Widow Loses $700,000 in Tinder Romance Scam and Fake Crypto Recovery Scheme

1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 10

A woman who joined Tinder after her husband died lost more than $700,000 after a scammer posing as a New Jersey suitor won her trust and coaxed repeated payments.
A congressional Joint Economic Committee report said the fraudster invented emergencies including a heart attack and an arrest in Mexico, then a second group targeted her with a bogus cryptocurrency recovery offer.
The report tied her case to a broader surge in romance and confidence scams, which the FBI said drove nearly $1 billion in annual losses in 2025.
Sen. Maggie Hassan said scams are accelerating as AI improves, while the committee found Tinder had not updated most machine-learning models in years, weakening detection of bad actors.
Match Group said the report understated its safety investments and pointed to Face Check biometric verification on Tinder and Hinge, but acknowledged romance scams remain a cross-platform threat.