How can I tell if a dating match is real?
Compare the public accounts your match has shared with what they’ve told you, check what their verification badge covers, and pay attention to requests for money or a rushed move off the app.
If they shared a public social username, you can search it here.
Take a request for money seriously
If the conversation turns into a loan, travel fare or an investment opportunity, stop before sending anything. The FTC’s romance-scam guidance describes scammers building a relationship before asking for emergency expenses, travel costs or cryptocurrency investments. It advises against sending money or gifts to a romantic contact you haven’t met in person.
You can refuse the request without resolving every detail of the person’s identity. Talking it through with someone you trust can help when the request comes from a person you’ve grown attached to.
Compare the public account they shared
Our dating safety check looks for public profiles using a username. Start from the actual profile your match shared: follow its links to other accounts, or ask which profiles are theirs, before comparing those accounts’ bios and older posts with your conversation. ProfileTrace doesn’t search private dating profiles. Choosing not to share public social accounts isn’t, by itself, evidence of a scam.
Look for a specific detail you can ask about. For example: “You mentioned moving here last month, but this profile says you’ve been here for years—is that an old bio?” An ordinary question gives them a chance to explain a discrepancy.
If the concern is a reused picture, our profile-photo guide explains how to check its context.
Read the badge’s actual label
Tinder’s Photo Verification compares a video selfie with profile photos. Tinder says that check doesn’t guarantee the accuracy of the other information on a profile. Hinge’s Selfie Verification also concerns matching the person to their profile photos; Hinge warns that the feature doesn’t guarantee a user’s safety.
Keep paying attention to how they treat you and whether their story holds up, even after a photo check.
Keep the next step on your terms
Keep early conversations in the dating app while you get to know each other. If a short phone or video call would help, try: “I’d like to talk before making plans. Are you free this weekend?” If they repeatedly put off both calls and meeting, take more time before making plans. You don’t need to share your home address or daily routine to arrange a conversation.
If you decide to meet, choose a busy public place, arrange your own way there and back, and tell someone you trust the plan. These steps follow Tinder’s safety advice.
If you think it’s a scam
Stop the conversation and use the dating app’s reporting tools. Keep the relevant messages and account details privately for the report. U.S. readers can also report suspected fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you’ve already paid, contact your bank or the payment company promptly, explain what happened and ask about recovering the payment. The FTC recommends doing this; a refund isn’t guaranteed.
Results are leads, not proof of identity. ProfileTrace is not a background check and cannot be used for hiring, housing, credit or insurance decisions under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
To look up a public social username your match shared, start here.