Take a look at any police log and the dating app Tinder is sure to make an appearance. Most likely in regard to luring suspects to meet at a specific location and then rob them. Earlier this year, it was reported that 6 people lured through Tinder were robbed at gunpoint in Fresno, California. They asked people they met on Tinder to come to specific locations where the group would lie in wait and rob the victims at gunpoint.
In Chicago, two 18-year-olds “terrorized” two men looking for a Tinder date hookup who instead were attacked from behind, beaten, kidnapped and robbed in a Chicago neighborhood. A girl, 17, was also accused in the attacks, charged with driving a car during a criminal trespass to a vehicle, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated robbery.
With over 6.5 million monthly downloads in May 2021, Tinder is the most downloaded dating application in the world.
How Detectives Use Location Spoofing in Tinder
The first thing a Detective must do is to create a fake Tinder account. It is important to target the location where the criminal activity is taking place. They then throw out the bait and wait for someone to respond.They then put undercover police out to see if someone tries to rob them. Dangerous work, but very effective when a certain area seems to be targeted over and over again.
Creating a Fake Profile
One question we get a lot is how can you search dating apps to find a cheating spouse. Short answer, there is no way to do this effectively. You must have an account. Let’s take Tinder as an example.
To begin you need to sign up using Google, Facebook or a telephone number. Tinder is one site that doesn’t seem to mind using Google Voice Numbers. If you have one already set up, this is an easy way to get signed up. Next, you will receive your verification code. Once you log in it will want to know your location. Next, you will need to modify your profile. This gives you the opportunity to match the profile of someone your client’s spouse may be interested in. Use a profile pic generator to create a fictitious person (https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com).This is something that is AI generated and can not be found in a reverse image search.
Tinder should give you a different set of results based on your location. It isn’t easy to search even with an account set up. It may help you to identify a person who has a profile on the app. Most times, this is what your client may be looking for.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? It is a lot of work and you may or may not find what you are looking for. If you do find your suspect, then not only do you know he/she is on the site, but you can use the image to conduct a reverse image search to determine if it is being used anywhere else online.