With his Tinder date due to arrive at his Airbnb any minute, BK locked his laptop, phone, wallet, and U. He hid the key inside a sock on the drying rack, eager to avoid making the same mistake twice.
BK, an investment banker from the U. After she told him she worked as a doctor at a major hospital and sent him pictures of her in uniform, BK ran her ID through a police database. Of these, 17 victims were U.
In December, the U. Embassy issued a warning about using the platforms. With growing attention on the issue, Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, sent delegates to Colombia for a meeting with the U. During the unprecedented gathering, Tinder agreed to train Colombian police on a crime-reporting platform, where they can request in-app information that could aid their investigations of such attacks. The same day, U. Experts believe the safety measures taken by most dating apps so far are largely reactive and place the onus on users to protect themselves.
Rest of World also spoke to six victims of dating app attacks who said the incremental steps apps have taken over the last two months are unlikely to prevent crimes. Apps should add background checks to their business costs, she said. Despite its implication in deaths and robberies, Tinder, the most-used dating app in Colombia, is not considering pulling its service out of the country. Bumble, the second most-used app in Colombia, did not respond to several requests for comment. After RK, a San Francisco resident who requested anonymity to participate in this article, reported being robbed by a woman he met in Colombia through Bumble in , the app largely shrugged him off, he told Rest of World.
He urged dating apps to work more closely with authorities. Earlier this year, the local government began applying measures to reduce crime, including police inspections to root out drugs, weapons, and minors engaged in sex work.
