A notorious burglar who targets Silicon Valley startups has been found — using Tinder.
The cofounders of a startup called BuildZoom created a Tinder profile for the female intruder after recording footage on hidden cameras of her rifling through the company's office equipment.
The Tinder profile shows a snapshot of the footage and comes with the tagline: "I rob offices in SF. $5,000 reward for identifying me."
The woman seems to have a habit of breaking into startups in the Bay Area.
BuildZoom's Tinder plan was preceded by months of searching, all fruitless. The company posted photos and information on its blog and used more traditional methods to track her down. It led to widespread coverage but no solid leads.
But it took only a few days to snag a lead using the smartphone dating app.
The BuildZoom team came up with the idea of using Tinder this month and created a fake profile on Tuesday. Business Insider previously reported that the woman had been named "Lauren" and imagined as 28 years old. Two days later, BuildZoom cofounder David Peterson tells us the suspect has been identified after someone using the app recognised her. He adds there's a warrant out for the woman on a separate issue, and the police will question her regarding the BuildZoom thefts once she's in custody. Peterson notes he'll pay the reward once there is an arrest.
"We caught her — and it was a result of Tinder!" Peterson says. "It is pretty funny that Tinder actually worked, although I had a feeling it would. After all, a ton of people use it."
As of Thursday, Peterson and his colleagues were waiting for the police to make a formal arrest. He says the authorities have both a name and a photo.
He adds: "I'm 100% sure it is her. I don't like making absolute statements like that unless I am sure. I am, though. It's her."
We'll update this post if the police make an arrest.
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