Multiple Faces Detected
January 22nd, 2026
When you download the YouVersion Bible App, you might realize that it isn’t really meant for talking to someone unless you go out of your way to add friends. This might make you feel ultra-special when someone tries to add you on this Bible app since it’s mostly meant for reading the Bible, viewing religious videos, or creating religious plans for yourself. However, there’s a reason as to why someone would randomly want to add you on this app, and it isn’t what you think. Romance scams lurk in this app and pretend to be interested in you just to get their hands on your hard-earned money. Are you curious as to whether or not your falling for the YouVersion Bible romance scam? Keep scrolling to find out what to watch out for.
What is the YouVersion Bible App?
The YouVersion Bible App is a Bible app that allows you to read the Bible, watch religious videos, comment on friends’ bible activities, and create religious plans for yourself. It allows you to highlight sections of the Bible for your own studies and also has sections that help you manage anxiety, anger, stress, love, hope, and more. This app is completely free to all Christian users with no subscriptions or advertisements needed.
While this app is helpful to many Christians out there, it is also a breeding ground for a plethora of scammers. While you can’t chat directly on the app, you can still make friends and comment on their posts. Because scammers can add random people and comment on their activity, they still have a method of contacting people and convincing them to continue conversations on outside apps, such as WhatsApp or Google Hangouts.
How Do Scammers Use Religion to Scam Their Victims?
To a scammer, scamming people out of money is their job. That is how they make their money so that they can live a comfortable lifestyle. Because of this, they will do whatever it takes to scam innocent victims out of their hard-earned money. They will learn different interests, hobbies, and religions that their victims are interested in. Scammers know that if they learn everything about the Christian religion, they can catch their victims off-guard when they drain their victims’ bank accounts.
Scammers know that people who are of the Christian faith usually have the best intentions and wouldn’t want to do anything to harm others. Therefore, if a scammer pretends to be a Christian, people won’t think that they are only after their money. They will think that the scammer has a good heart since they have faith in God and Jesus Christ and also know the Bible by heart. However, they only memorize the Bible to make their victims think they have the best intentions so that victims will believe in their excuses and send them money.
How the YouVersion Bible Romance Scam Works
Romance scammers comment on an activity or their friendship on their feed, telling their victims how beautiful or handsome they look. They tell their victims they would like to get to know them more outside the app and invite them to chat with them on apps such as WhatsApp or Google Hangouts. The victim agrees and the scammers their conversation with the victim on another app.
The scammer quotes Bible verses, prays with the victim, and makes the victim feel like they really care for them in order to reel them in their trap. At first, the scammer claims that they only need a tiny bit of money for food, and the victim gives them the money thinking they are helping.
Then, the scammer asks for more money, claiming that there is a job emergency, a hospital visit, or some other emergency that requires a large sum of money. That’s where victims lose thousands of dollars, thinking that they are helping someone in need only to find out that they are giving away all their funds to someone who has been lying to them. In some cases, victims even give out their personal information to them only to be left as victims of identity fraud.
How to Avoid the YouVersion Bible Romance Scam
- Don’t give out your personal or financial information to anyone that you meet online.
- Don’t send money to anyone that you meet online.
- If someone that you don’t know adds you randomly on the Bible app and starts a conversation with you, this is a huge red flag.
- If someone asks to chat with you on a different app, then don’t do it. The only reason scammers chat with you on a different app is because they don’t want their profile deleted on the Bible app.
- Be wary of someone that you meet online who consistently talks about the Bible, God, and Jesus Christ.
- Be wary of anyone who has grammar errors and spelling mistakes.
- Report any scam that you were a part of to the FTC.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You!
At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you have encountered the YouVersion Bible romance scam. If you were involved in a scam, make sure to report it to the FTC as well.
