A bipartisan investigation by Senators Maggie Hassan and Marsha Blackburn has laid bare the staggering reach of romance scams on Match Group’s platforms, revealing that nearly 1.5 million fraudulent accounts matched with legitimate users in the first nine months of 2025 alone. The report, released on Tuesday, details how victims such as “Mary” – who lost roughly $100,000 to a crypto‑paying scammer – were repeatedly targeted despite the company’s professed commitment to safety. While Match Group has introduced new AI‑driven detection tools and a video selfie verification process for Tinder, critics argue that these measures arrived too late, after a prolonged period in which scams proliferated and cost Americans at least $1.3 billion annually. The findings have sparked fresh legislative momentum, with Hassan and Republican Senator Rick Scott proposing a central reporting portal to streamline victim assistance and law‑enforcement action.
The Scale of the Problem
The investigation, launched in September 2025, drew on internal Match Group documents and testimony from dozens of victims who appeared before the Joint Economic Committee. According to the report, “as of the second half of 2025, Tinder had not updated most of its machine‑learning models in years,” resulting in weaker detection of scammers and other bad actors. Data supplied by the company shows that, through the third quarter of 2025, nearly 1.5 million fraudulent profiles on Tinder and Hinge had “matched with at least one other user.” Of those, roughly 500,000 accounts exchanged contact information, a critical step that often precedes the financial exploitation phase.
Romance scams are now the leading form of financial fraud in the United States, the senators noted, costing the nation a minimum of $1.3 billion each year. The personal toll is equally stark. Mary, who asked that her surname be withheld, met a man on Plenty of Fish in early 2024. She described an escalating pattern of relentless messaging, emotional manipulation, and repeated requests for money—initially justified as work‑related expenses and medical emergencies. “They never leave you alone,” she said. “I call it like being in a vortex. You don’t even realise what’s happening. You’re sending money, and it’s adding up, but each one of those times that you send money, it’s, like, not connected to the other times. But finally when I realised how much money I lost, I was like: ‘Whoa.’”
Mary ultimately transferred about $100,000 in cryptocurrency before she blocked the scammer’s number. The fraudster simply switched phone numbers and re‑established contact, a tactic the report suggests is common among organised rings. Mary later discovered duplicate Plenty of Fish profiles using the same photos as the impostor and reported them to the platform, only to see new accounts appear almost immediately.
Match Group’s Response and New Safeguards
In response to the committee’s outreach, Match Group has rolled out what it calls “the largest safety advancements in its history.” The most visible of these is a facial verification feature on Tinder, now mandatory for all new US users. The process requires a video selfie that is cross‑checked against the profile photo, aiming to deter impostors before they can establish a connection.
The company also introduced a new AI model in the first half of 2025, designed to scrutinise profiles and other behavioural data to flag suspicious activity. Yoel Roth, senior vice‑president of trust and safety, said in a statement that the committee’s report “recognises our significant advancements to protect our users against romance scams.” He added that “the report mischaracterises both the historical scale of our investment and the work already complete,” arguing that many of the safety tools, including face‑check technology, were already in development prior to the investigation.
Nevertheless, the bipartisan report highlights a timing issue: the new safeguards arrived after a prolonged period of unchecked scam activity. Internal documents indicate that Tinder’s machine‑learning models were largely stagnant, which hampered the platform’s ability to keep pace with evolving fraud tactics. The senators commend the recent improvements but stress that “there’s still more that Match needs to do” to stay ahead of criminal networks that are increasingly leveraging AI to supercharge their operations.
Legislative Action on the Horizon
The investigative findings have already spurred legislative activity. In June, Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, joined Republican Senator Rick Scott to introduce a bill that would create a centralised portal for Americans to report dating‑app scams. The proposed system would coordinate reporting across federal agencies and law‑enforcement bodies, aiming to provide victims with a single point of contact for assistance and to aggregate data for more effective crackdowns.
Hassan, commenting on the release of the report, described romance scams as “devastating – both financially and emotionally – to people who are looking for connection and instead find themselves targeted and exploited by global criminal enterprises.” She added that while Match Group has made progress, “it shouldn’t have taken so long, and there’s still more that Match needs to do.” The senator’s office emphasised that the proposed legislation is part of a broader effort to compel tech firms to prioritise comprehensive scam prevention at every level, especially as AI tools become more sophisticated in the hands of fraudsters.
Victim Stories Highlight Systemic Gaps
Beyond the aggregate statistics, the human stories underscore the systemic gaps that persist. Many victims, like Mary, described a sense of isolation and self‑blame that compounded the financial loss. “If you knew me, you would say she would never do that,” Mary said, reflecting on how the scam exploited her desire for genuine connection. The emotional manipulation tactics—constant contact, fabricated emergencies, and the gradual escalation of requests—were designed to create a “vortex” that obscured the reality of the fraud.
The report also notes that victims often struggle to identify perpetrators because scammers frequently reuse photos and personas across multiple platforms. Even when accounts are reported, the rapid creation of new profiles can outpace moderation efforts. The senators argue that this “cat‑and‑mouse” dynamic highlights the need for more robust cross‑platform coordination and real‑time sharing of threat intelligence.
Why it Matters
The congressional investigation into Match Group’s dating platforms exposes a critical vulnerability in the digital dating ecosystem that has cost American consumers billions and left countless individuals financially and emotionally shattered. By shining a spotlight on the delayed rollout of essential safety technologies and the pervasive tactics of organised fraud rings, the report serves as a catalyst for both corporate accountability and legislative reform. The proposed central reporting portal and calls for accelerated anti‑scam measures signal a bipartisan recognition that protecting users from sophisticated, AI‑driven scams is not merely a tech issue but a national priority. As criminal networks become increasingly adept at exploiting human connection, the actions taken here will shape the future of online safety, influencing how platforms balance growth with the fundamental responsibility to safeguard their users.
