fake profiles sending messages; and probably harming real API guys in the process
Four of the last 20 messages I've received (20%) are from profiles that clearly belong to people who are running scams. The pattern is consistent. Usually the person is much farther away than other profiles (i.e., 4 miles, compared to 1-2), most commonly the profile photo is of someone of Asian descent, and the opening line is always something like "what are you looking for on here?" (which would be clear if they read my profile). No matter what you respond with, you get a message back that says something like "I'm looking for friends and a deep relationship with someone I can talk to. By the way, what do you do for work?" They are clearly fake profiles created by people trying to run scams. In addition to being a hassle for users on your site, it's also contributing to anti-Asian sentiments (which are already a problem on Grindr and other sites). I'm sure people are even more inclined now to ignore messages from guys with Asian profile photos because so many messages we receive from people with those photos are now fake. It would be great if this could get addressed somehow.