Tinder and ‘Mean Girls’ actor Jonathan Bennett warn of online fraud for World Romance Scam Prevention Day

Tinder and parent company Match Group will be looking at the darker side of love on Tuesday, which is World Romance Scam Prevention Day—with help from Jonathan Bennett, an expert in toxic behavior since starring as Aaron Samuels in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” A minute-long spot from Mischief (the agency behind Tinder’s striking “It Starts With a Swipe” campaign unveiled earlier this year) features Bennett talking to camera about online fraudsters posing as potential love interests—a problem that’s bigger than many people realize, Tinder says. Bennett has a pretty blunt message for these scammers at the end. The video will be running on Tinder and Match Group's social media channels. There will also be a paid digital media buy on Tuesday. Tuesday also happens to be Mean Girls Day (thanks to a well-known reference to that date in the film), which is why Mischief recruited him for the spot—since he played Aaron in the film 19 years ago. “Fans have a lot of fun celebrating all their favorite memes and quotes every Oct. 3, but it’s also important that we can take this day to acknowledge some important lessons about how we interact with others online,” Bennett said in a statement. “We want everyone to continue to recognize this day, while also being more aware of the types of common behaviors of online scammers to watch out for.” Online romance scams are among the most under-reported cybercrimes in the world. Confidence/romance fraud and investment scams tied to romance scams, also known as “Pig Butchering,” cost victims some $3 billion per year in the U.S., and fewer than 7% (possibly lower) of victims report the scams to authorities. “Romance scams are a way bigger deal than a lot of people realize. So many people end up getting tricked or manipulated when they’re just trying to meet someone,” said Marcus Lim, art director at Mischief. “But since World Romance Scam Prevention Day and Mean Girls Day both fall on Oct. 3, Tinder presented us with the perfect chance to raise awareness of all the ‘mean people’ online. And there wasn’t a more perfect person to deliver the message than Jonathan Bennett, who made the day so iconic in the first place.” Added Evan Shisler, copywriter at Mischief: “We’re just hoping this project can help more people avoid being scammed or heartbroken.” The new work follows a Match Group campaign from January reminding users of ways they can protect themselves from online scams. Match Group’s own prevention measures over the years have included product features such as selfie verification to popup messages with safety tips when certain language is detected in chats between users.

Tinder and ‘Mean Girls’ actor Jonathan Bennett warn of online fraud for World Romance Scam Prevention Day

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