Legal

Atraf Dating App Message to Users about Hack

A group of hackers called Black Shadow threatened to expose the personal information of more than a million users of Israel’s leading gay dating app unless they were paid a million U.S. dollars within a 48-hour period. 

The dating site Atraf became a target after Black Shadow hacked an Israeli internet service provider CyberServe, according to Agence-France Press (AFP). The hackers dropped tens of thousands of personal data records online as proof of making good on the threat, which were stolen from various websites that included public transportation firms, museums, and a travel company in addition to Atraf. About 1,000 user profiles were exposed from Atraf, according to the report, with the hackers saying more exposures were to come if they did not get paid.

These exposed records included HIV status, sexual orientation, and even some passwords. According to AFP, cyber security officials link the hackers to Iran.

Dating apps like Tinder, Plenty of Fish and others under the Match Group umbrella are pushing users to call their Senators to pass the Violence Against Women Act. The Act lapsed in 2019 and has not been reauthorized since.

While the bill has already passed the House with a Democratic majority plus 29 Republicans joining to pass it, so far it has languished in the Senate. Match Group decided to take matters into their own hands and push for passage of the bill to protect users of their apps, especially as the company continues to put more safety measures in place to protect users against harassment and violence.

According to The Hill, the bill would provide funding to state and local governments to address domestic abuse, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking which has become even more of a problem with the increased use of dating apps. It would also narrow a loophole to prevent partners and boyfriends convicted of domestic violence or abuse from buying or owning guns. (Currently only spouses and former spouses are prevented from buying a gun if convicted.) A number of Republicans have opposed the bill because they see it as an infringement on gun rights. 

The emails at the heart of the case against Match Group and IAC have been revealed, just prior to the trial which is set to begin in November. Former Tinder CEO Greg Blatt was accused by former Tinder employees, including founder Sean Rad, of undervaluing Tinder’s worth to cheat them out of billions of dollars in stock options. 

According to The Daily Mail, emails revealed that Blatt valued the dating app at nearly $12 billion in 2016, more than a year before Match Group valued Tinder at only $3 billion as Sean Rad and other employees were forced to exit the company. Rad and the other plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit claim Blatt purposefully devalued the stock in their negotiations, citing the emails as evidence. 

Match Group owns dating app Tinder, and they along with IAC are the defendants in the lawsuit.

Scammers stole more than $1.4 million from users of popular dating apps like Tinder, Grindr and Bumble, among others. Dubbed “CryptoRom” by cybersecurity research firm Sophos, the attackers feigned romantic interest with victims to build trust, and then lured them into downloading fake cryptocurrency apps.

According to reports, these scammers used Apple’s Enterprise Development platform to push the fake cryptocurrency apps, which gave the victims a sense that they were legitimate, but in reality, this allowed scammers to bypass the normal app review process. 

The CryptoRom attackers set up fake profiles on dating apps and strike up conversations with users, later moving them to messaging apps. After a time, the subject of cryptocurrency is introduced into the conversation, and the scammer asks the victim to install the fake crypto trading app to make an investment. At first, the victim makes money and is allowed to withdraw from their account, providing a false sense of security. Soon after, they are asked to make a more substantial contribution, and if they do, the scammers not only refuse their withdrawal requests, but blackmail them to invest more and take the money they already paid if they refuse.

The FTC in mid-September issued a statement urging people using LGBTQ+ dating apps to be cautious amid the growing number of scammers who operate on these apps.

Apps like Grindr and Feeld were named in particular as the FTC warned of an increasing number of scammers who seek explicit photos and then use them to extort money. According to Consumer Reports, the attackers pose as interested romantic partners and chat with intended victims. These scammers send explicit photos quickly, seeing who responds with a similar photo in return.

The next part plays out like an episode of Black Mirror, where if the victim does send an explicit photo in hopes of connecting in person, the attacker quickly turns on them and uses blackmail to extort money. The attackers threaten to send the photo to the victim’s personal networks, including family and friends or even an employer unless they pay (usually via gift card). 

Shares for dating conglomerate Match Group soared in early September, following the company’s new listing to the S&P 500. As of September 20th, Match Group will replace Perrigo Company, according to an announcement by the Dow Jones Indices.

Stocks tend to rise after being added to the S&P 500, as they become a “must-buy” for index funds, which track stocks on the benchmark index. Shares of Match Group are up more than 50 percent since this time last year with after-hour gains according to CNBC. This is more than a year after the separation from its former parent company IAC in July of 2020.

News of the Match Group’s rising share price also follows Apple’s announcement that it will relax its app store rules, which Match Group, Spotify and a number of other companies have been fighting for over a year. Apple agreed that the companies can provide a link to their websites from the apps for users to sign up for subscriptions, allowing the developer to bypass Apple’s cut, which was anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of sales.