Online dating apps will soon have to warn members after they ban someone for fraud. The Romance Scam Prevention Act, H.R. 2481, gives a service 24 hours to tell every member who received a message from the banned account, and a miss is treated as an unfair or deceptive practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The enrolled bill text sets out the whole rule, and the White House listed it among the bills signed into law this month.
What must the warning from a dating app say?
The notice has to be clear and conspicuous, and the app can send it by email, text or another method the member has agreed to. The law lists what goes in it:
- The banned member’s username or profile identifier, plus the time of the most recent message between the two members
- A statement, where it applies, that the banned member may have used a false identity or tried to defraud members
- A warning not to send cash, other currency or personal financial information to another member
- Fraud-avoidance best practices, which may be provided by link
- Contact information for the provider’s customer service department
Someone chatting with a person who is later banned would therefore get a name, a date and a plain warning, not just silence when the profile disappears.
The step for anyone on a dating app today is simple. If a match has asked for money, gift cards or bank details, that is the pattern the law is aimed at, and a report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov does not wait for the app’s notice.
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How long does a service have to send it?
The default is “not later than 24 hours after the fraud ban is initiated against the banned member.” If circumstances warrant, the deadline stretches to “not later than 3 days after the day on which the fraud ban is initiated.”
There is one more exception. If a law enforcement official asks for a delay because of an ongoing investigation, the app may not notify members until that delay ends, and then it has three days to send the notice.
A fraud ban means the termination or suspension of an account where the provider judges there is a significant risk the member will try to obtain cash or other currency from another member through fraud. An online dating service is a website or app that offers access to dating or romantic relationships by arranging or facilitating introductions between members.
Who enforces it, and what happens to an app that fails?
The FTC enforces the law. A violation is treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act.
State attorneys general may also sue in federal court on behalf of residents, after notifying the FTC in writing unless that is not feasible. The FTC can step in, and a state cannot sue a company while an FTC case over the same violations is pending. The text does not create a private right of action, so an individual member cannot sue under it.
Apps get protection too. A provider is not liable to current, banned or former members for claims based on actions taken to comply with the notice rules. The law also bars states from enforcing their own laws on how these notices must be sent, though state contract and tort law still stand.
When does the 24-hour rule start?
Not yet. The section takes effect one year after the date of enactment, so dating apps have until around October 2027. The text does not direct the FTC to write new rules or guidance first.
For the next year, nothing in the law forces an app to send a warning. A member who spots a request for money still has to rely on their own judgment and on the free reporting channel at the FTC.
Chatting with someone online who is asking for money?
For the next year, a romance scam can run its full course with no warning from the app at all. By the time a notice arrives, the cash may already be gone and a stolen identity can be in use.
The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit includes the free credit-freeze steps and a first-hour recovery plan, and its fraud evidence and report log keeps usernames, dates and amounts in one place for the FTC report and the bank call.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
