(Last Updated On: December 30, 2017)

Why Is Tinder A Nightmare?

Tinder extends your Facebook profile into a who new ocean.

Only problem, there are sharks in the Tinder Sea!

How does this work?

On Tinder, you connect your Facebook account to the Tinder app on your Apple or Android device. Once you have your account connected, you can use photos from your Facebook profile to show users on Tinder. In

Of course we know scammers follow the trends and they have learned to love Tinder too!

The scammers create their typical fake Facebook profiles and start the scamming process of finding victims. Once Tinder says there is a match, the scammer then starts communicating with the prospect victim on Tinder.

Then things start to happen.

Tinder Bots

Spammers are able to create automated “bots” for Tinder that send the victims (or prospects) automated or scripted replies and either to steal their account or login information (also known as phishing), such as bank account, Facebook profile, etc. And they will typically try to send the victim to an external site, email, WhatsApp, Skype, or phone text to to get something much more – your money!

The Tinder Scammers

Apart from automated Tinder Bots there are actual people behind the Tinder profiles – the Scammer, just like with Facebook fake profiles.

The scammers use a fake Facebook profile and when they meet a new victim they’ll try and take the conversation away from Tinder and try and communicate through Skype or email.

From there they typically act like they’re falling in love with the victim quickly and then ask then for money for money (typical Romance Scam).

So the same rules apply on Tinder as on Facebook: Beware of Strangers! Watch with open eyes and keep you common sense engaged. Never be afraid to be judgmental because that is how you stay safe. If a connection seems to be coming on too fast, what do you do? BLOCK! When anyone that you’ve ONLY met online asks you for money, what do you do? BLOCK. Do not hesitate, your heart lies, so don’t trust it, trust that part of your brain that speaks in your Mother’s or Father’s voice that says “Don’t Talk To Strangers” and run away!

Tinder Type 2

There are other kinds of scams on Tinder too: Real People with Face Profiles. The fact is there are lots of real people with Fake profiles on Facebook and Tinder. Some have confidence issues or maybe they are trying to just meet someone online without revealing their identity. Others may be stalkers, pedophiles, or other kinds of criminals. Regardless, a fake profile is a fake profile, right? Damn right! People are either authentic or they are not.

Now, there are also real people to hide their details, good for them! They understand the risks to their identity on social media. Just be careful that you are friending one of these, and not a monster! How do you know? It can be hard so take baby steps and make sure everything is good before taking the next one.

How Do You Know You Are Being Scammed On Tinder?

Mostly use the same clues you learned to spot a Fake Facebook profile:

  • The profile photos look to good to be true, looks like that of a celebrity or famous person – clearly a professional photo
  • The person asks you to click on a link to something other than a Facebook profile
  • The conversation or answers don’t sound like an actual person is writing them – a Bot has you
  • They ask for money or some other activity, such as banking money or buying something
  • They won’t or can’t meet you in person – because their father died and they had to go to Ghana
  • They only have a small number of photo (less than 5?) on their Tinder profile and won’t send you anymore
  • They have photos of different men or women in their photos – scammers are sloppy
  • Their details seem odd
     

Just make sure that if you use Tinder (you have your head examined!) that you keep all this in mind all the time. Never automatically trust anyone, not pretty women, service men and women, not U.N. doctors saving the world, etc.

Trust your instincts.

If you walk away from someone, there will be more.

With whatever details you can get, do a Google search, see what there is out there and if you find hints of scamming – run away. Most people become victims because they didn’t listen to their common sense and ignored the Red Flags.

When you find a scammer report them to us, as our reports are placed in our database and connected to industry services to feed websites that exclude them.

Remember You Have To Be Smart!

Tinder Scams

Here is an example:

Tinder nightmares: man scams two women out of $26,000

From The Guardian

35-year-old Brandon Kiehm was indicted in New York for conning the women with heart-wrenching tales of needing money for his family’s cancer treatments

Beware of swiping right for single men on Tinder who claim to work for Goldman Sachs, especially if they woo you with a heart-wrenching tale of needing money for their sister’s cancer treatments. You might just wake up a few weeks later and find they’ve swiped your money.

That’s the message from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr, who on Tuesday announced the indictment of a 35-year-old man for scamming $26,000 out of two women he met on Tinder.

“The classic dating scams of yesteryear appear to be thriving online,” Vance said in a statement. “My office is seeing an increase in the number of scammers targeting singles online.”

According to the criminal complaint, Brandon Kiehm is a dog walker who was passing himself off as Tristan Acocella, a Goldman Sachs banker, on Tinder.

In July 2015, Kiehm allegedly “matched” with a woman through the mobile dating app, and the happy couple dated for several months. In August, Kiehm began asking the woman for money “because his sister was undergoing cancer treatment and because his wallet had been stolen”.

The woman allegedly gave Kiehm approximately $14,000.

A second woman dated “Tristan” for several weeks in October 2015 after meeting him on Tinder. Kiehm asked her for money “because his mother was undergoing cancer treatment and because he had been robbed”.

The second woman allegedly gave Kiehm approximately $12,000.

In both instances, Kiehm paid the women back with checks drawn on closed accounts, which were rejected by their banks.

A New York police detective contacted Kiehm’s mother, who informed him that “neither she nor her daughter currently have or have had cancer”.

Kiehm is also charged with a third scam: he allegedly stole the debit card information of one of his dog-walking clients and opened a Venmo account with it, ultimately charging about $13,000 to the card. Venmo is a mobile payment service that allows users to make peer-to-peer money transfers.

Kiehm has been charged with five felony counts of grand larceny, identity theft and scheme to defraud.

Follow these steps to stay safer:

  1. Don’t talk to strangers
  2. Never look for love until you are emotionally stable
  3. Never send anyone you have never physically met anything
  4. Never give our your permanent contact information for at least a month – no phone numbers email of even skype – create temporary ones if needed
  5. Report all scammers here:  https://www.romancescamsnow.com/how-to-report-scammers-fraudsters/report-scammers-here/
  6. After you report – BLOCK
  7. Then repeat!