Dating app Tinder is launching improved identity checks in the UK, which include verifying profiles with passport or driver’s licence details, as well as video self-portraits. Users signed up to the voluntary scheme receive a verified badge on their profile that confirms their age, appearance and encourages matching. The move follows repeated targeting by fraudsters, a practice known as catfishing, where people pretend to be someone else to deceive targets. Fraudsters often try to trick their targets out of money. However, charity Victim Support called for mandatory ID verification across all dating apps.
Wayne Stevens, a spokesperson for Victim Support, said that romance fraud was a severe crime, adding that “ensuring ID verification is mandatory across all dating apps, rather than optional, would be more robust.” Stevens added that the current system had a potential stigma, and going further was necessary. The new system has already been proven successful in Australia and New Zealand. Verified users received a 67% increase in matches, the dating app claimed. This latest verification scheme will also be expanded to users in Brazil, Mexico and the US.
Tinder’s move follows a series of calls for better action against catfishing and fraudsters on dating apps. In recent years, the number of catfishing scams has increased, with the practice becoming more and more common. The increasing number of digital relationships and applications fuel the growth of romantic fraud, which, in turn, creates new opportunities for fraudsters. By verifying users’ identities, the dating app hopes to provide users with greater confidence in meeting genuine partners
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