Congress is calling for Match Group and other dating app companies to enhance their efforts to assist victims of romance scams, including a woman named Mary, who reported losing $100,000 to a scammer on the app Plenty of Fish in 2024. Mary described her experience, stating that the scam escalated quickly with constant communication and pressure for money.
Mary was one of several individuals who spoke with staffers from the U.S. Congress’s Joint Economic Committee during an investigation led by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) into romance scams on platforms owned by Match Group, which includes Tinder, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish. According to the senators, romance scams have become a significant form of financial fraud in the U.S., costing Americans at least $1.3 billion annually.
A report detailing the investigation's findings was published on Tuesday. Internal documents from Match Group indicated that as of the second half of 2025, Tinder had not updated many of its machine learning models for several years, leading to less reliable detection of scammers. Data revealed that nearly 1.5 million scammers had matched with users on Tinder and Hinge, with approximately 500,000 accounts exchanging contact information.
Mary recounted her attempts to verify the scammer's identity, noting that he frequently contacted her and claimed to need money for work-related issues and medical emergencies. After sending about $100,000 in cryptocurrency payments, she realized she had been scammed and blocked his number, only for him to contact her again from different numbers.
Since the investigation began, Match Group has reportedly implemented measures to combat scams, including a facial verification feature on Tinder requiring new users to complete a video selfie verification process. The report acknowledged that while Match Group had made some progress, these changes came after a significant period during which scams continued to rise.
In response to the report, Yoel Roth, Match Group’s senior vice president of trust and safety, stated that the company has made substantial advancements in user protection against romance scams but disagreed with the report's characterization of their historical investment in safety measures.
Senator Hassan has introduced legislation aimed at creating a central portal for Americans to report scams and receive assistance from law enforcement. In her statement, she emphasized the emotional and financial toll of romance scams and urged companies to remain vigilant in updating their scam prevention measures.