Bumble is full of fake profiles, and you’ve probably already seen some. I’ve talked to a few catfish before, and one of the many red flags I noticed is money requests.

Less than a week ago, I was waiting for my date: a tall, handsome architect named Julian who could be the one. Then he texted me, requesting $35 for his Uber. 

Julian never got a penny, but I realized a verification badge doesn’t make my match real, and that Bumble catfish typically share the same warning signs:

1. Bumble Profile Pictures Start Disappearing

Catfishes usually steal and reuse images of attractive women and men, triggering Bumble to request face verification. 

These stolen photos fail Bumble’s verification because they don’t match the user’s true facial features, so they will eventually be removed. 

🎯 Screenshot your Bumble match’s profile and request a video call. If they refuse and their photos keep vanishing, your match is either not interested or a catfish.

2. The Same Face Keeps Appearing on Different Bumble Profiles

Fake accounts on Bumble usually recycle photos under different names, cities, or personal details, so you’ll see multiple accounts with the same identity.

🎯 Reverse-lookup your crush’s selfies on ProFaceFinder to verify profiles on Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, and social media (Snapchat, TikTok, X, etc.).

*You’ll also spot lookalikes, related public criminal records, and identities associated with the photos.

ProFaceFinder helps you stay safe from potential catfishes, with affordable plans that range from:

• $7.95 for 2 searches 
• $11.95 for 5 searches

If multiple identities are related to your Bumble match, report the profile and keep swiping.

3. Constant Travel Mode & Shifting Locations

Bumble catfishes use Travel Mode to increase their victim pool and deceive daters near their chosen destination.

With Travel Mode on, catfishes can comfortably give excuses for why they can’t go on dates: distance, sudden business trips, and consistent location changes.

🎯 Skim each Bumble match for a travel badge before trusting they live near you. 

4. Rushing Off Bumble and Into “Crypto Opportunities”

Dating cryptocurrency scams start as casual chats. The catfish urges you to move to Telegram (or other social media apps) so that Bumble doesn’t detect suspicious activity. 

Then they start talking about cryptocurrency, investments, and money opportunities, which are fake and leave most victims penniless or in debt.

🎯To reduce your risk of crypto fraud, follow my “3 Never” tips:

1. Never leave Bumble before meeting IRL.
2. Never share banking details, login info, or click any links.
3. NEVER send money to matches or friends you don’t know offline.

5. Refusal to Meet Anywhere Except a Specific Spot

Some dating app users are hired by expensive restaurants to push meetings with their dates at specific, expensive restaurants, such as:

• Chemistry – Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad
• Wasabi Lounge – Bangalore
• Cosmo’s Club – Bhubaneswar
• Velvet Cafe & Kitchen – Ghaziabad

*These were the most mentioned venues in online reports

When you go on a date with a restaurant promotion scammer, they’ll get the most expensive drinks and food (multiple times) since you will be paying. 

🎯Turn down your Bumble match if they insist on fancy places and won’t even consider your date location suggestions. If you cave, let them know that you’ll pay only for your order. 

6. Dates Come With Payment Requests

Some Bumble catfishes agree to meet, but they’ll need urgent help with booking deposits, train tickets, parking fees, or phone data just before meeting.

🎯Don’t open payment links or QR codes, and don’t send money or gift cards to anyone you haven’t met IRL, even if they request just a few bucks.

If your love interest keeps requiring or hinting at money transfers, ask a few questions designed to expose online catfishes.

7. Fake Bumble Updates and Suspicious Download Links

More often than not, romance scammers send links disguised as Bumble updates or nudes, then ask matches to enter login credentials or personal details.

🎯 Don’t open links or download anything from Bumble’s chat. 

Update Bumble only through the official App Store or Google Play, and access your Bumble account directly – not through links your matches send.

Do Bumble’s Deception Detector and Safety Features Help?

Yes! Thanks to its safety features, Bumble’s system is stricter and better than most dating apps, especially Tinder. 

Based on my research, Bumble revisits active profiles consistently, compares users’ live photos through facial recognition, and removes any posted image with a face different from the one used for verification.

But Bumble has more features working behind the scenes: 

➡️ Deception Detector™ identifies and blocks fake, spam, and scam accounts with a 95% detection rate.

➡️ ID Verification checks government IDs and selfies to make sure the person’s face is the same.

➡️ In-app Voice and Video Calls can help confirm that a match is real without meeting or sharing your phone number or email.

➡️ Block, Report & Unmatch lets you get disconnected from fake profiles and notify Bumble mods about potential scams and disrespectful matches.

➡️ Private Detector™ automatically blurs suspected explicit images, giving you the choice to view, unmatch, block, or report the sender.

➡️ Share Date lets you send your date details to someone you trust directly from Bumble, including updates if plans change.

➡️ Review Before You Send flags messages that may violate Bumble’s guidelines, giving users a chance to change their replies.

However, Bumble users aren’t entirely safe from scams. If you ever suspect your match is lying or hiding their identity, move on to other matches!