Romance scams: victims to help write safety rules for dating apps

People who have fallen for a romance scammer are to have a say in how dating platforms protect their users. The Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA), a UK-based association of dating and social discovery companies, unveiled a consumer safety panel at its annual conference in London on 8 October – during Romance Abuse Awareness Week. The panel is to have 12 to 16 members: people with lived experience of romance fraud or abuse, everyday users, independent experts and consumer advocates. Founding members include author and romance fraud expert Becky Holmes and financial crime specialist Olivier Kraft.

ODDA member companies can consult the panel on new safety features and policies, and its feedback will feed into the association's industry standards, policy positions and research. It is co-facilitated by Anna Rowe, co-founder of LoveSaid, a charity supporting romance fraud victims. According to the association, members share only what they choose to. “Those standards are stronger when the people they protect help write them,” said ODDA chief executive Simon Newman. The panel is due to meet for the first time in the coming weeks; its first topic has not yet been decided.

How fraudsters operate is outlined in an AI scam watchlist published at the end of September by the UK consumer protection body National Trading Standards, which ODDA has highlighted. Romance and “befriending” scams are on it. One typical warning sign: someone met online declaring strong feelings very quickly; another is pressure or urgency. The basic rule is unchanged despite AI: never send money, gift cards or personal details to anyone whose identity cannot be verified.