Romance scammers are getting harder to catch. The consequences are costly.

For people looking for love online, a match with a scammer could cost them their life savings.

A congressional investigation, which began in September 2025 and lasted about a year , found that Tinder’s scam detection systems struggled for years to keep fraudulent accounts off the dating app. Parent company Match Group has since moved to address the shortcomings with new verification requirements and upgraded detection technology.

Romance scams have become a leading form of financial fraud in the U.S., costing Americans nearly $1.5 billion in reported losses last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.