Hoony Youn, Chief Technology Officer At Seeking, Speaks About Romance Fraud As A Growing Problem In The Online Dating World

Romance fraud cost UK consumers more than £100m last year. From your vantage point, what makes dating platforms such a major target for this type of crime?

Dating platforms draw those who are open to the opportunity to build genuine connections, and calculating fraudsters will pry on this sense of openness. Ultimately you’re getting direct access to someone’s private life and historically it’s been simple to appear as someone you’re not, so criminals can fully take advantage of this on platforms that do not protect their user communities.

Seeking’s new Selfie Liveness Verification has reduced fraud by 90% since launching in 2025. In simple terms, how does this real-time biometric system actually work, and how does it detect bots, synthetic IDs and deepfakes?

We collaborated with AWS on Amazon Rekognition Face Liveness to create a multilayered approach to decreasing fraud, which can detect real users and deter bad actors who use spoofs in seconds during facial verification. Our system can spot differences between images and the selfie of a user, and on a deeper level can use AI to reveal if an image is live or a digital artefact. For instance, it can determine blood flow, texture and facial features all of which are void in a deepfake or synthetic ID. We can also compare new user verification photos with previously banned accounts to detect banned users who try to sign up with different credentials.

You’ve stopped more than 50,000 fraudulent accounts this year alone. What did you learn about the types of scams or fake profiles attempting to get onto the platform?

What some of the fake profiles had in common was the use of AI-generated images and deepfakes, others were simply using stolen photographs. Once these were put through the Selfie Liveness Verification it was clear there were obvious differences between the profile they had crafted and their selfie with gender, race and facial features not reflecting the images on the profile.

Dating apps often prioritise rapid user growth – yet, strict verification can create friction. How do you balance user safety, platform growth and regulatory expectations?

We are dedicated to keeping our online community safe, and we strongly believe it is our social responsibility to be leaders in safety and security in online dating. The verification we implement is about protecting our users, reducing the opportunity of romance scams and continuing to build a platform that is trustworthy with daters seeking genuine connections, devoid of any catfishes and fraudsters. We operate these regulations whilst ensuring the user sign-up process is still very smooth, so it doesn’t feel like a barrier for users joining the platform. The proof is in the fact that we’ve seen virtually no drop-off in use after adding the face-screening step – it’s still very easy to create a verified profile in less than ten minutes.

Biometric verification can make some users nervous. What safeguards do you have in place to protect privacy and ensure this technology isn’t intrusive?

The data submitted as part of the biometric verification is encrypted both in transit (using SSL/TLS protocols) and at rest (using advanced encryption standards). The data is secured in a multi-layered security system and is stored separately from other user data to minimise risks and ensure targeted protection.

Other major dating platforms are now exploring this verification model. Why do you think the industry is paying attention, and do you expect this kind of system to become the norm?

Romance fraud is a common issue that users across a wide-range of dating platforms face and without verification models to filter out frauds, more people are turning away from platforms that cannot protect them against fraudulent behaviour. As Seeking takes the lead in ensuring our platform is safe for users, we have noticed the industry following our example and desiring to implement these systems which we expect, in time, will become the norm.

With deepfakes evolving rapidly, how does Seeking plan to stay ahead of future fraud attempts that are increasingly AI-driven?

As AI-driven selfies grow, so does our Selfie Liveness Verification which is constantly transforming as a gatekeeper to prevent fraudsters joining our platform. Myself and our director of product Daniel will continue to attend industry talks, conferences and monitor emerging technologies so we can continue protecting our users with the backdrop of continuously evolving techniques implemented by these criminals. We need to keep up to their pace, so it’s an area within the business that’s constantly shifting.

Seeking now has more than 1 million UK users. How does strong safety tech contribute to your goal of becoming the country’s leading dating platform?

We want Seeking to become a dating platform where our users find genuine connections and love in a safe environment where they feel confident that they are talking to real people with mutually positive intentions. For this to happen, the safety of our users has to become a top priority. Platform security is something we have invested in to filter out those who are catfishes, fraudsters and are using the platform to mine for victims.