U.S. government officials have issued a warning for tourists who use dating apps while on vacation.
In a new security alert, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico reports that it has confirmed “several” cases of U.S. citizens getting kidnapped by “individuals the victims met on dating apps in recent months in the Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Nayarit areas” on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Visitors flock to both destinations, which are separated by only a 30-minute drive, for the region’s beach resorts and nightlife. Puerto Vallarta alone draws around 4 million tourists per year. A busy cruise terminal and the city’s reputation as a haven for LGBTQ+ folks also help bring in the crowds.
If you’ll be among that throng and get an urge to meet a stranger using a mobile dating app—Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Grindr, what have you—the U.S. Embassy reminds you to exercise caution.
Some tourists, including Americans, have gone looking for love online only to end up kidnapped and held for ransom.
“Victims and their family members in the United States have at times been extorted for large sums of money to secure their release,” according to the embassy’s alert.
And you thought you had been on some bad Tinder dates.
Kidnapping and crime in the state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located, are considered serious enough problems to have merited a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” advisory from the U.S. State Department. Neighboring Nayarit, where Nuevo Nayarit is situated, is classified with a milder “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” under the State Department’s 4-level advisory system.
But that doesn’t mean you should be any less vigilant when using online dating apps, regardless of where you find yourself in the world.
Safety Tips for Using Online Dating Apps When You Travel
The U.S. Embassy supplies the following advice for using dating apps in Mexico, but the tips apply just as well to any other location where you’re considering swiping right.
• If you set up a date, agree to meet only in public places and avoid going to isolated locations.
• Tell a friend or family member of your plans, including the specific place where you are going, details of the person you are meeting, and the app you used to meet them.
• Trust your instincts. If something does not feel right, do not hesitate to remove yourself from the situation.
• Call emergency services if you’re in danger. In Mexico, as in the U.S., the emergency number is 911.
For LGBTQ+ travelers, there are added reasons for being careful about using apps to meet up with strangers. Previous reports have found criminals employing Grindr and other similar services to target victims for robbery, kidnapping, and abuse in the Caribbean, South America, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
LGBTQ+ tourists are especially vulnerable in places where homosexuality is criminalized. A 2023 report by Human Rights Watch found that even government authorities and police forces in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia are “targeting members of the LGBT community based on their social media activity and use of dating apps, resulting in prosecution, torture, and other offline abuses.”
Foreign nationals are not immune to this kind of entrapment. Last year, a British-Mexican airline worker was arrested in Qatar after arranging to meet someone via Grindr.
Even in far more LGBTQ-friendly destinations like Puerto Vallarta, it’s always wise to remember there’s no way of knowing who’s really behind that profile pic.
Related: These Are the Safest Places in Mexico for Travel in 2025
