‘Like being in a vortex’: US report details extent of ‘devastating’ dating-app scams
Congress calls for Match Group and others to do more to help victims like Mary, who lost $100,000 to app scammer Mary met a man on the dating app Plenty of Fish in 2024. She told the Guardian she had been looking for a connection, but instead became the victim of a romance scam that cost her almost $100,000. “There was a lot of conversation, and then it started with the constant contact, pressure…
A US congressional report reveals the severity of dating-app scams, with one victim losing $100,000 to a scammer on Plenty of Fish. Mary, who wished to remain anonymous, recounted a rapid escalation of constant contact, pressure, and requests for money. The investigation, led by senators Maggie Hassan and Marsha Blackburn, found that Match Group’s dating platforms, including Tinder and Hinge, had not updated their machine learning models in years, making it difficult to detect scammers.
Nearly 1.5 million scammers or bad actors were active on Tinder and Hinge in Q3 2025, with 500,000 exchanging contact information. Mary described the scammer as constantly contacting her, knowing her location, and using emotional manipulation to justify his requests for money. She likened the experience to being "in a vortex," unable to stop sending money.
After becoming aware of the scam, she blocked the scammer's number, only for him to switch phone numbers and contact her again. Match Group has since introduced facial verification on Tinder and new AI models to detect scammers, but the report notes that these measures came after the scams had proliferated. Committee Democrats praised the progress made by Match Group but emphasized that more needed to be done, as the criminal networks continue to use AI to enhance their scams.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Technology's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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