You matched and the chat is going well. Then, a few messages in, they ask for your number so you can "talk on WhatsApp instead." Plenty of people prefer WhatsApp, so the request on its own proves nothing.
Short answer: Dating matches ask to move to WhatsApp for ordinary reasons, but scammers ask early and on purpose. Hinge says users with bad intentions often try to move the chat off the app right away, because messages there pass through its Safe Message Filters. The warning sign is a fast push to WhatsApp from someone who dodges video calls and soon talks about money or investing. Keep chatting in the app while you get to know them, and make a video call your first step once you move.
Before you move a match to WhatsApp
Each line traces to an official page we read on October 17, 2026.
- Keep chatting in the app first. Tinder and Hinge both tell you to stay on the platform while you get to know someone.
- Plan a video call. On Bumble you can call inside the app before you share a number. On Tinder or Hinge, make a phone or video call your first step after the move, before any meeting in person.
- Reverse image search their photos. It is one of the checks on the FTC's romance scam page.
- Send no money or crypto to anyone you haven't met. The FTC's rule is "Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven't met in person."
- Never share a WhatsApp verification code. WhatsApp says someone trying to take over your account needs that code.
- Turn on two-step verification. WhatsApp makes it optional, so it stays off until you switch it on.
- Be careful if it started as a "wrong number" text. The FTC and the FBI both link texts like this to crypto investment scams.
- If something feels off, report the profile in the dating app.
Why matches ask to move to WhatsApp
Hinge's Safe Dating Advice page says: "Because exchanges on Hinge are subject to our Safe Message Filters, users with bad intentions often try to move the conversation to text, messaging apps, email, or phone right away." Its scam page puts it more bluntly: "Scammers want to move your chat away from our Safe Message Filters." Tinder's safety tips use nearly the same sentence and point to its Trust & Safety detections as the reason.
Bumble flags a different signal on its catfishing page: a match who "repeatedly avoids video calls, phone calls, or meeting in person without a clear reason." When we checked on October 17, 2026, Bumble was the only one of the three apps whose help pages listed in-app video and voice calls, so you can "connect safely without sharing your phone number or email."
Meta, which owns WhatsApp, describes the move too. In an August 5, 2025 post on new WhatsApp scam tools, it wrote: "Scams may start with a text message or on a dating app, then move to social media, private messaging apps and ultimately payment or crypto platforms." The reason, in Meta's words, is to "cycle people through many different platforms to ensure that any one service has only a limited view into the entire scam".
None of this means every match who asks is a scammer. Tinder says to "take your time and get to know the other person before agreeing to meet or chat off-Tinder", which treats chatting off the app as a normal later step. Hinge says that after moving off the app, a phone call or video chat can help you screen a match before you meet.
For pig butchering and the code scam on Tinder, see our guide to Tinder scams.
What the official figures say about WhatsApp
The FTC is the only US agency we found that names WhatsApp in its scam data. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) publishes no breakdown by messaging app. Check the scope column: not every row is about romance.
| What the figure says | Scope | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 40% of romance scam loss reports with detailed narratives mentioned WhatsApp, Google Chat or Telegram | Romance scams | 2022 reports | FTC Data Spotlight, February 8, 2023 |
| Scams that started on Facebook led reported losses on social media; WhatsApp and Instagram were "a distant second and third" | All scam types | 2025 reports | FTC Data Spotlight, April 7, 2026 |
| $298M reported lost to romance scams that started on social media | Romance scams | 2025 reports | FTC Data Spotlight, April 7, 2026 |
The 40% figure is older than it looks, and narrower. It counts only 2022 loss reports with narratives of at least 2,000 characters, and it groups three apps together. It does not mean 40% of romance scams use WhatsApp.
The 2025 ranking counts every scam type and gives no dollar figure for WhatsApp. The same April 2026 spotlight says some investment scammers "posed as friendly advisors or created WhatsApp groups full of" fake successful investors. One caveat for every FTC figure about 2025: the FTC notes that "Reports were not collected by the FTC during the 2025 government shutdown," so the year has a gap.
The FBI counts differently: its 2025 Internet Crime Report lists 23,159 Confidence/Romance complaints, a category that also includes family and friendship schemes, so don't add it to the FTC's numbers.
When it starts with a "wrong number" text
Some of these chats never start on a dating app. A text arrives from a number you don't know: "Hi, is this Jen?" You reply to say they have the wrong person, and they apologize, then keep chatting.
The FTC calls these "wrong number" texts. Its April 2025 spotlight on the top text scams of 2024 says they "start with an out-of-the-blue message that looks innocent enough". A May 30, 2024 FTC alert covers a close cousin, a "hi, how are you?" text from a stranger: "Scammers are using this tactic as a conversation starter." If you reply, even to say they made a mistake, the scammer will try to "find a way to keep the conversation going to befriend you." Once they have your trust, they "offer you advice on investing in cryptocurrency." The FTC says not to reply to texts from numbers you don't know, and to report them with your phone's report junk option or by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM).
A June 15, 2026 IC3 alert about crypto investment scams describes scammers who pose as people seeking romance or business through social media or "unsolicited texts". They have victims download trading apps, and give them access to websites showing "fictitious returns". One of its tips names the opener: "Cease communication after identifying the wrong number."
Here is how it can look. Priya texts back that she is not "Jen." The sender, who calls himself Marcus, apologizes. Within days the chat is on WhatsApp. Weeks of friendly messages later, he offers to walk her through the crypto platform he trades on. Priya and Marcus are invented for this example, but each step follows what the FTC and IC3 describe.
The FTC's crypto page says to "Never mix online dating and investment advice." Hinge puts it this way: "dates should never try to give you crypto or investment advice."
What WhatsApp gives you, and what it doesn't (checked October 17, 2026)
The safer settings are not WhatsApp's defaults. This table comes from WhatsApp's help pages and Meta's August 2025 post, read on October 17, 2026. Each limit in the last column is one WhatsApp states itself.
| WhatsApp tool | What it does | What it doesn't do |
|---|---|---|
| Silence unknown callers | Calls from numbers you haven't saved don't ring; they still appear in the Calls tab | Silence someone you have already messaged or called |
| Who can see my profile photo | Set to Everyone, My contacts, My contacts except… or Nobody | Hide your photo by default: any user can see it until you change it |
| Groups privacy | Limits who can add you to groups | Stop someone sending you a group invite link |
| Group safety overview | When someone not in your contacts adds you, shows details about the group so you can Stay, Exit group or report it | Hide your number from other members, which WhatsApp says is not possible at this time |
| First-message details | When someone not in your contacts messages you first, shows whether you share groups and the country their number is registered in; in some situations, the same when you message a non-contact first | Confirm who they are; for that, WhatsApp suggests personal questions or a voice or video call |
| Block and report | Stops messages, calls and status updates; a report sends WhatsApp up to five of their recent messages | Stop them contacting you from a new number |
| Two-step verification | Adds a second check on your account: WhatsApp lists your phone number, a password or an email address, and a password is replacing the old 6-digit PIN | Get back an account someone has already taken: WhatsApp says these features "are designed to protect an account you still have access to." |
The second half of the first-message row is newer. In August 2025, Meta said it was "exploring ways to caution you when you start a chat with someone not in your contacts". On October 17, 2026, WhatsApp's help page said it shows that context "In some situations".
For the code scam and SIM swaps, see what someone can do with your phone number.
Signs the WhatsApp chat is a scam
WhatsApp describes romance scams in its own help center: "Some scammers will pretend to establish a relationship or emotional connection with you, and then request money or a loan. They could also make plans to meet and then cancel the plans at the last minute."
Bumble adds requests for "money, financial help, passwords, verification codes, or other personal information" from someone you have never met. It also says "No single sign means someone is definitely catfishing you", which is fair to the many matches who are exactly who they say.
More warning signs, with the phrases scammers use, are in our guide to signs of a romance scammer. If you suspect the profile itself, see how to tell if a dating profile is fake.
What to do if it's a scam
Stop sending money first, even if they promise the next payment releases everything. Then:
- Keep the messages. WhatsApp suggests you "take screenshots or back up a copy of your chat history". Bumble says to do it first: "Save evidence before you block them".
- Report the profile to the dating app where you met. The FTC says to notify the app too.
- Report and block on WhatsApp. In the chat, tap Block and tick Report to WhatsApp.
- Call your bank or payment app from the number on your card or in its official app, not one the scammer gave you. For a bank transfer, the FTC says to "Report it to your bank or credit union immediately." For crypto, contact the exchange or ATM operator right away.
- Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI at ic3.gov. IC3 asks for the methods of contact, including websites, apps, emails, phone numbers and any profile names.
If you are 60 or older and need help filing the IC3 complaint, the June 2026 IC3 notice gives the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline, 1-833-FRAUD-11. If you feel in danger, call 911.
Then watch for a second scam. IC3 says: "Do not pay for services that claim to be able to recover lost funds." And don't confront the person; Bumble warns against it for your own physical safety.
Many victims don't see it while it is happening. IC3 says that of the 3,780 crypto investment fraud victims Operation Level Up notified in 2025, "78% of those victims were unaware they were being scammed".
A check before the chat moves
If a match wants your number and you'd like to know more first, TrulyWho checks a match's public accounts, photos and work from their email or phone in about a minute. Reports leave out dating and adult sites, and TrulyWho is not a consumer reporting agency, so use it for your own safety only. For the date itself, see how to stay safe on a first date.
FAQ
Will a romance scammer call you on WhatsApp?
They can. WhatsApp says anyone who has your phone number can call you on the app. Silence unknown callers, under Settings > Privacy > Calls, stops strangers' calls from ringing. It won't help with a match you already chat with, though: once you message or call someone, WhatsApp can no longer silence their calls.
Is it always a scam when a match asks to move to WhatsApp?
No. No official source we read says so, and many people simply prefer WhatsApp to an app's chat. What Tinder and Hinge warn about is a push to move right away. A match who also keeps finding reasons not to call is the one to slow down with.
Why do matches want to move to Telegram?
Hinge's reason covers any messaging app, Telegram included: once the chat leaves the dating app, its Safe Message Filters no longer see it. The FTC saw Telegram in 2022 romance reports, where scammers "quickly moved the sweet talk to WhatsApp, Google Chat, or Telegram."
What kind of scams happen after a dating match moves to WhatsApp?
In romance scams that started on social media in 2025, an April 2026 FTC spotlight says scammers often ended up "inventing a crisis requiring money or casually offering investment advice" to draw people onto a fake investment platform. Bumble lists requests for verification codes among its red flags. On WhatsApp, someone trying to take over your account needs that code, and two-step verification adds a second check.
How do I report a scammer on WhatsApp?
Open the chat, tap Block and tick Report to WhatsApp. WhatsApp then receives up to five of their recent messages, and the person is not notified. If they come back from a new number, WhatsApp says you can block and report each new number. Then report the profile to the dating app, and report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.
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