Online dating has become a phenomenon in recent years and has led to many happy marriages and new relationships. However, it’s also allowed the catfishes of the world to rise up and scam those looking for romantic connections. Remember the Tinder Swindler documentary? That showed the destruction that online dating can bring, and the importance of staying safe while online dating.  

This Valentine’s, cybersecurity experts ramsac have released some key ways that you can stay safe while online dating in the lead up to the most romantic day of the year.  

Watch out for fake profiles  

Fake profiles are rampant on dating apps, and being savvy to spotting them takes a bit of skill. Here’s some of the key things to look out for:  

• Hyper-realistic photos. Photos that are too good to be true often are. Whether that’s studio quality or suspiciously soft skin, photos that look more realistic than the average person are most likely a fake profile.  
• Screenshots from search. It’s more common than you may think, but when expanding a profile on dating apps, you can sometimes see the screenshot outline from Google image search or an Instagram profile picture. If you’re ever unsure about a photo’s origin, use reverse image search to see if it exists elsewhere on the web.  
• Odd bios or no bios. While some newer profiles may not have a bio yet, having no bio on a dating profile should be an immediate red flag. Similarly to that, having a bio that reads oddly should also raise suspicion. Look out for odd spellings of common words like “insgrm” instead of “Instagram”, which would be abbreviated to “IG” commonly. Some bios may also read highly explicitly, which can be another warning sign, especially when the ‘author’ is talking about themselves in the first person.  
• Gender and sexuality not matching with photos. Unfortunately, in an age where people are fighting for trans and non-binary inclusion, people are taking advantage of this and setting their gender and sexuality to try and access a different dating pool. If you’re not sure, avoid matching. 
• No links to external platforms. Platforms like Tinder allow users to connect their Spotify and Instagram, and fake profiles are rarely going to connect an external platform. 

Don’t hand over money 

Users that ask for money, whether in person or over chat, shouldn’t be trusted and you should report them to the dating app immediately. Remember, you should only send money to a trusted person and consider the request before you send it. Action Fraud has resources on how to stop fraud.  

Keep it on the apps 

If someone tries to pressure you to take the conversation off the app, whether that’s on social media, WhatsApp or in person, say ‘no.’ Dating apps offer greater protection and support and are able to help more when you stay on the app.  

While taking it off the apps is inevitable once you’ve met up for a date, keeping your conversation on the apps is better for your safety. This way you’re not releasing any unwanted data and are able to maintain your privacy.  

Try to spot AI 

While dating apps require photos to be human, it’s not impossible to escape the filters, although it does end up being reported. However, a bigger issue is now becoming AI-generated bios, which are harder for automated systems to spot and remove.  

Spot business-like content that reads stilted. AIs have a very specific way of writing, and you can even use an AI content detector to double-check anything you find suspicious.  

Trust your instincts 

The standard rule of thumb is that if something feels too good to be true, it probably is. If you feel uncomfortable by how quickly someone wants to meet, or the way they are messaging, then you can either unmatch, report the account and block them. Dating apps have a wide range of safety features in place to protect users, so when your instincts tell you that something feels wrong, utilise the safety features in place.  

Overall, online dating can be a fantastic experience and can unlock new potential relationships. However, it’s important to stay safe and utilise each platform’s safety tools if need be.