Valentine's Day 2026: Beware of fake dating apps, websites amid AI frauds!!

As per the Kaspersky report, 34 per cent of adults aged 18–24 encountered potential romance scams weekly.

With Valentine's Day falling on Saturday this year, people old and young will feel relieved that they don't have to come up with filmsy excuse to seek leave from their reporting manager like previous times.

However, with friends and colleagues going on dates, sometimes, people develop a false sense of insecurity and, out of desperation, search online for dating apps. If they are not careful enough, they will pay dearly.

As per the latest report from the renowned cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, one in seven Indians has lost money to an online dating/romance scam, with an average loss of Rs 2,80,650.

It also noted that 34 per cent of adults aged 18–24 encountered potential romance scams weekly. Around 60 per cent received a fake 'exclusive' or 'invite‑only' dating app invitation.

And, 29 per cent signed up and shared personal or payment information.

The insightful report also highlighted that the 25–34 age group has emerged as the epicentre of scam exposure, with 48 per cent of people encountering scams at least weekly, and 10 per cent more than once a day.

Be it on trusted, worthy platforms or shady apps, criminals are using generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)- based bots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot to come up with romantic quotes for the profile and also edit photos to make them visually appealing to the potential victim.

Here are some valuable tips to remember when interacting with people on dating apps, and also be wary of Valentine's Day-related festive discounts online as well:

1) Exercise caution while chatting on dating apps or social media: If you receive any messages from a person you have never met, look for tell-tale signs of AI-generated poems or praise talking about your beauty. Usually, gen AI bots come up with generic messages with plain rhyming words lacking emotions.

2) Do a reverse image search to find the true identity of a person: If the person has used a fake image and name, doing a reverse image search can easily identify their real name and the authenticity of their job and native place.

One can use Google Lens to upload and search the image to match the person's face available on social platforms.

3) Never install dating apps published by unknown developers: There are only a few handfuls of reliable dating and matrimony apps in India. Be very careful of fake apps on Google Play/Apple App Store. Read reviews, and there will be enough telltale signs of bad service, user interface and cases of impersonation. Avoid such apps. Also, never side-load such apps from a third-party digital marketplace.

3) Never accept or send gifts/money from a person you just met online: Do not easily trust a person you met online. Scamsters are using pig butchering techniques to scam you with bigger amounts. In a bid to build trust in them, they usually send money first and then some gifts. Later, they will come up with a devious scheme, telling you that their father/mother is in the hospital and in dire need of urgent money. Or lure to invest in cryptocurrency with big returns. Once you fall for the trick, you are not likely to get back the money ever, as they always use mule accounts, and this makes it hard to track the money trail for the police.

4) Never share nude photos/videos with anybody: It doesn't matter if you have been a couple for several years or you met recently, never share nude pictures with anybody. If the relationship goes awry, the spurned lover will use it as a revenge weapon to either shame you on social media platforms or use it as a ransom for a sexual favour. If you ever become a victim, just don't hesitate to file a police complaint.

5) Install anti-virus apps on your phone: Reliable apps can help you detect and kill malicious URLs faster. Also, McAfee has introduced a new tool to identify deepfake audio and will soon get an AI-generated image detection tool too.

6) Always select an open public space for dating: Even if you have talked or video chatted with a person for several hours, always choose a public place for meeting for the first time. You will have safety, and if things go awry, you can get help faster.

Also, share the information about you going out with the person you trust, such as close friends or siblings. So, they can call you and know you are safe.

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