AI bots send 60+ messages in 12 hours on dating apps without a profile photo

McAfee Labs documented in early 2026 that fake AI dating bots on major platforms can send over 60 messages in a 12-hour period to a single user, even from accounts with no profile photo. These bots initiate romantic conversation, build emotional rapport at scale, and then pivot to scam scripts (crypto investment, gift card requests, or link-clicking for malware). Norton blocked over 17 million dating scam attacks in the last three months of 2025 alone, a 19% increase year-over-year. One in four Americans has encountered a fake profile or AI-generated bot. This matters because the sheer volume of bot interactions erodes trust in the entire dating ecosystem, making it impossible for genuine users to distinguish real people from scam operations, and platforms profit from inflated 'active user' counts that include bots. The structural reason is that dating apps lack real-time behavioral analysis that could flag inhuman messaging velocity, and bot accounts inflate engagement metrics that platforms report to advertisers and investors.