How Match Group is Strengthening Safety Measures to Protect Users From Scams
- Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA)
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
As online activity becomes more complex and scammers increasingly use AI-generated identities, deepfake videos, and coordinated tactics that span dating platforms, messaging services, and payment channels, traditional moderation approaches are no longer sufficient. Protecting users now requires continuous adaptation, improved data sharing across industries, and targeted measures to disrupt scam activity.
These dynamics are shaping the trust and safety measures implemented by Match Group across its dating platforms.
About Match Group
Match Group operates a large and diverse portfolio of online dating platforms, including Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, and OurTime.
With many years of experience facilitating online connections, the company has developed a range of trust and safety practices aimed at reducing risks such as romance scams, fraud, and other malicious activity.
As a founding member of the Tech Against Scams Coalition (TASC), it participates in cross-industry efforts to address emerging scam trends and continues to invest in new technologies and user education initiatives to help strengthen protection across its platforms. This approach allows patterns, emerging threats, and scam behaviours to be identified across multiple markets.
Face Check Biometric Verification Technology
Face Check is a biometric verification system designed to confirm that a user’s profile photos correspond to a real person. The system compares profile images with a real-time selfie video to assess whether the individual behind an account matches the images they have uploaded.
Unlike static photo verification methods, which can be exploited using stolen or AI-generated images, Face Check incorporates liveness detection and three-dimensional mapping to verify that the verification is performed by a real person in real time. The verification process is privacy-focused: biometric data is processed for verification purposes and not retained long term.
Users are prompted to record a short video selfie following specific instructions, such as turning their head or changing facial expressions. The system analyses this video against existing profile images to confirm a match and to assess liveness indicators.
By requiring real-time video input, the system aims to make impersonation more difficult, particularly as scammers increasingly rely on AI-generated images. Accounts that fail verification may be flagged for review or restricted from certain features.
Face Check has been deployed on Tinder in several markets, including the United States, Australia, India, and parts of Southeast Asia, with further rollout planned across additional brands and regions.
When combined with other safety initiatives, early results reported by the company indicate measurable changes in user safety outcomes. These include a reduction of more than 60 percent in exposure to potential bad actors, a decrease of over 40 percent in reports involving bad actors, and improvements in users’ reported perceptions of authenticity and trust. Together, these results reflect how identity verification and related controls are influencing user experiences within online dating environments.
Coalition Participation and Consumer Awareness Initiatives
Match Group is a founding member of the Tech Against Scams Coalition (TASC), which brings together organisations from multiple digital sectors, including social platforms, dating services, and fintech, to share intelligence on scam activity and coordinate responses.
Through this collaboration, the company participates in information sharing related to scam networks, fraudulent payment flows, and emerging tactics that operate across platforms. The coalition model is intended to support faster identification and disruption of scam activity that spans multiple services, where participating organisations are able to act on shared intelligence.
Beyond collaboration with other organisations, Match Group also supports consumer awareness initiatives aimed at reducing susceptibility to social engineering and romance scams. This includes participation in educational campaigns such as Scamberry Pie, which focuses on helping users recognise common scam tactics, understand how manipulation occurs, and make safer decisions when interacting online. These initiatives are designed to complement technical controls by addressing behavioural risk factors that scammers frequently exploit.
Additional Safety Measures
Beyond identity verification and coalition participation, Match Group employs a range of safety controls across its platforms, including:
In-app prompts that alert users when conversations display indicators commonly associated with romance scams, such as sudden financial requests or high-pressure behaviour
Cross-brand intelligence sharing, allowing patterns identified on one service to inform detection on others
Human review teams that assess edge cases and emerging scam techniques that may not be captured through automated systems alone
These measures are intended to complement automated detection by incorporating human judgement and behavioural context.
Closing
Online scams increasingly exploit trust, emotion, and movement across platforms, creating challenges that extend beyond any single service. Match Group’s approach illustrates how early detection, identity verification, user awareness initiatives, and cross-sector collaboration can be applied together to help interrupt scam journeys and reduce risk within online dating platforms.
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