Tinder scams: the common ones, how to spot them, and what to do

Most people you match with on Tinder are who they say they are. A few are not, and their scams follow a small number of scripts. Once you know the scripts, they get much easier to spot.

Short answer: The common Tinder scams are romance scams that end in a request for money, crypto "investment" tips, requests for a verification code, fake "safety verification" links that ask for your card, and sextortion. Nearly all of them try to move you off Tinder quickly. Then they avoid meeting or a video call, and they bring up money. If a match asks for money, a code or a card number, stop replying, report the profile in the app, and report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.

Tinder scams at a glance

How big the problem is

These figures cover every complaint of this type the FBI received, not just Tinder, and the FBI's category also includes non-romantic confidence scams such as grandparent schemes. People filed 23,159 confidence and romance fraud complaints with the FBI in 2025, reporting $929,287,469 in losses, according to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report. That was up from 17,910 complaints and $672,009,052 in 2024, per the same report.

The same FBI report puts cryptocurrency investment fraud at $7.2 billion in reported losses in 2025 and calls it "the highest source of financial losses to Americans" that year. In the same report, the FBI counts over $19 million lost in 2025 to Confidence/Romance scams with a likely AI link. Scammers use AI chat generators to write fake profiles and scripts, and in grandparent or "distress" scams they use voice cloning to mimic a loved one in trouble.

The FTC's data shows these scams reach well beyond dating apps. Nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it started on a social media platform, according to FTC data released in April 2026. The FTC's 2026 Data Spotlight on social media scams adds that it did not collect reports during the 2025 government shutdown, so its 2025 figures have a gap. FTC and FBI figures count different reports, so don't add them together.

The Tinder scams to watch out for

1. The romance scam that ends in a money request

This is the classic. The FTC describes it this way: you meet on a dating app, and soon the person wants to email, call or message you off the platform. They build trust, sometimes chatting several times a day. Then comes a story and a request for money.

The story is usually a reason they can't meet, and the FTC's list of lies scammers tell includes living or traveling abroad, working on an oil rig, serving in the military, or working for an international organization. Payment requests follow a pattern too: wire transfers, gift cards with the PIN codes, payment apps or cryptocurrency, per the FTC.

The FTC's rule is short: "If an online love interest asks you for money, that's a scam." Tinder says the same in its Community Guidelines: "Be cautious, if someone asks you to send them money or tries to get you to make an investment, it's probably a scam."

2. The crypto "investment" match (pig butchering)

Some matches never ask for money directly. They mention how well their crypto trading is going and offer to show you how. The FBI calls this pig butchering. In its 2022 alert, it described fraudsters who pose as successful crypto traders, contact people on social media or dating apps, and "often spend time gaining the victim's confidence and trust" before coaching them onto a fake investment site or app.

The fake site shows profits. When you try to withdraw, you are told to pay taxes or fees first, and then the money is gone, according to the FBI's 2025 report. That report says these scammers "typically initiate contact through text messages, social media sites, advertisements, or dating applications and then quickly move the conversation to a messaging platform."

Tinder's own safety tips are blunt about this: "Don't make investments or open accounts with someone you matched with or through services or websites they recommend."

3. "Send me the code so I know you're real"

A match says they have been burned by fake profiles and want to check you are a real person. They say a code is coming to your phone and ask you to read it back.

The FTC documents this verification-code trick for online marketplace sellers and lost-pet posts, not dating apps specifically. Its rule covers any code, though, and applying it to a match is our reading of that rule. "Anyone who asks you for your account verification code is a scammer," the FTC says in an alert on verification codes. In a separate alert on the Google Voice version, the FTC says the scammer tries to use your code to set up a Google Voice number linked to your phone number, and may use it to cheat other people while hiding their identity.

A real match has no reason to need a code sent to your phone.

4. The fake "safety verification" link

This one looks like caution. The match suggests you both sign up on a verification or safety site before meeting and sends a link. The site asks for your name, phone, email and credit card number.

The FBI warned about this in an April 2024 alert. Fraudsters "quickly move the conversation off the dating app or website to an encrypted platform," send the link under the guise of safety, and the victim is then "unwittingly redirected to a private, low-quality dating site charging costly monthly subscription fees." The FBI adds that the details can also be used for identity theft or sold. Its advice: "Avoid clicking on links, downloading files, or opening attachments from someone you only met online."

5. Sextortion

A match moves fast toward explicit photos or a video call. After you send something, they threaten to send it to your friends and social media contacts unless you pay. The FBI said in a 2021 alert that "Most victims report the initial contact with the fraudster is mutual and made using dating websites and apps." The FBI received more than 75,000 sextortion submissions in 2025, according to its 2025 annual report.

If this happens, the FTC's advice is: "Ignore their demands. Don't pay them." Cut off contact, block the person, and report it to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI, and to local police. Talk to someone you trust. You did not cause this, and you are not alone in it.

Why they want you on WhatsApp or text

Almost every script above includes a move off Tinder, to text or another messaging app. Tinder says its chats are subject to its Trust & Safety detections, so "users with bad intentions often try to move the conversation to text, messaging apps, email, or phone right away." Its advice is to "Keep conversations on the Tinder platform while you're getting to know someone." Tinder may also show a safety alert when it detects you sharing contact details.

Wanting your number is not proof of a scam. Plenty of real matches ask for it before a date. A request to switch apps in the first few messages, before any real conversation, is worth slowing down for.

Signs you are talking to a scammer

None of these proves anything on its own. Two or three together should make you stop and check.

• They want to leave Tinder almost at once.
• They won't do a phone or video call, or the camera is always "broken." Tinder says: "Be wary of anyone who will not meet in person or talk on a phone/video call."
• There is always a reason they can't meet, often work abroad, an oil rig or the military.
• They bring up money, crypto, an investment app or a website you should sign up on.
• They ask for a code sent to your phone.
• Their story shifts, or a reverse image search shows their photo under another name.
• They push for intimate photos early.

A worked example, with invented people: Maya matches with Daniel, who says he is an engineer on an offshore rig. After two days he asks her to move to WhatsApp. He can't video call because of the rig's connection. A week later he needs money for a customs fee on equipment. Each step on its own sounds possible. Together, they match the FTC's description of a romance scam almost line by line.

How to check a match is real before you meet

You can do most of this in a few minutes, the evening before a date.

1. Ask for a video call. Tinder calls a phone or video call "a useful screening tool before meeting." A real person can usually find five minutes.
2. Reverse image search their photos. The FTC suggests it: "Do a reverse image search of the person's profile picture. Is it associated with another name or with details that don't match up? Those are signs of a scam."
3. Search their story. The FTC also suggests searching the job they claim along with the word "scammer."
4. Look for Tinder's verification badge. Tinder's Photo Verification compares a short video selfie with the person's profile photos. Tinder's FAQ, read on 30 September 2026, says profiles that pass get a blue checkmark. Its February 2024 announcement described a blue camera icon for Photo Verification alone and kept the checkmark for ID plus Photo Verification, so the badge you see may differ. A badge is a good sign. Its absence is not proof of a scam, since not everyone uses it.
5. Keep it on Tinder until you have met. That keeps Tinder's own detections and reporting tools in the loop.

Tinder's built-in safety tools

These are the tools Tinder describes on its safety pages, its FAQ and its newsroom, read on 30 September 2026.

• Photo Verification: users submit a short video selfie that Tinder compares with their profile photos using facial recognition.
• ID Verification: announced for US users in February 2024, it asks for a video selfie and a valid driver's license or passport.
• Face Check: a video selfie check that Tinder says "also detects when the same face is used across multiple accounts." Tinder announced its US rollout in October 2025, when it was required for new users in California and seven countries.
• Are You Sure? and Does This Bother You?: Tinder prompts a sender to rethink a message that might not be appropriate, and asks the receiver whether it bothers them so they can report it.
• Block Contacts: if you share your contact list with Tinder, you can choose people from it you don't want to see.
• Contact Exchange Alerts: when Tinder detects you sharing contact information, it may show an alert with safety information.
• Share My Date: in Tinder's words, it "lets you send your date details and location to someone you trust before you go."
• The Safety Toolkit: the blue shield on a profile or in a chat gives one-tap access to block, report and unmatch.

What to do if you have been scammed

Act quickly. There is nothing to be embarrassed about.

1. Stop sending money and stop replying.
2. Save the chat. Take screenshots of the profile and the messages, plus any payment details, before you unmatch. You will need them for the reports below.
3. Report the profile to Tinder. Tinder says "You can report any concerns about suspicious behavior from any profile page or messaging window," and that "you can still report another user you are no longer matched with." For money requests, Tinder asks you to report them immediately.
4. Call your bank or the payment company. The FTC says that if you paid with a gift card, wire transfer, credit or debit card, or cryptocurrency, contact the company or your bank right away. For gift cards, the FTC suggests contacting the card company, explaining that a scammer tricked you, asking for a refund, and keeping the card and receipt.
5. Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
6. Report to the FBI at ic3.gov. The FBI's crypto-scam alert asks victims to include how the person first contacted them, the names, numbers and usernames they used, and transaction details such as crypto wallet addresses.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, the FBI says to call 911 or your local police.

A second look before a first date

Before a first date, TrulyWho checks a match's public accounts, photos and work from an email or phone number in about a minute. It can show whether their photo appears on other pages, and it leaves out dating and adult sites.

FAQ

What can a Tinder scammer do with my phone number?

A phone number lets a scammer keep messaging you outside Tinder's safety tools. If they also get a verification code from you, they may try to take over an account or, as the FTC describes in the Google Voice scam, set up a number linked to yours. Never share a code sent to your phone.

How do I know if someone is real on Tinder?

Ask for a short video call and look for Tinder's verification badge. A reverse image search on their photos helps too. The FTC says a profile photo tied to another name, or details that don't match, are signs of a scam.

How can I tell if I'm chatting with a scammer?

Watch for a quick move off the app and a reason they can never meet or video call. Talk of money or crypto is another tell, and so is a site they want you to sign up on. Tinder says to be wary of anyone who will not meet in person or talk on a phone or video call.

Why do Tinder matches want to move to WhatsApp?

Often for ordinary reasons. Tinder also says people with bad intentions try to move the chat to text, messaging apps, email or phone right away, because Tinder's chats are subject to its Trust & Safety detections. Keep it on Tinder until you have met.

Will Tinder ever refund money I sent a scammer?

Tinder's pages cover reporting a profile and banning rule breakers, not refunds. Your best chance of getting money back is to contact your bank, or the gift card issuer if you paid that way, right away, as the FTC advises. If you paid in crypto, ask the exchange or ATM operator to reverse the transaction, though the FTC warns crypto payments lack the legal protections of credit and debit cards. Then report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.