The latest Grindr scam is a simple rebranding of the previous ‘criminal check’ ruse. That scam probably became less effective over time. So, scammers have now changed the name of the charity supposedly offering criminal checks on potential Grindr hook-ups.
The scam previously came to light about a year ago.
Grindr users reported receiving messages from ‘attractive-looking’ potential hook-ups. The people behind those accounts then shared stories of violence they supposedly experienced during Grindr hook-ups. As a result, they claimed to now rely on a website that checked the criminal records of users.
The website required a €2 payment to process the user ID. It claimed to donate half the proceeds to the Harassment Victims Community Foundation. No such organisation exists.
Latest Grindr scam changes charity name
In the rebranding of that scam, the scammers have invented a new charity called the Anti Violence & Harassment Protection for Gay and Bisexual Community.
A QNews reader received a message from a Grindr user called HornyNow on 5 November. The user told our reader he previously suffered violence at the hands of three men during a meeting organised on Grindr. Left traumatised by the attack, he now only met people screened by the website.
While the website apparently charges a $1 donation for the screening, HornyNow told our reader he could skip the payment box and register for free.
That would suggest the aim of the website is identity theft.
The professional-looking appearance of the website will probably lead victims to believe it genuine. However, despite stating ‘Copyright 2016’ at the bottom of the page, the website owners only registered the domain in October 2020.
QNews warns all readers to exercise extreme caution following links that require the filling out personal and payment details.
Baiters
Further, we warn readers that some scammers go to extraordinary lengths to convince victims of their identity.
We warned a few months ago of ‘baiters’ who employ ‘bait files’ of either male or female subjects consist of a broad range of videos and images to establish a fraudulent identity.
Some also include forgeries of various identification documents. Lastly, to convince targets they are speaking with a real person, baiters learn how to make a pre-recorded video seem like a live inter-action via Snapchat.
BE CAUTIOUS ONLINE!!!
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