Grindr Alert: 13 Arrested in Attacks on Gay Men Via the App

Grindr Alert: 13 Arrested in Attacks on Gay Men Via the App

We love Australian men! With that accent, those hung packages, and their overall sexiness, Australia does have more than its fair share of hot men. For those of us with Australia on our travel bucket list, you might want to think twice before logging on to Grindr to find your travel hookup.

Melbourne police have arrested 13 suspects after a series of attacks and robberies of gay men were committed using Grindr as a conduit. 5 victims have reported crimes in this string of attacks and beyond being physically attacked, they were also threatened and barraged with homophobic rhetoric. On top of the hookup app being used, social media was used to locate some of the victims' houses to engage in a home invasion. Scary!

The sad thing is, a number of the suspects are under 18 years old. To have such hate towards a community at such a young age is sad. Also, how were they able to log onto Grindr? There really is no age verification in place.

Anyone using Grindr in Victoria will be met with a warning message, cautioning about giving up personal information or sharing your location. That makes it difficult if you need to host. The police are taking this seriously and have reiterated that they are committed to protecting the safety of individuals from the LGBTQ community.

This is just part of a global issue using the app. We know that athletes at prior Olympics have been outed from using Grindr. In fact, Grindr has limited use in the general vicinity of the Olympic Village to protect users. This all occurred after a media outlet shared screenshots of certain athlete's profiles, while the reporter posed as a gay man. Here in the States, we reported that an Ohio man used the app to export money and sex from other users, threatening to out them if they didn't comply. He could face up to 50 years in jail for his alleged crime. Grindr also has had accusations that they were sharing personal information with third parties, including HIV status which could be extremely damaging to someone's life if they are not open about it, or are discriminated against at work because of it. In Qatar, a man was entrapped via a police sting on Grindr, was then arrested, and denied his HIV meds while jailed. Also, in disturbing global news, police in Russia were forcing gay men to log on to the app and ensnare other gay men. We know the Russians aren't fond of us gays.

Just be careful how and where you use the app. Sometimes a romp in the hay is not worth your safety. If it doesn't feel legit, it probably isn't. Take care out there, especially when traveling!

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