How multi-accounting is affecting dating apps

Dating apps and websites are big business today. More and more of us are flirting, chatting and falling in love online. The industry was valued at $9.65 billion in 2022, according to Grand View Research, which projects a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% between 2023 and 2030. 

But the sector faces all the dangers associated with any online industry, plus a range of unique challenges. It must protect its users’ data from scammers and other criminals.

TV programs like The Tinder Swindler expose the danger of romance scams, usually where a criminal fakes a romantic relationship to exploit the victim for cash – or worse. 

Wider dangers

In the most serious cases, sexual predators can exploit dating sites to meet potential victims. Underage users could access the site, opening themselves – and your company – to significant risk. 

At a broader level, data security must be front and center in the era of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar regulations like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Data protection is particularly important for dating companies, as the consequences of a data breach can be catastrophic, for both users and providers. There is the threat of ‘sextortion’ — the practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity — for example, if a user’s details are leaked. 

Failing to protect data can lead to fines and other legal consequences for the companies involved. Even worse, it could destroy your reputation.

Continuously evolving threats

And, since threats can continuously evolve, protecting your customers requires more than one-off efforts. 

For example, look at multi-accounting. Bad actors who have previously been banned simply create multiple new accounts, using new aliases, to secure access once again. These people are resourceful and determined. 

Plus, many dating apps require nothing more than a phone number to sign up; all the scammers need on top of this is a picture (which they can take from social media, for instance) and additional information that can easily be fabricated. 

What can be done about bad actors?

Veriff’s Velocity Abuse tool addresses this threat, keeping banned users out for good. It utilizes a variety of data points – for example, a face blocklist, a device and network blocklist, and data tied to documents or individuals.  This approach can provide layered and robust security. 

For example, if a person has been banned from a dating site, their face is sent to Veriff and added to our blocklist. If they then attempt to sign up again and create an account, their photos must be uploaded again; the photos are checked against our blocklist, and if there’s a match, we can decline the session or send a ‘risk label’ to the dating platform to make the final call. When liveness checks are complete, we can also use the user’s device and network as a linking element, expanding the ways we confirm identity – and block multi-account abusers. 

We have broad experience of fighting multi-accounting in different industries, such as gaming. Through the sophisticated use of data points and proprietary technology like our network fingerprinting solution, we can keep bad actors out – and make sure they stay out. 

Reach out

We can support your brand in identity verification, regulatory compliance and more, using cutting-edge biometrics and automated technology to ensure only the right people have access to your platform. Our approach can be tailored to your needs, ensuring you meet security demands while respecting customer needs on data extraction and use. 

If you would like to learn more, reach out to book a personalized demo.