“We’re Not Aware of Any Breaches”: SA Dating Site DatingBuzz Denies Massive User Data Breach Claims

• South African dating platform DatingBuzz has rejected claims circulating on a prominent hacking forum that its security was breached
• A bad actor claimed to have obtained over 670,000 personal user records and put them up for sale for approximately R19,479
• Experts note an emerging trend of cybercriminals using artificial intelligence to create fabricated data leaks to scam buyers

One of South Africa's oldest and most recognisable online dating platforms, DatingBuzz, has denied allegations that its systems were compromised by hackers. Rumours began circulating after cyber threat actors announced on a deep web forum that they had successfully extracted a database containing the personal information of over 670,000 DatingBuzz users. The poster put a price tag of R19,479 on the data, asserting that the files included full names, email addresses, user chats, and account passwords.

DatingBuzz addresses rumoured security breach

Speaking to Mybroadband, Duncan Forret, the founder and CTO of the UK-based software firm DatingLab, which manages DatingBuzz, explained that the platform has not suffered any recent security breaches. He noted that the organisation was entirely unaware of any malicious system intrusions. Duncan pointed out that the data categories advertised on the forum do not align with their actual systems, such as fields for profile videos, which the dating website has never supported or collected. He stated that he is highly inclined to dismiss the leak as fabricated.

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“We’re not aware of any breaches, and no one has contacted us directly to try and ransom our data or sell it back to us,” said Forrest.

Rising trend of fake AI-generated data breaches

According to report findings published by MyBroadband, this incident points to a growing tactical trend where cybercriminals use advanced software to design fake data samples from local firms. Similar false claims have recently targeted other local entities, such as Telkom and The Wanderers Club, both of which confirmed their database remained secure. Cyber specialists warn that hackers are heavily relying on artificial intelligence to build deceptive websites, write convincing phishing material, and mimic company branding. This they do by flooding forums with high volumes of automated, realistic-looking data advertisements.

How dating sites can protect user data

Online dating platforms can dramatically improve their data security by running regular third-party infiltration testing and system audits. These simulated hacks allow security teams to find and patch system vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them. Based on cybersecurity insights from GDPR Local, leading apps also shield user chats and photos by using high-level data encryption, alongside mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) to lock out unauthorised users.

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• An older man from the UK married his Tswana girlfriend, whom he met on the Afrointroduction dating app, leaving many viewers motivated to download the app.
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• A content creator exposed a man she met on a dating app for using ChatGPT while communicating with her, and social media users advised her to ask him for money to get him off her.
• A young man shared a video of his girlfriend, whom he met online, getting off a bus, coming to see him face-to-face for the first time, touching the hearts of many viewers.

Source: Briefly News