A Senate investigation found that Tinder failed to update most of its artificial intelligence fraud detection models for years, allowing romance scammers to reach increasing numbers of users.
Nearly 1.5 million scammers or other suspicious accounts on Tinder and Hinge matched with at least one U.S. user during the first nine months of 2025.
Match Group has since introduced stronger security measures, including facial verification, which the company says reduced interactions with bad actors by more than 70%.
Millions of Americans looking for romance on dating apps may have been exposed to scammers because of outdated fraud detection systems, according to a new congressional investigation.
The investigation, released this week by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), the ranking Democrat on the congressional Joint Economic Committee, found significant shortcomings in the security measures used by Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, Hinge, Match, and Plenty of Fish.
Perhaps the most troubling finding was that Tinder had not updated most of its artificial intelligence models designed to identify scammers and other suspicious users for years, even as criminal networks became increasingly sophisticated.
The investigation also found that Tinder's systems were actually more likely to display profiles belonging to scammers or other bad actors than profiles belonging to legitimate users.
According to internal company data provided to Senate investigators, the median number of profile views received by a scammer on Tinder increased by more than 700% worldwide between May 2024 and December 2025.
During the first nine months of 2025, nearly 1.5 million accounts identified as scammers or other bad actors on Tinder and Hinge matched with at least one U.S. user. Nearly 500,000 of those accounts exchanged contact information with another user.
The findings raise questions about how effectively online dating platforms protect customers from criminals who use fabricated romantic relationships to steal money.
Victims describe devastating losses
The Senate investigation included interviews with people who had lost substantial sums of money to romance scammers.
One woman, who joined Tinder after losing her husband, met someone claiming to be from New Jersey. Over time, the man gained her trust before describing a succession of supposed emergencies, including problems on an oil rig, an arrest in Mexico, legal expenses, and a heart attack.
Each crisis became another reason to request money.
Another woman met a man on Plenty of Fish in 2024 who claimed to be an engineer working in her state. Although she took precautions, including conducting a reverse image search, she eventually became convinced that his requests for financial assistance were legitimate.
Over two months, she sent nearly $100,000 in cryptocurrency before discovering the deception.
The scammer continued contacting her even after she blocked him, repeatedly changing telephone numbers and email addresses.
Such experiences illustrate why romance scams can be especially destructive. Victims often lose not only their savings, but also their confidence in their own judgment and their willingness to trust others.
According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) figures cited in the Senate announcement, Americans reported nearly $1.5 billion in romance scam losses in 2025, an increase of nearly 650% since 2019.
Match Group strengthens its defenses
The investigation also found evidence that Match Group has made significant improvements.
In December 2025, Tinder completed the nationwide rollout of a security feature called Face Check, requiring new users to complete a video selfie verification process.
According to information Match Group provided to Senate investigators, the technology reduced U.S. user interactions with scammers, bots, and other bad actors by more than 70% within a month of implementation. The company reported that the improvement continued for at least seven months.
During the first half of 2026, Match Group also introduced a new AI model designed to examine profiles and other account information to identify potential scammers. Those changes followed repeated questions from Senate investigators about the company's existing safeguards.
Hassan welcomed the improvements but criticized the time it took to implement them.
“During the course of our investigation, Match Group made progress in combating scammers — but it shouldn’t have taken so long, and there’s still more that Match needs to do,” Hassan said.
The investigation suggests that dating platforms must continually update their fraud detection systems because scammers are constantly changing their methods.
One former senior AI safety researcher told investigators that Tinder might need to retrain its fraud detection models at least monthly, depending on the effectiveness of its other monitoring systems.
How consumers can protect themselves
Although dating apps are introducing stronger security measures, the Senate report makes clear that consumers should not assume a profile is legitimate simply because it appears on a major dating platform or carries a verification badge.
Fraud prevention experts recommend taking several precautions:
Never send money to someone you have not met in person. Requests involving medical emergencies, business problems, travel expenses, or cryptocurrency investments are major warning signs.
Be suspicious of attempts to move conversations off the dating platform. Scammers frequently encourage victims to switch to text messages or encrypted messaging apps, where the platform's safeguards may not apply.
Verify photographs and identities. Reverse image searches and video conversations can help uncover deception, although increasingly sophisticated AI tools make verification more difficult.
Watch for relationships that develop unusually quickly. Criminals often express strong romantic feelings early in a relationship to establish emotional dependence.
Report suspicious profiles. Notify the dating platform and report suspected fraud to the FTC atReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The investigation could also lead to additional consumer protections. The Senate recently passed bipartisan legislation that would require dating platforms to notify users when they have interacted with an account subsequently banned for scamming.
For consumers, the central lesson is that improved technology can reduce exposure to fraud, but it cannot eliminate the risk. Even verified profiles should be approached cautiously, particularly when an online relationship turns into a request for money.