Hinge
Hinge has been named in 2 documented digital harm incidents. The most common harm domain is Fraud & Financial.
Documented Incidents
2Multiple victims defrauded of cryptocurrency via pig-butchering scams on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Meta removed over 2 million accounts linked to "pig-butchering" scams in 2024, which involve scammers building fake online relationships to defraud victims of cryptocurrency investments. The scams often begin on dating apps or social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, before moving to Telegram, which is known for limited moderation. In September 2024, the FBI reported that victims lost nearly $4 billion to crypto investment scams, primarily pig-butchering. Meta announced new measures, including automatically flagging potential scam messages and collaborating with other tech companies through the Tech Against Scams coalition. The company also took down accounts linked to a scam operation in Cambodia, which had used AI tools like ChatGPT to communicate with victims. Critics, however, argue that these efforts are insufficient and too slow to address the growing scale of the problem.
53-year-old bank CEO loses $47M to pig butchering scam via WhatsApp and crypto investments, 24-year prison sentence in August 2023
A 53-year-old bank CEO from Elkhart, Kansas, lost $47 million in a pig butchering scam between December 2022 and July 2023, transferring funds from his personal savings, church, and bank deposits into cryptocurrency investments. The scam began with a mistaken WhatsApp message and evolved into a months-long relationship before the fraudster convinced him to invest in crypto. In August 2023, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. The FBI recovered $8 million of the stolen funds by November 2023. A 37-year-old programmer in Philadelphia also lost $450,000 in a similar scam after being courted online by a fake European investor who convinced her to invest in a cryptocurrency platform. The platform later demanded additional fees before she realized it was a scam.