Chicago Police: Robbers Using Dating App to Lure Victims

A dating app is reportedly being used to lure Chicago men and rob them on the city’s Northwest side, with two incidents happening recently.

In a community alert Sunday, Chicago police said the men planned to meet a woman, but when they arrived for the date, she allegedly robbed them at knifepoint and forced the victims to transfer their money into her accounts, according to CWB Chicago.

WBBM News Radio reported Monday the app involved is known as Plenty of Fish, which describes itself as “The most sociable way to date.”

The CWB Chicago article detailed the alleged robberies:

One man was robbed after meeting the woman in the 3200 block of West Olive in Hollywood Park around 2:15 p.m. on April 14. Police said the woman who robbed him was between 20 and 23 years old with straight black hair. She stands 5’7″ tall and weighs 180 to 200 pounds.

The other man was robbed by a man and woman when he arrived for a meet-up in the 4300 block of West Addison around 6 p.m. on April 15. Police said the male offender is White, between 47 and 53 years old, 5’9″ tall, and weighs 220 pounds. The woman is Hispanic, 26 to 28 years old, with curly black hair. She’s about 5’6″ tall and 120 pounds, according to the police.

Citizens with more information about the incidents were asked to call detectives at 312-746-7394 about crime pattern P23-5-025.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), millions of Americans use online dating websites or apps.

“Dating apps don’t conduct criminal background checks on users, so it’s up to each user to determine if they are comfortable meeting up with someone,” the organization said, adding users should check to see if their date has a criminal background before meeting them.

Meanwhile, a report from January said that compared to the first 22 days of 2021, the major crime rate in Chicago rose 97 percent in 2023.

“Another great American city utterly destroyed by unchallenged Democrat rule under Mayor Lori Lightfoot,” Breitbart News’s John Nolte wrote.