Attorney General William Tong is warning consumers about common scams on dating apps that have swindled Americans out of $1.3 billion in the last five years.
The Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” tells the story of a man who scammed women out of millions of dollars using the dating app Tinder. While the scope and scale of the scam depicted is exceptional, scams on dating apps are very common. These scammers will try to strike up an online relationship with you, earn your trust, and then steal money from you or your loved ones. These scams are not exclusive to dating apps. Scammers will also contact victims on social media apps like Instagram and Facebook.
“These heartless scammers prey upon people’s loneliness, isolation and their desire to be loved,” Attorney General Tong said in a release. “Be hypervigilant when a stranger contacts you online and asks you to share personal information and send money. It’s most likely a scam.”
The Office of the Attorney General has received several complaints in the last two years about scammers contacting Connecticut residents on dating apps and requesting money.
A Connecticut woman filed a complaint in 2020 alleging she lost $100,000 to a scammer she met on the dating app Bumble. She and the scammer communicated for several months before the scammer told the victim that he was stranded in Turkey and owed money for damaged equipment. The woman sent him $100,000 in wire transfers and BitCoin, before realizing…
