Seattle Culture
Seattle Swipe Skeptics
Online daters across the city increasingly wary of tech-driven romance
By Rob Smith February 17, 2025
At a Super Bowl party last weekend, I asked a friend who had recently become single if she was preparing to jump back into the online dating pool.
“No,” she said emphatically. “Online dating sucks.”
Now comes new data as to exactly why. In Seattle alone, 57% of online daters say they’ve encountered romance scams. More than 6 in 10 say they’ve run across people promoting adult content sites (hello OnlyFans), while the same number say their dates don’t resemble their online photos (hello AI). More than half have run across people asking for gifts or money.
Fake or misleading online profiles aren’t new, but the report by Secure Data Recovery suggests that technology now makes it easier than ever to deceive someone.
“Unfortunately, not all of the profiles Americans encounter are authentic,” the report notes. “From fake photos used to catfish users to sketchy links used to scam hopeless romantics, a sea of dishonesty awaits app users who want to find a genuine connection.”
Nationwide, Grindr and Christian Mingle users encounter the most fake content. Accounts promoting adult content or services are the most common scams, followed by romance scams (asking for money and gifts) and catfishing.
The good news? Seattle ranks No. 25 among all cities for the most fake dating apps. That means 24 cities are worse, led by Austin, San Antonio and Virginia Beach.
Seattle magazine recently talked with a Nigerian scammer who dispensed advice on how to avoid online dating disasters. You can read his advice here.
My friend — an experienced online dater — is talking about remaining single for a long while, if not forever. Maybe she’ll find a screen-free sweetheart instead.
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