Dating app security: Avoid romance scams and connect verified users

Today we’ll be focusing on how to avoid a bad breakup – one featuring your dating app and its users. But first, let’s examine some of the trends happening in digital dating right now.

As expected, the covid-fueled digitization of human-to-human and customer-to-business interactions didn’t bypass online dating. Unable to socialize in the the usual settings, people have flocked to dating apps in ever greater numbers.

In 2020, video calls on Bumble spiked by more than 60% and Tinder recorded its highest number of interactions – 3 billion in a single day! In the first five months of 2022, OkCupid saw a 700% increase in online dates arranged. That’s a lot of romance!

What we called “A New Reality” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, created perfect storm conditions for fraudsters. The spike in digital interactions has provided more opportunities to exploit, and crucially, more ‘digital newbies’, who are arguably more susceptible to social engineering, phishing, catfishing, and other romance scams.

According to Atlas VPN, throughout 2021, United States residents lost more than $343 million to romance scams. That represents a roughly $40 million increase on the amount reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020. The FTC, an independent United States government agency whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection, reported that romance scams were among the most effective for fraudsters, accounting for 24% of all fraud damages recorded by the FTC in 2021.

A romance scam usually involves a case of fraudulent identity, where the scammer uses a false online identity to build a relationship with someone, only to later exploit this connection to con that person out of their hard-earned money, or worse.

Now, we realize that this all sounds scary, especially at a time when people could do with a little bit of extra love. So, with Valentine’s quickly approaching, how does your business ensure a safe and secure platform that brings people together?

The best way to ensure peace of mind for people trying to create meaningful connections through your app or service is to stop fraudsters from gaining access to it. It really is that simple.

You might already require users to submit some sort of verification or identity confirmation upon registration or login. This could include a check on details like their real first and last names, age, security questions, profile picture, and their username and password. This is a good start, but would not be enough to stop the Tinder Swindler.

Passwords can be stolen, as well as accounts and entire identities. This becomes increasingly complicated with a rising number of digital newcomers trying online dating for the first time. At the same time, you want to cater to these people and make their first online dating experience a frictionless one.

Your dating app, and users, deserve a solution that not only eliminates the complexity of getting out there with simple app registration and user experience, but also offers elevated security.

With Mobile Identity, you can literally have your cake and eat it too. Mobile Identity uses mobile operators’ subscriber data to verify and authenticate mobile users through their mobile numbers without the need for them to take any additional steps.

As part of Mobile Identity, Silent Mobile Verification allows your dating app to distinguish real from potentially fraudulent users based on their mobile number, which translates into secure verification that eliminates friction on service sign-up and login. Additionally, the service identifies and prevents SIM swap fraud before it can ever take place.

This represents a revolution in user account security and provides near perfect account takeover protection, ensuring conversations happening on your dating app are conducted safely and securely.

What’s even better, the entire user authentication process takes less than 5 seconds.

You, like us, are in the business of creating connections. When you’re out looking for love, the last thing on your mind should be user authentication. It’s about interactions with other people, through your already great service. It’s time to let your users enjoy it to the fullest.

This Valentine’s Day, implement quicker, more secure access to meaningful connections with Mobile Identity.