Here’s How to Protect Yourself from Romance Scams

Keeping our community safe is at the heart of Bumble’s mission, and we try to  make sure our app remains a safe place for all. Unfortunately, there are some users who will join dating apps without the best intentions—and that includes romance scammers.

What is a romance scam?

A romance scam is when someone emotionally manipulates you by pretending to show romantic interest, in order to take your money or other valuable assets. Scammers aim to quickly build a relationship with their target to earn their trust, usually by making up a story and then asking for money. They might ask for money for something urgent, like an emergency surgery or a plane ticket. To make sure that this doesn’t happen to you, here’s what you need to know. 

How to spot a romance scammer

At Bumble we have a team working around the clock to investigate suspicious profiles and to remove anyone who behaves inappropriately. Still, it’s helpful to know the signs of a romance scammer so that you can protect yourself. If a match does any of the following, they may be attempting to scam you.

• They ask you for money and they tell you how to pay. They want your money quickly and in a way that makes it hard for you to get it back, so they may ask you to write a check, send money through a money transfer app, or put money on gift cards. Bumble is for making meaningful connections, not for financial gain. If a match asks for money, Block and Report them immediately.
• They have an urgent need for you to send them money. Scammers often tell heartbreaking stories (they’re stuck in a foreign country, they’ve had an accident and are in the hospital, they need to make rent but promise to pay you back within a few days, etc) to gain your sympathy and convince you to give them money. 
• They avoid meeting in person, or sometimes don’t seem like the person you’ve gotten to know. If a match tends to come up with excuses for why they aren’t able to meet in person or video chat, it’s a sign they may not be who they say they are. Or if their messages sometimes have a different tone or style, there may be multiple people working together to scam you.
• The relationship moves fast—even when you’ve never met. Scammers will try to gain your trust, empathy, and affection by claiming they’ve fallen in love quickly, and may even propose marriage.
• It’s a long-distance connection. Of course not all long-distance relationships are fake, but scammers might say they’re in the military, working on an oil rig, or working overseas. Be extra cautious with these types of connections; go slowly and ask lots of questions. 
• They avoid answering your questions while asking a lot about you. If a new match doesn’t share much about themselves, keep your guard up and look for inconsistent information or answers that don’t make sense.  
• They want to move the chat off the Bumble app quickly. Scammers will often try to get their targets off safe platforms as quickly as possible. Only take the conversation off Bumble when you feel comfortable doing so. 

How Bumble works to protect you 

Blackmail scams fall under the umbrella of romance scams. In these situations, scammers pressure you to pay up by threatening to reveal personal info or photos. At Bumble, member safety is top of mind, but it’s just as important for you to spot red flags while dating. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises being cautious when it comes to exchanging intimate photos or messages with someone you’ve just met. Remember, there’s no rush—take your time getting to know someone and only share what you’re comfortable with.

Here are three common blackmail scams to watch out for:

• Image-Based Blackmail 

A common blackmail scam involves a scammer posing as a potential romantic partner. According to the FTC, after engaging in conversation, scammers send you explicit photos and ask for similar photos in return. Once you send the photos, they threaten to expose your conversations and photos to your friends, family, or employer unless you pay them—typically through gift cards. To make their threats more convincing, scammers might name specific people in your life who they’ve found through social media, that they will send your photos to, if you don’t comply.

• Video and Voice Call Recordings

In this scenario, the scammer encourages you to move your conversation off the app and asks for a voice or video call. Often, they’ll try to pressure you into discussing sensitive or explicit topics. The scammer then records the call and later threatens to share the footage or audio with your friends and family, unless you send them money by a certain deadline.

• ​​Age Fraud and Extortion 

In this scenario, a scammer pretending to be a younger person might ask for explicit photos and promise to send some back. They then follow up with a message claiming to be that person’s parent, saying the person you’ve been chatting with is underage. Often, this is followed by a call from someone posing as a detective, threatening legal action unless you pay to avoid any consequences. Remember, Bumble users must be at least 18 years old, so be cautious and trust your instincts. 

Don’t pay scammers to destroy photos or conversations, as there’s no guarantee that they’ll actually follow through. If you find yourself in either of these situations, please use the Block & Report button on Bumble, so we can remove their account. You should also reach out to your local government agency for support.  

How to stay safe from a scammer

Bumble always has your back. Here are some simple steps that our community can take to help protect themselves from a romance scammer. 

• Never share sensitive personal information, such as your home address, work address, email address, or account passwords with someone who you’ve just met on Bumble. 
• Never share financial information with a new Bumble match, including credit card, PayPal, CashApp, or Venmo details, your PIN, or any banking information. Never send money or gifts to a match who you haven’t met in person. 
• Go slowly. Scammers will often pressure their targets to move quickly and emotionally manipulate their targets to feel guilty when they don’t do the same. Only move at a pace that you’re comfortable with. Don’t move off the app, share your phone number, or continue chatting unless it feels right to you. 
• Know that romance scammers may use personal information from social media to build trust and a fake connection with their target, so be careful of what information you share publicly. 

• Use Bumble’s features to ensure that your match looks like their photos. Make sure that they’ve completed Photo Verification, and ask them to Video Chat or Voice Call in order to confirm their identity.
• Be cautious if a profile has only a few photos, or if the person’s photos feel too good to be true or overly polished. A reverse image search of their profile picture can show if it’s linked to another name or if the details don’t match—both are red flags for a scam.
• Check-in with a friend. Sometimes telling a good friend or family member about your new connection and what’s going on with them can help surface red flags or inconsistencies in their story. 
• Always proceed with caution when making new connections, and never hesitate to Block and Report someone if you suspect they’re trying to scam you or if they make you uncomfortable in any way. 

How Bumble works to protect you 

We know that making yourself open to a new connection can be vulnerable, and to ensure that you can swipe with confidence, we work incredibly hard to maintain a community of authenticity and accountability. Here’s what we do to protect the safety and wellbeing of our members.

• We have a worldwide team of moderators working diligently to investigate reports of potential fake profiles, catfishing, abuse, or anyone who does not adhere to our guidelines. 
• We restrict or ban users who don’t follow Bumble’s Community Guidelines. Violations of these guidelines include using Bumble for solicitation, using someone else’s photos, pretending to be someone who you’re not, and engaging in illegal activity. Absolutely no predatory behavior is allowed on Bumble. 
• There is a Block and Report button on every profile, so you can easily report a potentially fake account to us. (More information on what happens after you report someone on Bumble here.) Our robust reporting system allows you to be specific about your reasons for reporting someone—options include “feels like spam,” “has asked me for money,” and “fake profile”—to ensure that our moderators can take action as quickly as possible.
• We use proactive processes and tools to detect fraudulent or scammer profiles that may ask members of our community for money. These users may be automatically blocked, or asked to verify their identity before continuing to use the app. 
• We’ve introduced Video Chat and Voice Call features so that you can see and hear who you’ve matching with. You can use these features if you don’t feel comfortable giving a match your number before meeting in person, or if you have a suspicion they may not be who they say they are.
• Bumble’s Photo Verification feature allows you to see if a match has verified their photos, and also allows you to request that they do so if they haven’t gotten around to it yet. All photos are reviewed, and if a member has been reported as a potential fake profile and is rejected in verification, their profile will be turned off. This means they will see no one on Bumble and no one will see them.

Unfortunately, romance scams are a real issue, and it’s one that Bumble takes seriously. If you think that you’re being scammed and need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team here. If you have been a victim of a romance scam, don’t feel ashamed. Know that it’s not your fault, and you’re not alone. 

For more information on avoiding romance scams, here’s some advice from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. If you or someone you know may have been the victim of an online scam, you can find more guidance and report it here.