as possible about the suitability of that suitor.

O Grindr is another dating app aimed at the homosexual audience, where mostly men look for other men with the intention of casual sex. The platform itself has a guide against scammers that can help a lot when handling any dating app and how to deal with certain situations. Some of the tips are:

• The scammer will always try to trick you into talking outside the official app, because he knows that there he can be identified — even legally. Try to make a video call with the person you are talking to, as it inhibits the occurrence of a scam;
• Anyone who is on a dating app knows that, eventually, there will be a face-to-face meeting, so don't believe it if someone says they need money to travel, to pay a bill or anything else. Usually when money is sent before the date, the scammer disappears;
• Do not access unknown links from people you do not know or have known for a short time. These links can contain malicious redirects or can even be used to steal access to your smartphone and obtain personal information, or even make bank transfers;
• Do not send intimate photos to suitors, because if you are a scammer, he can use them as a bargaining chip for blackmail to extort money. If this occurs, immediately notify the local authorities.

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Pig iron: The Next Web, Grindr e PCMag.