Grindr users beware, “Armadale Detectives are investigating two serious assaults that are linked to the use of an online  messaging application. Both victims, a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s, communicated with someone via the same messaging application and arranged to meet at an address in Gosnells,” Western Australia Police Force’s Media unit said in a statement.

According to the media release the first incident occurred on Monday 22 of March 2021 at around 1am in the morning, with the second attack happening on Monday 29 of March 2021 at around 3am. The two victims were contacted via the gay dating/hookup app Grindr which is a very popular mobile phone app that allows anyone to create a profile with no verification of who they are.

Both attacks have been linked to the same house in Gosnells, “The house was under construction and there were several men there. In each instance the victims were assaulted,” the police said.

One of the victim aged 57-year-old told media that one of the attackers said to him “we’re going to teach you a lesson.” While another attacker swung at him with a baseball bat.

The police are asking anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in Margaret Street at the time of the attacks or has dash-cam  footage of the area at the time or has any information about the incidents to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000  or report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au

“Detectives would like to remind the public it is important to be vigilant when it comes to personal safety and the risks associated with meeting strangers in isolated areas after engaging with them,” the police said.

Police have urged that if there was anyone else who has been a victim of a similar attack, they can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. The WA police have also pointed to their resource for advice on online dating.

This comes a day after Federal Government report has recommended that social media services like Facebook, Tinder, Grindr, Twitter and Google start requiring all users to verify their online profiles with 100 points of ID, a call that has been meet with scepticism from the IT community. With one person going by the online name of Robert Wills said “What about all those wallets are stolen each week, just because you have an ID does not mean that they are who they claim they are.” While on the other side victims of online bullying and trolling have called the move a step in the right direction by holding people accountable for their social media posts and messages.