After a warning issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombia about an increase in a drugging phenomenon targeting men looking for a good time via dating apps, several apps have pledged to collaborate with law enforcement to help prevent romance scam crimes against travelers.
Tinder was one of the first to step up and agree to work with the embassy.
The Colombian city of Medellín has become the central destination for cases where travelers looking for romance are drugged and then robbed, sometimes killed, after setting up hookups on dating apps like Tinder and Grindr.
Men, often referred to as “passport bros,” are enticed to the metropolis by promises of a rendezvous with beautiful local women. However, when they least expect it, they are administered a dangerous cocktail of sedative drugs, including the potentially deadly scopolamine, which can cause victims to black out.
While the drug typically renders them unconscious, in some cases, it can be fatal.
On Feb. 29, Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, dispatched representatives to Colombia to meet with authorities to determine a pathway to safety for its subscribers.
In an effort to identify individuals using the app for illicit purposes, officials from the U.S. Embassy, the FBI, Medellín hotel representatives, and local authorities convened for a meeting. Their goal was to brainstorm ways to track illegal activities on the app.
Tinder committed to providing Colombian police with crime-reporting platform training. It will also enable law enforcement to request in-app information that could assist in their investigations of attacks.
After the meeting, U.S. officials in Medellín held a town hall for American citizens to break down the next steps, pledging to make a “concerted effort” to address attacks on Americans and to work with local influencers to create safety content for them while they are in the country.
Apps have already started to make changes, the Rest of World reported.
In January, Tinder users setting their location to Colombia started getting in-app warning them about “heightened risks” that they could be exposed to. They also received suggestions to prioritize their safety.
According to Kayla Whaling, a spokesperson for Match Group, Tinder employs both automated moderation and humans to detect potential red flags that might arise for Americans.
Another feature is that users can also become “verified” by taking a selfie that matches the photos on their profile.
In February, the gay dating app Grindr introduced in-app warnings in response to “increasing violence,” as per a spokesperson for the platform.
