Not every app store listing that looks like a dating app is one. Alongside the familiar risk of a fake profile on a genuine dating platform, security researchers have documented large-scale campaigns built around entirely fake dating apps, designed purely to harvest personal data or extort victims once installed, rather than to connect anyone with a real match at all.
How a fake dating app campaign actually works
Mobile security firm Zimperium documented one such campaign, named SarangTrap, involving more than 250 malicious Android apps distributed through over 80 phishing domains disguised as dating and social networking platforms, with a related iOS version relying on “deceptive installation methods such as malicious configuration profiles” rather than the official App Store. Zimperium found that many of the phishing domains were indexed by ordinary search engines under everyday search terms, meaning victims could find a fake app through a normal search rather than only through a suspicious link.
Once installed, Zimperium found these apps requested access to contacts, images and other sensitive data, while victims were drawn in through “emotionally charged interactions and exclusive invitation codes” before facing extortion once their private data had already been harvested. Zimperium’s researchers summarised the tactic as exploiting more than a technical gap: it is, in their words, “a digital weaponization of trust and emotion,” aimed at people specifically because they are looking for a genuine connection.
Why fake apps succeed even on official app stores
A fake dating app does not need to look crude to work. Zimperium’s findings show attackers building convincing, professional-looking interfaces and registering large numbers of near-identical domains, so that even a cautious search for a dating app or brand can surface a fraudulent result. An invitation-code or exclusive-access gimmick, presented as a positive sign of an app being selective or in-demand, is frequently used to justify why the app is not found through the platform’s own official listing.
Checking whether a dating site or app is genuine
Get Safe Online, the UK’s public-private online safety initiative, recommends checking whether a dating site is a member of the Online Dating Association (ODA) before using it, since membership means the platform has committed to “an industry code of practice that includes honest communication with users, protecting their privacy and providing a mechanism for reporting abuse,” typically shown by the ODA’s logo on the site. Get Safe Online’s guidance also flags a related but distinct risk on genuine platforms: some dishonest dating sites, rather than being outright fake, use “pseudo” or fake profiles, run by the site itself, to keep users messaging, and paying, without ever connecting them to a real match.
Beyond checking ODA membership, downloading a dating app only from the official Google Play Store or Apple App Store, rather than a link sent in a message or found through a general web search, closes off the exact distribution method Zimperium documented. A listing with very few reviews, reviews that all read as generic or repetitive, or a developer name that does not match any known company, are further signs worth checking before installing.
Protecting your information even on a genuine app
Get Safe Online’s core advice for using any dating platform safely starts before a first message is sent: choose a username that does not reveal your surname or workplace, and keep contact details, email address, home address and phone number, out of your profile and early messages. It also warns specifically against opening email attachments from someone you have only just met, and against accessing a dating account from a shared or public computer where a password could be viewed or recorded by someone else.
What to do if you suspect an app is fake
Stop using the app immediately, do not enter any further personal information, and if any invitation code, payment or personal data has already been provided, treat that information as compromised. Uninstall the app rather than simply logging out, since Zimperium’s findings show fake apps request ongoing access to contacts and images that logging out does not necessarily revoke. Anyone who has lost money or shared financial details should also report it to Action Fraud, or Police Scotland if based in Scotland.
Frequently asked questions
Are fake dating apps only a risk on Android? No. Zimperium’s research found both Android and iOS versions, though the distribution method differed, direct app installation on Android against a manipulated configuration profile on iOS, since Apple’s official App Store review process makes fake apps harder to list there directly.
Does ODA membership guarantee a dating site is completely safe? No single check is a full guarantee, but Get Safe Online treats ODA membership as a meaningful signal that a platform has committed to a recognised code of practice, which an entirely fake app or spoofed website has not.
Is an invitation-only dating app automatically suspicious? Not automatically, but Zimperium’s findings show invitation codes were specifically used in this campaign to create a sense of exclusivity that discouraged victims from questioning why the app was not found through an official store listing.
The bottom line
A dating app does not have to be crude or poorly made to be fake. Zimperium’s SarangTrap findings show attackers can build convincing apps, register large numbers of search-indexed domains, and use invitation-only gimmicks to build false trust before harvesting data or attempting extortion. Installing only from an official app store, checking for genuine ODA membership on dating websites, and keeping identifying information out of a profile and early messages, as Get Safe Online recommends, closes off the distribution routes these campaigns depend on.