He Pretended to Be Gay to Steal £28,000 From Men Looking for Love
A straight man created fake gay dating profiles to exploit men seeking genuine relationships. Three victims. Two years. One devastating betrayal of trust.
Romance scams aren't new. But this one carries a particular sting.
Thomas Godden, 26, was sentenced to three years in prison in February 2026 after defrauding three gay men out of a combined £28,488 through fake dating profiles on Tinder and Bumble. The con was simple and devastating: Godden, who is heterosexual and was already in a relationship, created profiles posing as a gay man looking for something serious. He built emotional connections with his victims, then exploited that trust to extract money — framed as everyday costs, travel expenses, loans he promised to repay.
One victim alone sent him more than £26,000.
The investigation by the City of London Police found the fraud ran from July 2022 to November 2024. Godden pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud by false representation in December 2025 and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court. A detective on the case said Godden "deliberately targeted men who were seeking companionship and a genuine emotional connection."
That last phrase is the one that lingers. Gay men on dating apps already navigate a minefield of catfishing, ghosting, and — in the worst cases — extortion and violence. The FTC has warned specifically about sextortion scams targeting LGBTQ+ app users, where fraudsters use explicit photos to blackmail victims who may fear being outed. Research from McAfee published in early 2026 found that men are 65 per cent more likely than women to encounter romance scams on a weekly basis, with losses above £5,000 reported almost exclusively by male victims.
What makes Godden's case particularly grim is the specificity of his targeting. He didn't just create fake profiles — he constructed an entire false identity as a gay man, weaponising the vulnerability of people looking for real connection in a community where trust can already be hard-won. For men who may have taken years to come out, who may be navigating dating with caution and hope in equal measure, being defrauded by someone who faked their way into that space is a uniquely cruel violation.
Bumble responded by saying fraudulent activity is "not tolerated" on its platform. That's the standard corporate line, and it's not nothing — but it's also not enough. The reality is that dating apps remain largely self-policed spaces where the burden of safety falls disproportionately on users.
So what can you do? The basics still apply: be cautious with anyone who moves quickly toward financial requests, reverse-image search profile photos, and never send money to someone you haven't met in person. But let's also be honest — no amount of vigilance fully protects against someone who is deliberately, systematically lying about who they are.