Durham regional police are warning dating app users to exercise caution when online after a woman was sexually assaulted after meeting with someone she met on an app, who led her to believe he was a police officer.
Tech analyst Carmi Levy says with the rampant use of dating apps and technology, situations like this are unfortunately going to be more common if precautions aren’t taken.
“We have to learn to lead with cynicism. In other words, when you meet someone online, assume they are not who they say they are, and make them prove that they are in fact who they say they are,” said Levy.
Levy says before making plans to meet in person, before even giving your phone number away, you should do what he calls “digital due diligence.”
“Do some digging, creep them online, find them on social media, Google them,” said Levy. “Otherwise anyone can say they are anybody and you can get into a lot of trouble that way.”
On Tuesday, March 28, police say officers were called to investigate a sexual assault in Pickering, after a woman met someone online who identified himself as a police officer, and trusted him. The suspect attended the victim’s home, which resulted in an assault and sexual assault.
“There was a male online, trying to meet women and he was identifying himself as a police officer,” said Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss with Durham regional police. “He would gain their trust, and they would go on a date, and the circumstances of that date did result in an assault and a sexual assault.”
Through the investigation, officers concluded that the suspect was not a police officer. However, Bortoluss says the photos posted online would lead anyone to believe the suspect was a cop.
“His way to gain trust was to identify himself as a police officer,” she said.
Levy says since the beginning of digital time, it’s been common for people to claim to be someone else. But now, it’s a lot easier.
“Thanks to the pandemic, thanks to the rapid spread of digital dating apps, this has become rampant, and unfortunately the tools have never been more sophisticated for a perpetrator to hide under the cloak of anonymity and project their personality somewhere else and pretend they are someone they aren’t,” said Levy.
Levy said when swiping online, it’s helpful to keep a look out for red flags.
“If they give you a name and some background information, and you Google the name and look them up on social media and LinkedIn, and you can’t find them, that should be your first, last and only red flag that you shouldn’t be meeting up with this person in person.”
While most dating app users are online to meet their special someone, it’s also the perfect place for a cyber criminal.
“The scary thing about online dating is that it’s become a very efficient way for perpetrators and cyber criminals to source huge amounts of private information and data,” said Levy.
And when it comes to your own dating profile, Levy said it’s important to be careful with what information you make available right away, until you have properly vetted the person.
“Don’t include anything that would make it easy to identify who you are or where you live, for example, your last name, as well as other identifying pieces of data.”
Police did not specify the app the suspect and victim met on, or if they had met in person a separate time, prior to the assault.
“We are concerned there are other victims, he was active on various dating sites,” said Bortoluss.
Bortoluss says this is why protecting yourself online is important.
“Reminder that you don’t know who you’re speaking to, and whatever steps you can take to identify that person, take them.”
Toronto-based dating expert Shannon Tebb, @shannyinthecity on social media, says there are other red flags to look out for when swiping through the apps, like profiles that are too good to be true.
“The guy has all these glamour shots, looks like a model — these could potentially be fake profiles,” said Tebb. “Another red flag is no photos, maybe one photo of them.”
The dating expert says it’s important to follow your gut.
“Ladies and gentlemen, follow your intuition. If there’s something in your gut saying something’s off, this isn’t right, trust it.”
Ahmed Moustafa, 36, of Toronto, has been charged with assault, sexual assault and two counts of impersonating a peace officer. He has since been released on an undertaking.
Police want to ensure there are no further victims, and are asking anyone who may have interacted with the suspect to come forward.
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