Romance Scam Compensation:
Claim Refunds for Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud

Tinder has been a popular online dating app for over 11 years. Unfortunately, in recent years, romance fraud has grown to record numbers with Tinder being the most popular platform for scammers. 429 scams were reported in the UK in 2022.

Tinder scam red flags:

• The scammer’s Tinder profile is unverified, though bots and scammers can game verification.
• Their main profile pictures look staged or ‘model-like’ and from professional shoots.
• Lack of biography information.
• The scammer may declare their love for you quickly, even before meeting in person, this is also known as ‘love bombing’.
• To build trust and encourage you to provide personal documents, the scammer will often openly appear to provide details of their own passport, drivers licence etc, however, these are likely to be fake.
• They may pretend to be working or travelling overseas, making it challenging to have regular video chats or meet in person.
• They may ask for money or gifts, citing emergencies such as a hospital visit or an eviction notice for not paying rent and claim to need your help.
• They may refuse to speak on the phone or have video chats, or their video quality may be poor, avoiding the victim’s realisation that they are not the person in their profile.
• The scammer may provide vague or evasive answers to your questions or be inconsistent in their communication but will ask many questions about you.

It’s crucial to always use caution and trust your instincts when using dating apps like Tinder because, unfortunately, if something seems too good to be true, it may be a scam. Protect your personal information and never send money to someone you haven’t met in person. It is important to report any suspicious activity on Tinder immediately in order to protect yourself from potential scams.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of a romance scam on Tinder, please speak to us.

Bumble has been a popular dating app where women make the first move. Unfortunately, it is growing in popularity for scammers with a 60% increase in reported scams in the UK in 2022.

Bumble scam red flags:

• There is no photo verification on the scammer’s Bumble profile, however it is still possible for them to become verified.
• They have only one photo that looks staged or ‘model-like’.
• They do not respond to prompts.
• They share overly romantic feelings or gestures soon into the conversation.
• They try and ‘prove’ their identity with passport, driving licence, which are often fake, in order to encourage you to share yours.
• The scammers never make time to video chat or speak on the phone.
• They ask for money, gifts or sensitive information.

Apply caution when speaking to people online when using dating apps like Bumble. Never reveal sensitive or personal information about yourself. Make sure to report any suspicious activity directly to Bumble to help take down scam profiles.

If you or anyone you know has sent money as a result of a romance scam on Bumble, please speak to us.

Hinge, launched in 2012, has, over its life cycle, tweaked and honed its unique selling point to be more than just a dating app for short term relationships and aims to foster deeper, more meaningful connections on the site, by giving users talking prompts and conversation starters. But its differentiation from other dating apps has, unfortunately, not stopped scammers from using the site to trick victims into parting with their hard-earned cash.

Four ways to avoid a Hinge romance scam:

1. Never click on links sent to you via the app, these are likely ‘phishing sites’ used for collecting your personal information such as bank account and card details.
2. Do your own background research: put the user’s name, phone number, photos (reverse image search) and any other information into a search to find out if there are any reports of the details being used to scam others on the app.
3. Never send money, card details, gift cards or personal information to someone you have not met in person. They may seem like the perfect partner, but all that glitters is not gold, and they might not be who they say they are.
4. If you can’t meet in person straight away, try to encourage video chats which may be the next best thing until you are able to speak face to face. If they aren’t who they claim to be in their picture, the likelihood is they won’t be too keen to video chat.

You should report any suspicious activity in the app directly to Hinge, but if you have unfortunately been the victim of a Hinge romance scam and have lost money, please speak to TLW Solicitors today.

Plenty of Fish is one of the longest standing online dating sites in the game and is consistently one of the most popular apps used by singles looking for love. And while there may be ‘plenty of fish in the sea’ there are also plenty of scammers, looking to prey on unsuspecting users of the popular app.

‘Catfishing’ is a term used when an individual pretends to be someone else online, using their pictures, and even their personal information, for (usually) underhand reasons such as starting an online relationship, or extorting blackmail. Romance scammers use catfishing tactics on Plenty of Fish to convince users to part with money – sometimes quite significant amounts.

There are a number of red flags that might indicate that the person you’re chatting to on Plenty of Fish might not be ‘the one’:

• They look or seem too good to be true, possibly using pictures easily found with a Google search.
• They have broad interests – this is a tactic to appeal to as wide an audience as possible on the app.
• They’re moving very fast or ‘love bombing’ – this is when the individual you’re talking to starts to make grand professions of emotion or love and is usually used to ‘butter you up’ before they go on to ask for money or personal details.
• They refuse to talk using video chat – their ‘camera is broken’ or they ‘don’t have face time’ are usually excuses designed to stop you from finding out they are not who they claim to be.
• They constantly have to be overseas for ‘work’ for considerable amounts of time, this is a common theme with scammers.
• They start asking for money – it usually starts small, to help settle a bill or pay a rent cheque, but often increases in value and frequency. Why are they asking you for money and not their friends or relatives?

Make sure to trust your instinct, and always let friends or family members know when you are online dating so that they can spot any changes in your behaviour that might be the result of being manipulated by a scammer. Always report any suspicious activity directly to Plenty of Fish so that they can investigate.

If you, a friend, or a family member have fallen victim to a Plenty of Fish romance scam and lost money, get in touch with TLW Solicitors today, as we may be able to secure compensation.

Online romance investment scams combine emotional manipulation with financial deceit, making them one of the most devastating forms of push payment fraud. Scammers often begin by building a trusted relationship through dating apps or social media. Over time, they introduce what appears to be a genuine investment opportunity, such as cryptocurrency trading, stocks, overseas property, or business ventures.

Once trust has been established, victims are persuaded to transfer money, sometimes repeatedly, with promises of high returns or shared future plans. In reality, the scammer disappears, and the funds are often routed through complex networks of accounts, making recovery seem impossible.

At TLW Solicitors, we specialise in investment scam recovery. Our team helps victims trace where the money has gone and assess whether their bank failed to properly prevent the fraudulent transfer. Under the Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud rules, banks may be legally responsible if they did not follow the required safeguards when processing your payments.

We guide you through every stage of the recovery process, from gathering evidence and contacting the relevant financial institutions to pursuing reimbursement or compensation where possible. Our service is completely no win, no fee, so you do not pay anything unless we successfully recover your money.