SYMANTEC Corp. alerted the community in Tinder saying a spam activity is being used to scam users. “In recent weeks, we have noticed spam activity on Tinder claiming to promote safety in online dating in messages to users,” Symantec’s Satnam Narang wrote. “This is used as a lure to funnel affiliate money into the scammers’ pockets.”
According to Narang, senior security response manager of Symantec, this is the latest spam trend to hit the mobile-dating application.
“While Tinder has changed its service recently with the introduction of a premium offering, the app remains a popular destination for spammers.” Narang said these new spam bots initiate conversations with a flirty or playful opening message, such as “Wanna eat cookie dough together some time?” After a series of messages, the spam bot will ask whether Tinder has verified the user.
After asking if the user is verified, the spam bot tries to disarm the user by saying “it’s a free service tinder put up, to verify the person you wanna meet isn’t a serial killer lol,” according to Narang. “While online dating has gone mainstream, safety concerns still remain when using these applications,” he said. “The spammers use this legitimate concern to convince users to verify themselves and trick them into thinking verification will lead to a date.”
Narang said scammers continue to operate spam bots on services like Tinder with the same goal in mind—to drive users to web sites that offer affiliate programs. For each successful referral, whether overt (links to adult-dating web sites) or covert (under the guise of a safe dating-verification site), the scammers earn a commission, he explained. “Remember, there is no such thing as a Tinder safe dating or verification web site.” Narang recommends users “be aware that spam bots will continue to come up with creative ways to try to get you to sign up for other web sites or services.”
“Do your part by reporting these accounts to Tinder and always make sure you read the fine print on any site or service before you sign-up.”