Tinder Passport Allows for More Scammers: Free to All Users Due to Coronavirus

Since many people are being forced to quarantine to help rid of the coronavirus, many singles are being pushed to the online dating world. They realize that a swipe left or right and talking to someone online helps them social distance more than actually going on a date to a restaurant, especially since many restaurants are closed.

Because of this, there are certain dating apps that are offering promotions so that people will use their services more. Tinder is one of these services offering a promotion, but not one that you would expect. They are making their feature Tinder Passport free to all users who have an account with them.

What is Tinder Passport?

Tinder Passport is a feature within the app that lets you match with anyone in the world. It is usually for people with paid Tinder Plus and Gold subscriptions, but since most of the country needs to be quarantined due to the coronavirus Tinder made this feature free through April 30, 2020.

To use this feature, users need to go to their profile icon, open Settings, and go to any location they desire. You can only visit one city at a time, but you can change which city you’re in as many times as you want. You can go to any city you want to in the world, as long as the Tinder app is allowed there.

“Our hope is that you use the Passport feature to virtually transport yourself out of self-quarantine to anywhere in the world. You can check in on folks in their hometown, college town, or sister city, and find those across the world who are going through the same things. If nothing else, you can learn how to say ‘hey’ in another language,” Tinder has stated.

How Tinder Passport Makes it Easier to Meet Scammers

With this feature, you are able to meet anyone from around the world. This means that someone could potentially scam you from another country by catfishing you and pretending to be someone else, or by just straight up playing with your emotions so that you send them money and inappropriate images.

Because you can meet anyone in the world with this feature, Tinder members should beware of people who live far away trying to catfish them, especially Nigerian scammers. They will use someone else’s pictures to pretend to be someone they aren’t in order to mess with your feelings make you fall deeply in love with them. Once you’re wrapped around their finger, they will then proceed to try and steal your hard-earned money.

How Do You Know if Someone is a Scammer?

They want to chat outside of Tinder immediately

If someone is wanting to chat outside of the app immediately after matching with you even when you tell them no, they are probably wanting to ask you for money or inappropriate pictures without the fear of being reported.

How to Avoid: Do not talk to anyone outside of the app immediately when matching with someone. Get to know them within the app first then video chat them to verify they are real before messaging them outside of the app.

They want you to wire them money because of some crazy excuse

If someone wants you to send them money for any reason, then they probably aren’t who they say they are. As soon as you start sending money to someone you met online, they will continue to bug you for more and more money until you have no money to send them, leaving you broke in the bank and in the heart.

How to Avoid: DO NOT send ANYONE you meet on the internet money for ANY reason!

They won’t video chat with you or meet you in person

If the person you are talking to online is unwilling to meet you in person or video chat, they are probably hiding behind the stolen pictures in their profile. This is a giant red flag that someone is catfishing you since they are unable to show you the face to their voice or meet you in person to prove they are real.

How to Avoid: Do not make the relationship serious until you are able to video chat or meet with the person.

They claim they are in another country due to a job.

If they claim to be from the United States, yet they travelled overseas for the military or a job chances are they are probably a scammer. This lets their victim think that they will have a future with them in the United States someday and that them being out of the country is temporary. What the victim doesn’t know is they will never see this person outside of the dating app.

How to Avoid: Do not date someone outside of the country unless they have proven to you that they have good intentions and that they are a real person through video chat.

They’re too good to be true

If someone’s pictures are model status with virtually no flaws and they have all of the same interests you do, then you might want to make sure this person is real. Scammers make sure that their profile and interests are irresistible to the people they are talking to so that victims can fall in love with them faster.

How to Avoid: If someone claims to be too true, don’t fall in love with them immediately. Video chat or meet with them in person to make sure they are real. If they are a real person, make sure they aren’t kittenfishing you with their interests.

Their responses are too quick and messages are inappropriate

If someone is responding to you at lightning speed as if a robot was typing their messages, then chances are they are copying and pasting responses from their playbook, which has pre-written responses used to scam their victims. Also, if they keep bugging you for inappropriate images and won’t take no for an answer, this could also mean you are being catfished so that they can take advantage of you.

How to Avoid: Do not rush into sending anyone any inappropriate messages or pictures, and be wary of fast replies. This could mean that the person isn’t coming up with their own responses and are copying from pre-written messages.

They send you suspicious links

If someone sends you a link to look at, don’t open it. It is probably a link that will give you viruses and steal personal information off your computer. The last thing you need is for your personal information to be leaked to a stranger on Tinder.

How to Avoid: Don’t click on any links sent to you.

Should You Use Tinder Passport?

If you use Tinder Passport, think about why you would want to form a relationship with someone who is far away. It would be so much better to meet someone within your same location and chat with them so that after you are done social distancing you can meet with them in person.

Using Tinder Passport comes with a lot of risks, since you would be meeting with someone far away from where you reside, and they can use that as an excuse to never meet with you in person or FaceTime. They could also steal money from you and get away with it easier since it would be harder to track them. It is also more of a risk of getting catfished since people can pretend to be someone they aren’t easier.

When surfing on Tinder Passport, just make sure that everyone you talk to is who they say they are. The last thing anyone wants is for their life savings to be stolen by someone they thought they could trust. Make sure they have good intentions when dating you, and try not to travel to cities too far away with this feature. If you suspect you’ve been chatting with a scammer on Tinder Passport, check out Social Catfish to find out if your suspicions are correct.