Australian Tinder users have been warned about an outbreak of malware-spreading “flirty bots” on the popular dating app. The bots use sexually suggestive profile pictures to lure users into automated conversations before linking to malicious “game” downloads. Unfortunately, it seems many enamored victims are all too happy to click.
Model picture from Shutterstock
According to security firm Bitdefender, the social networking/”hookup” app Tinder has been infiltrated by an increasing number of bots which use profile pictures stolen from Facebook and online photography studios.
After enticing users to ‘like’ a profile and some back-and-forth flirting, the bot attempts to infect the user’s phone via a bogus ‘Castle Clash’ download. The targets are usually men (natch).
As Bitdefender explains:
A typical bot message reads “Hey, how are you doing?”, “I’m still recovering from last night J Relaxing with a game on my phone, castle clash. Have you heard about it? ‘http://tinderverified.com/castleclash’. Play with me and you may get my phone number.”
To anyone with even a smidgen of security awareness, the above conversation seems highly suspect — but we suppose the possibility of sex can make people do pretty stupid things. This one time, I even pretended to like Heartbreak High (unfortunately the ploy backfired and I ended up marrying her).
Here are some warning signs to look out for:
- Tinder bots typically start the conversation by asking users if they have talked before. Like you wouldn’t remember chatting to a user who looks like a supermodel.
- Scammers often target users in a precise region by faking their location. Don’t automatically trust your “matches” just because they seem to be Australian.
- Never click a link received on Tinder. You should also be wary of links in the ‘About’ section of a user’s profile.
- To minimise scamming opportunities, connect your Tinder account to a dedicated Facebook profile that only has a couple of pictures.
According to Bitdefender, Castle Clash developer IGG is currently investigating the issue.
See also: Find Out If Your Friends Are On Tinder Using Facebook Graph Search | Use Interesting, Active Photos Instead Of Head Shots For Online Dating
Comments
3 responses to “That Sexy Gamer On Tinder Is Probably A Bot”
if you seriously fall for this EVER you deserve to have your phone backdoored. This isn’t new guys
sorry gramps. i guess not everyone is macgyver like you.
CMAN GIZE! NOT NEWZ!
From my experience with online dating, you can always tell the bullshit accounts right away.
With Tinder, can I ask a general question. I put this on my phone a few days ago. Going to give the online dating thing another shot after a recent relationship ended. You browse though, gotten a bunch of matches.
Is the norm thing to message right away? Or what?
With online dating, I normally just start messaging a couple of potential people that seem interesting. Then work my way through if nothing hits off with the first couple I message.
Will it be out of the norm if I message someone a week or more after we got the mutual like?