US citizens travelling to Colombia have been warned against using dating apps in the country after the “suspicious deaths” of eight American tourists in two months.

The US embassy in Bogota said some victims were drugged and robbed after meeting people on these apps.

The incidents often occurred in cities like Medellin, Cartagena and Bogota where US tourism has picked up.

Travellers are being told to avoid isolated locations like hotel rooms.

Criminals use the apps to lure victims to public spaces like restaurants and bars, where they can be assaulted, robbed and even killed, sometimes by the person they meet, the embassy warned.

  • @zeppo
    link
    English
    448 months ago

    Travellers are being told to avoid isolated locations like hotel rooms.
    Criminals use the apps to lure victims to public spaces like restaurants and bars, where they can be assaulted,

    So… no public spaces, and not private either?

    • Flying Squid
      link
      258 months ago

      Travelers are advised to spend their entire trip to Colombia in the Phantom Zone.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    138 months ago

    Remember reading like something like 4 in 5 kidnappings in Brazil are linked to dating apps. Do a video call before meeting, meet on public places and don’t go to a second location on the first date at least.

    • ThrowawayOnLemmy
      link
      6
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      I dunno if I’d trust a video call either. It would take very little effort to get an attractive person in on the scam to do a Livestream as bait.

    • @AbidanYre
      link
      English
      58 months ago

      If you’re a tourist on vacation, how many dates are you expecting?

        • @AbidanYre
          link
          English
          28 months ago

          I get that, but if you get drinks one night and then go see them again the next day, sure, it’s not technically the first date anymore, but a vacation doesn’t seem like enough to time to get past that “don’t go to a second location” hurdle.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      08 months ago

      Really sucks that dating has to be such an adversarial practice these days,

      It feels like I gotta be ahead of an unyielding tide of pick-up artists to signal I’m not dangerous and I’m not even going on that many dates.

      Every time a space tries to get set up for the purpose of bringing folks together the dicks show up and end up ruining it for everyone else.