Scams on Dating Sites and Apps: How to Spot and Avoid Them

Online dating is now part of our everyday lives. We chat, get to know someone, and sometimes build closeness very quickly. That spontaneity is what makes these conversations enjoyable — but it can also be exploited by people whose goal isn’t a relationship, but manipulation or fraud.

The phenomenon is far from marginal. In 2024, Americans reported more than $12.5 billion in fraud losses to the FTC — a 25% increase over the previous year. (source)

Imposter scams — where someone pretends to be a romantic interest, a business, or a government agency — remain among the most reported by consumers, with $2.95 billion in reported losses in 2024 (source), and romance scams cause some of the heaviest per-person losses of any of them, with a median loss of $2,000 per victim. (source)

Understanding the mechanisms at work lets you enjoy online dating with more peace of mind — without being suspicious of everything… or everyone.

Why do these scams work so well?

Most dating-related scams rely on the same principle: quickly establishing a relationship of trust, often faster than in an offline encounter. The messages are frequent, flattering, and emotionally intense. That intensity creates a feeling of closeness that can blur your judgment.

You’ll almost always find the same levers:

• very rapid trust-building, sometimes with grand declarations (a practice known as “love bombing”),
• emotional acceleration (urgency, exclusivity, promises),
• requests that gradually drift outside the scope of dating (money, documents, secrets),
• an attempt at isolation (“don’t tell anyone,” “they wouldn’t understand”).

These mechanisms say nothing about your vigilance or your intelligence. They’re designed to work on emotions, not reason.

The most common scams on dating sites and apps

Scam attempts take one of these forms

• a fake profile or invented identity,
• a relationship used to extract money,
• a fake investment opportunity,
• a booby-trapped link or fake verification,
• blackmail, particularly of a sexual nature.

Knowing them helps you spot them faster.

The scams that particularly target women

Anyone can fall victim to a scam, but some schemes lean more heavily on social pressure and fear for one’s reputation. Women are three times more likely than men to be sexually harassed online (16% vs. 5%) and more likely to be stalked online (13% vs. 9%). (source)

Reputation blackmail, requests for “proof of trust” in the form of photos, or threats to share content with your family and friends are frequent strategies.

On top of that come more insidious practices, like doxxing. The term refers to collecting, cross-referencing and then exploiting personal information (neighborhood, workplace, routines, social media) to identify someone, find their address, or pressure them. This information is rarely obtained all at once: it accumulates through seemingly innocent questions, details dropped in conversation, or elements visible in photos.

Other methods, such as the use of deepfakes or edited images, involve creating — or claiming to have created — fake humiliating content to intimidate or blackmail.

In every case, the responsibility lies with the abuser, never with the victim.

Practical tips for safer online dating

Prevention mostly comes down to a few simple reflexes that secure your conversations without making them rigid.

Before chatting at length, it’s advisable to protect your profile by limiting overly identifying information and choosing photos that stay neutral.

During your conversations, pay attention to changes in rhythm: excessive intensity, refusal of video calls, a push to quickly leave the app, or requests involving money, documents, or external links.

Before a date, choose a public place, tell someone close to you, and stay in control of your own transportation.

If a doubt arises, or if you’re the target of a scam attempt, a few reflexes help you take back control of the situation:

• end the conversation without trying to justify yourself,
• block and report the profile on the platform,
• keep the evidence (profile, messages, links, any payments),
• contact your bank right away if you transferred money,
• in case of blackmail, don’t pay and ask for help.

Match provides reporting tools, moderation teams, and a dedicated space to know who to contact in case of a scam or a threat.

Match’s commitment to safer conversations

Match and the Match Group family of brands work continuously to limit abuse: enhanced fake profile detection, effective reporting and blocking systems, human moderation, strict data protection standards, and a privacy by design approach.

Safety isn’t an obstacle to meeting people: it’s a framework that lets you connect with complete peace of mind.

In short

Scams on dating sites and apps rely on well-identified mechanisms. Knowing them often lets you defuse them very early. By adopting a few simple reflexes and knowing who to turn to when in doubt, online dating remains an open, enjoyable space full of possibilities.