Online dating has become so mainstream that having Tinder in your smartphone is a must for single people around the globe. Tinder was the first mobile dating app to go mainstream, with an estimate of about 25 million monthly active users worldwide. The dating app is owned by Match Group, and it was largely responsible for fueling Match’s earnings in the second quarter of 2016.

Swiping left or right became a thing since Tinder appeared in the scene, and it is since one the favorite activities of millennial singles. However, international private investigators advise people to remain cautious when using Tinder since it is increasingly becoming one of the major platforms for online scam and other types of fraud and crime.  Connecting with people via the Internet, no matter what the website or app is a high risk game, and professional verifications are key.

How does Tinder work?

Tinder is an online dating app. When it was first launched, it was used more as a hook-up or casual relationship app because it finds potential matches based on people’s proximity to each other. However, it became extremely popular and it had a huge boom, thus expanding its frontiers and becoming the preferred dating app of young people around the world regardless of the type of the relationship the users looked for. Tinder finds the location of its users with GPS, then uses Facebook information to create the profiles with a first name, age, and photos of your choice. Recently, Tinder also added a feature that lets people share education and occupation in their bio. The fact that it uses information from people’s Facebook profiles has raised a lot of concerns amongst privacy advocates over the handling of personal information.  If you’re concerned about privacy and safety, Facebook and Tinder are far from recommended.  With that said, if you use these networks, it’s important to understand that there is a significant risk for fraud, and real background check investigations conducted by trained investigators are the only way to properly verify your partner and stay safe.

Beware of scams in Tinder

A new problem facing Tinder is the wave of scams. Fake profiles and chat bots are the most frustrating part of using Tinder. They’re everywhere, trying to sell you something or steal your personal information, trick you into downloading malware, or even beg you to send money. That is why it is important to be able to spot fake profiles and to use tools that can help you determine if someone is real or not.  Even “real” profiles are not necessarily accurate or honest.

What to look for?

Scammers need to work in a different way on Tinder than what they usually do on other dating platforms. Most dating scammers have missing information in their bios, like occupation and school listings. When you stumble on a profile that has no verifiable information, or just one photo in it, you may consider that a red flag.   Even the most standard and normal appearing profiles can be fraudulent or being published by a criminal, so use extreme caution when meeting someone in person, who you have first come into contact with on the internet.  Choose a safe and public place.

Another red flag is when someone replies to messages almost immediately, and requests you to move the conversation off the dating app. Any Tinder user who asks you to move the conversation off Tinder before you’ve had a chance to talk and actually connect is a major red flag.

How to be safe?

Whether its Tinder or any other online dating app, professional investigators insist that the best way to stay safe is to hire a reputable private investigator to conduct a complete dating background check investigation and verify if the person you are contacting is who they claim to be, and if they have a criminal past that may put you in danger. This is especially important when using dating apps that work with GPS, as you will not want to be harassed or to have a criminal stalking you.

To be safe and avoid unwanted surveillance, investigators and privacy advocates always recommend disabling and turning off all location and GPS services on your phone and other devices.

Have you met someone online?  Contact us today for a free quote.

C. Wright
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