5 AdultFriendFinder scams to avoid

While online dating makes it possible to meet many more people with the swipe of a finger, it's also introduced new ways for bad actors to hurt us. As the web's premier adult dating site, AdultFriendFinder is unfortunately rife with all manner of scams and scammers, and while it's easy to have a good time on the site, it's also easy to get into trouble — at least if you're not vigilant. 

And because AFF hosts nudity and encourages its members to get frisky, it's an especially enticing target for malicious actors. Worse still, these types of attacks are now increasingly common, with so-called "romance scams" now outranking all other scams in terms of total reported financial losses, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

To stay safe, you need to be aware of how you're vulnerable — here are the five most common AdultFriendFinder scams and how to avoid them.

Phishing scams

If you've used the internet before, you've been the target of a phishing scam. Think of the emails from Google asking you to click a link to reset your password, or the sob story you get from an unknown email address claiming to be a relative — these are all examples of phishing attacks, where a bad actor pretends to be someone they're not to gain your trust and steal sensitive information from you.

On AdultFriendFinder, bad actors will happily pose as interested singles, casually flirting with you until the moment they decide to ask for money or personal information, or try to get you to visit an off-site link.

Here are the five biggest red flags to help you spot a phishing attack:

• They rush to get you to an off-site destination, whether that's a website or a different chat platform like WhatsApp or Telegram

• They attempt to create a sense of urgency, often with a sad personal story

• They randomly request specific personal information about you, whether that's your date of birth or your home address

• Their profile and/or behavior is "too good to be true," with professional-quality photos and an instantly flirtatious conversation style

• They dodge or deny requests to meet in person or verify each other's identities through a video call

Identity theft

Unfortunately, between generative AI and the ease with which people can access our personal data, identity theft is now easier than ever. 

On AdultFriendFinder, identity theft scams can work one of two ways: either the bad actors operate with patience to steal your identity, gradually building a workable profile of you based on your name, age, location and employment history, as well as the photos and videos they might be able to harvest from your profile, or they steal another person's identity to execute a more sophisticated phishing scam on you. 

Your best defence against identity theft scams is to strictly limit the amount of personal information you share on your public profile. It's a good idea to give the minimum necessary identifiable details about yourself; so, for example, you can share your first name but should not share your last name or even your initials, and you can mention that you're a lawyer or a doctor but should not share the name of the law firm or hospital that employs you. 

These rules should still be closely followed even in one-on-one conversations. Don't assume that the person you're talking to is who they say they are until you have verified that yourself, and strictly ration what information you give out about yourself. 

Bots and self-promoters

The bots and self-promoters are simultaneously the most common scam on AdultFriendFinder and the most harmless. Because it's easy to create profiles on the site, webcam models, some OnlyFans creators and other sex workers use the site to promote their pages, usually via chat bots. These scams aren't particularly sophisticated: the person uses their real photos in their profile but engages AI to actually talk to other users, usually to send them to an outside link like an Instagram, OnlyFans or Telegram channel related to their business, and while they're typically harmless, they're also a major waste of your time. Just in case you're tempted to check their links, remember to do your due diligence before clicking on the link, as it's easy to hide malicious links inside shortened URLs. 

These self-promoting accounts are also typically easy to spot. Their photos are typically very airbrushed and professionally shot and staged, and their conversation rarely goes far beyond "hello" before they're mentioning their side hustle. You're better off ignoring these profiles entirely, but if you do take a shot on speaking to one, definitely end the engagement once they start sharing outside links with you. 

Pay-to-play scams

There's no shortage of legitimate online businesses that are happy to exchange your money for kinky chats, webcam shows or custom photos and videos, but you should be especially wary of people offering those services on AdultFriendFinder.

Even if you're willing to buy sexual content or tip a webcam model, AFF was not designed to be a sex work platform, and all of the buyer protections that exist on sites like OnlyFans or Chaturbate are absent from AdultFriendFinder, which means if the model or sex worker wants to take your money and run, you'll have no recourse. 

Blackmail aka "sextortion"

The worst, most pernicious and potentially most damaging scams run on AdultFriendFinder relate to blackmail, or what is colloquially known as "sextortion." Because the site encourages nudity and other sexually explicit content, it also renders its users very vulnerable to blackmail. Are you using the site without your spouse's knowledge or consent? How would your employer or your customers react if your private photos and videos were leaked? 

Bad actors know full well the damage they can do to your reputation, marriage and professional life, and they will seek to use any leverage they can to blackmail you. 

Does this mean you can't use the site or shouldn't engage in some of the more risqué activities it offers? Absolutely not! But it does mean you need to do so responsibly, with a constant awareness of what you're sharing and who you're sharing it with. And if you do experience any sort of sextortion, you should know that it's a crime and should be reported to law enforcement.