WIRED – June 15 – Security researchers Noam Rotem and Ran Locar were scanning the open Internet on May 24 when they stumbled upon a collection of publicly accessible Amazon Web Services "buckets." Each contained data from a different niche dating app, including 3somes, Cougary, Gay Daddy Bear, Xpal, BBW Dating, Casualx, SugarD, Herpes Dating, and GHunt. In all, the researchers found 845 gigabytes and close to 2.5M records, likely representing data from hundreds of thousands of users. The information was particularly sensitive and included sexually explicit photos and audio recordings. WIRED reached out to 3somes and Herpes Dating and attempted to reach Cheng Du New Tech Zone, but did not receive a reply. This was not a hack; it was sloppily stored data.
Category: Scammer
India Gay Matchmaking Service, Arranged Gay Marriage Bureau, Under Fire
NBC NEWS – May 19 – The Arranged Gay Marriage Bureau, which promises to help Indian gay men and lesbians find love, is accused by some of being a "malicious" scam. The matchmaking service was the subject of a Vice Media report last month titled "The Arranged Gay Marriage Scam." The 20-minute documentary follows two U.K.-based clients of the service – the documentary's host, Reeta Loi, and a man referred to only as Keith – who, after 11 months, each received just a handful of dating profiles. At the end of the film, Loi calls the bureau a "malicious" scam.
UrSafe Becomes Latest ODA Associate
ODA – Apr 14 – UrSafe is a hands-free, voice-activated personal safety app fully integrated with 911. The UrSafe app enables online daters to activate friends and family real time location-sharing before their date, so their loved ones can make sure they get home safely. The ODA was set up in 2014 to develop and maintain standards that give users assurance and ensure businesses trade responsibly.
Losses in Online Dating Scams up 40% Since 2018
NEWSDAY – Mar 24 – The FTC recently released data that consumers reported $201M lost in online dating scams in 2019, up ~40% since 2018. One group that is particularly vulnerable to online dating scams is the "over 60" demographic, due to digital naivete, seniors are often lonely, more trusting and have time on their hands, an ideal set up for falling victim.
Aussies Lost $29M to Romance Scams in 2019
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 11 – Aussies lost ~$28.6M to dating and romance scams in 2019, according to figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Traditional online dating websites accounted for $7.8M in losses, via Facebook ~$2M and Instagram ~$975K. Those aged between 45-64 were mostly affected. Women made up 55% of reports.
Romance Scams Are Leaving More Online Daters Broke
WAMU88.5 – Feb 4 – Being scammed by a romantic interest met online is now the most common type of consumer fraud in the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 2018, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center investigated claims from ~18,500 romance fraud victims across the country, who said they'd lost a total of $363M. People ages 40 to 69 report losing money to romance scams at the highest rates – more than twice the rate of people in their 20s. At the same time, people 70+ report the highest individual median losses – ~$10K.
Match Group Subpoenaed by DOJ
FOX BUSINESS – Sep 27 – The FTC alleged Tinder, OKCupid, and Plenty of Fish relied on "fake accounts created by fraudsters" to entice new users between 2013 and the middle of 2018. Match also "exposed consumers to the risk of fraud by providing recent subscribers access to communications that Defendant knew were likely to have been sent by persons engaging in fraud." In Nov '18, the FTC offered to resolve its potential claims via a consent judgment mandating certain changes in the company's business practices, as well as a payment in the amount of $60 million. No resolution was reached. The FTC referred the matter to the DOJ. The DOJ opted not to pursue the civil case and referred it back to the FTC who then filed a lawsuit "making completely meritless allegations supported by consciously misleading figures."
by Jason Schott
See full article at Fox Business
Mark Brooks: Scammers are sometimes tough to identify. Their activity can lead to increases in conversions. Good for short term profits. Terrible in the long term for both impacted users and the dating brand. Once a scammer has been identified at a reasonable level of confidence, the best practice is to notify users that they've been in contact with a scammer and to block the scammers device and ideally communicate their device id to other dating apps so they can be proactive in quarantining that device from gaining access to users again. Seems to me the FTC is putting a solid heal down on anything that alludes to us not being anything less than super aggressive against scammers. Will legislation follow? The DOJ kicked this back, so perhaps not…quite yet. iovation, Scamalytics, Spectrum, Threatmetrix, Kount, 41st Parameter. There's a raft of scammer id tools available for dating apps. The best dating apps make good use of automated tools and review/abuse teams to maintain the highest possible quality of real communications from real people. It's a shocker that Match is embroiled in this offense from the FTC, but important that we all take the hint and get our best game on when it comes to kicking scammers asses. (Full disclosure, iovation, Kount and Scamalytics are prior clients of Courtland Brooks)
International Online Dating Scam Busted in California
CNN WIRE – Aug 26 – In March 2016, a man claiming to be a US Army captain stationed in Syria reached out to a Japanese woman on an international site for digital pen pals. Over 10 months, she sent him a total of $200K that she borrowed from friends, her ex-husband and other relatives. But he did not exist. It was all an international online scam run by two Nigerian men in the Los Angeles area with the help of associates in their home country and other nations, federal officials say. And Thursday, US prosecutors charged 80 people (mostly Nigerians) in the widespread conspiracy that defrauded at least $6M from businesses and vulnerable, elderly women. Of those, 17 people have been arrested in the US so far and federal investigators are trying to track down the rest in Nigeria and other nations.
Fake Dating Site Victims to Share €9M Compensation
DUTCHNEWS.NL – Aug 20 – Some 37K people who lost money on fake dating sites will share €9M in compensation agreed by the company behind the sites. The sites operated by The Right Link allowed users to exchange messages with potential dates, costing between 60c and €1 a time. But many of the people posing as dates worked for the company and had been told to keep people in conversation for as long as possible. Some users lost thousands of euros through the scam. The ACM raided the company's premises last year and a number of sites including flirten.nl were taken down.
FBI Issues Cyber Alert as Organized Criminals Drive Dating Site Fraud up 70%
FORBES – Aug 5 – The FBI has issued a warning for Americans to be wary of romance scams, after the Bureau saw a 70% annual rise in reported fraud, where dating sites were used to trick victims into sending money, purchasing items or even laundering or muling money for people met online. In 2018, ~18K complaints were received with losses totalling ~$362M. And, for every reported incident there will be others where victims don't come forward.