People who use dating apps could be targeted (Picture: Getty)

There has been a rise in reported rapes by strangers who met their victims on online dating websites.

In the space of five years, allegations went up sixfold, National Crime Agency (NCA) figures show.

In 2014, 184 people reported being raped by someone they met on a dating website or app. This was up from 33 in 2009.

Crime analyst Sean Sutton from the NCA said a ‘new breed’ of rapist could be emerging, as these alleged sex offenders are less likely to have a criminal record.


He said people can create a ‘pseudo-closeness’ chatting online which can skew expectations when people finally meet in person.



According to the figures, 85 per cent of the stranger rape victims coming forward relating to online dating were women.

Of these, 42 per cent were in their twenties and 24 per cent were in their forties.

How can daters stay safe? Always meet for the first time in a public place

Tell someone where you are going

Be prepared to cut a date short if you are not comfortable

Even if you have flirted a lot with your date online, don’t assume this will lead to anything more in person

MORE: Ringleader of Yorkshire gang who repeatedly raped schoolgirl ‘fled to Bangladesh before his sentence’

More than 9 million British people have signed up to dating websites such as Tinder, Plenty of Fish and Match.com, and the NCA says it isn’t claiming they are inherently dangerous.

But they are warning users to take better safety precautions, while stressing victims are never at fault.

Rape generally is significantly under-reported, and those attacked by people they meet on dating websites may be less likely to come forward than if it was a stereotypical ‘stranger rape’, Mr Sutton warned.

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He said the actual number could be 10 times higher than the 184 figure.

Police warned they were seeing a ‘new type of sexual offender’ online who may not have a criminal record.

Whereas 84 per cent of people convicted of stranger rapes have previous convictions, where dating sites are involved the figure is much lower at 49 per cent, while the convictions they do have are less severe.