• Business Standard reported on 21 October that Match Group has partnered with India's I4C, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, on a romance scam awareness campaign.
  • MediaBrief says Tinder, Hinge and The League will carry the guidance, which was refined with I4C for local nuances.
  • Yoel Roth told Business Standard that Match Group spends roughly $125 million a year on safety.
  • Match Group ran a similar global campaign in January 2023 that listed India among more than 15 countries.

Business Standard reported on 21 October, in an interview with Yoel Roth, that Match Group (MTCH) has partnered with the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which sits under the Ministry of Home Affairs, on a romance scam awareness campaign in India. MediaBrief, an Indian trade site, says the campaign launches alongside Match Group's participation in the Trust & Safety India (TASI) Festival in Delhi.

According to MediaBrief, Tinder, Hinge and The League will pass on the guidance to members through their apps and other channels, extending romance scam advice the company already gives. No start date, duration, languages or success metrics have been given.

The DII Take

The substance is familiar. The new element is a government partner. Match Group has run romance scam messaging before, and in a market where women have raised concerns about profiles being shared, an I4C name on the guidance could give it local credibility that in-app tips alone do not. Without published metrics, though, nobody outside the company can say whether it changes behaviour.

What the campaign tells members

MediaBrief lists five areas: caution about moving conversations off-platform; verifying who you are talking to, including a video call before meeting; rejecting suspicious investment or crypto advice; ignoring requests for money; and remembering that scammers build trust over weeks or months.

Business Standard adds that platforms will warn members if a match moves the chat too quickly to a peer-to-peer messaging app or promises high investment returns within minutes. I4C Director Nishant Kumar is quoted by MediaBrief as saying: 'Trust must be accompanied by caution online.' Victims are directed to the National Cybercrime Helpline 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.

Roth told Business Standard that Match Group spends roughly $125 million a year on safety across its platforms.

Company claims and commercial context

Roth told Business Standard that mandatory video-selfie verification at sign-up on Tinder and Hinge cut bad actors by 40 per cent, based on an initial analysis. That is a company figure with no independent verification. 'There is a limited number of people doing the scamming,' he said. We covered Roth's India safety features earlier.

The campaign arrives against a mixed commercial picture. Match Group's second-quarter release showed Hinge revenue up 22% year on year, while investing.com's summary of the slides put Tinder payers down 5% to 8.5 million. Hinge also announced Face Check and Screenshot Protection for India on 1 October.

What to watch

Look for a launch date and any reported outcomes from I4C or Match Group. Roth told Business Standard that screenshot blocking is expanding from Hinge to Tinder and that the Events feature is likely to come to India soon.

  • Match Group's I4C partnership adds a Ministry of Home Affairs body to scam guidance that builds on its 2023 global campaign.
  • The 40% reduction in bad actors and roughly $125M safety spend are Roth's own claims to Business Standard, unverified independently.
  • Operators in India should watch whether I4C-backed messaging becomes a benchmark for platform safety expectations.

Sources: Focus on safety paramount, says Match Group's Senior V-P Yoel Roth (Business Standard); Match Group and I4C launch campaign to help daters identify romance scams (MediaBrief); Hinge Introduces a More Intentional Way to Find Love in India (Hinge); Match Group second quarter 2026 results (Match Group / SEC); Match Group Q2 2026 slides reveal profitability gains amid revenue slip (Investing.com); Match Group Launches Global Public Awareness Campaign To Warn Daters Of Romance Scams (Match Group); Tinder and other Match dating apps will offer in-app tips on avoiding romance scams (TechCrunch)