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February 12th, 2025
Have you ever wondered about Coffee Meets Bagel scams and if the popular dating site is worth your time and money?
Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) is a free to join, friendly dating application started by a team of 3 sisters. It gained popularity after being featured on the TV show “Shark Tank,” during which the sisters declined Mark Cuban’s 30 million dollar offer. On Coffee Meets Bagel, users are filtered through an algorithm (based on location, interests, and more).
The dating service can be downloaded as an app available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Although CBD’s listed intent is to use “in-depth profiles” and “icebreakers” for genuine connections, does it live up to the hype? Join us as we explore the scams that are commonly found on the site and how you can avoid being a victim!
Scam #1: Foreign Money Wire Scams
Coffee Meets Bagel seems to acknowledge that its users are at high risk of encountering 419/Nigerian scams. Their online informational site even has a page set up telling you what to avoid and takes down profiles of this type.
However, the site does not catch all scammers. This financially dangerous scam starts with users who claim they are on vacation or temporarily out of the country. They might say they are in the military or come up with excuse after excuse. They will come on strong with grandiose expressions of love.
Maybe they push you to make the relationship exclusive, even though you’ve never met. They might claim to have an Ivy League education or be a high-powered CEO, while their writing style does not seem indicative of someone educated or well-spoken.
What is the end goal of these users declaring their love? Money. They will ask you for help through PayPal, money wire, or that you send cash or gift cards by postal mail. Although they will have contacted you to continue to establish trust, money has been their goal all along.
Don’t believe anyone you haven’t met in person or don’t know intimately. If you repeatedly deny their request for money, they will usually block you. If you’ve already made the mistake of sending stranger money under the guise of love, report the user to Coffee Meets Bagel and contact the FTC.
Scam #2: Old Photos
Although a dater might not realize it, selecting old photographs of themselves is a form of “catfishing.” Users who don’t look like their photographs is another common complaint on CMB. Typically, it happens when users upload photos of themselves when they were significantly younger or 20, 30, or more pounds lighter.
To be cautious, ask your future date how recent their photographs are. You can also look up their phone number, name, or username on Social Catfish to find their more current images on social media accounts.
Scam #3: Fake Career
Another complaint about CMB is that everyone claims to be a doctor or a lawyer, i.e., have a stable, well-paying career. A percentage of users listing fake professions are foreign scammers, while others are catfish or people looking for one-night stands who don’t think you’ll ever find out the truth. If someone is a doctor or lawyer, you will be able to find out more about them online with a comprehensive web search.
Scam #4: No Reply
Since the Coffee Meets Bagel app is not as popular as Plenty of Fish, Bumble, or Tinder, you might sign up and pay for membership features only to find that other users have signed up for free accounts and stopped using CMB.
Indeed, many users complain that they message people and never hear back. Even when they talk to users, the site alerts them that they’ve been communicating with a foreign scammer whose profile was taken down.
Scam #5: Fake Photos
Even worse than old photographs are fake photographs. This is when someone uses images of a model or highly attractive person for a fake account. A warning sign is a profile with very few photos or pictures that look straight out of a magazine. Luckily, these can be relatively easy to discover.
Take a screenshot of the image, crop it, and then upload it to Social Catfish. Our reverse image search uses a detailed reverse image search so you can see if photographs have been stolen or catfished from a social media influencer, model, or attractive person online.
While it’s impossible to avoid encountering fake profiles, you can avoid being a victim. Never send money online or go to any pages that link you outside of the site. Stay safe and let web-powered search tools like Social Catfish help you.
