Safe, and actually private
Romance scams aimed at people over 60 caused $584 million in reported losses in 2025, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Nearly every one of them starts with a romantic opening. The Porchlight Club is women-only and platonic, so we removed the entire category of risk rather than trying to police it.
How we keep this women-only and safe
We don't ask for your driver's licence or passport, and we don't store anyone's government ID. We're not willing to hold documents like that on your behalf. Instead, joining is on your honor - women 55 and over - and we do the watching from our side.
- Every letter and every chat room message runs through our keyword guardrails before it sends - money requests, gift cards, wire transfers, crypto, romance and dating language, and contact details are all caught.
- When something trips the guardrails, the message stops and the member is shown a friendly note asking her to edit it. Nothing goes out until it's clean.
- Flagged messages come to us for review, so a pattern from one account gets noticed even if each message looks harmless on its own.
- Phone numbers, addresses and email addresses stay off the platform until you personally decide to share them with someone you trust.
- Reports are read within one business day, and we remove accounts the same day when something's wrong. No debate, no second chances for scam behaviour.
How moderation works
We don't read your private conversations. What we do is watch for certain phrases: scam language, requests for money, and contact details like phone numbers and addresses that shouldn't be shared on the platform. When the system spots one, the message is held and the sender is asked to edit and try again. We read every report within one business day, and we remove accounts the same day when something's wrong.
In other words: your letters are yours. Nobody on our side is sitting there reading them. A guardrail checks for a short list of words and patterns, and that's the only thing that can stop a letter from going through.
Community rules, short version
- Women 55 and over, on your honor. That's the whole door policy.
- No romance, no flirting, no matchmaking on anyone's behalf.
- No selling, no fundraising, no multi-level anything.
- Disagree freely. Be unkind once and you'll hear from us.
- What's said in Caregiving and Starting Over stays there.
Current scam alerts
Updated August 2026
“Grandchild in trouble” calls using cloned voices
A few seconds of audio is enough to imitate someone's voice now. If a call asks for bail or hospital money, hang up and ring that person back on the number you already have. Agree on a family code word this week.
Updated July 2026
Fake Club billing emails
Emails claiming your membership payment failed, asking for card details. We never ask for payment details by email. Sign in and check Billing instead.
Updated July 2026
Gift card requests from someone new
Anyone who brings up gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency is running a scam - no exceptions, however lovely her letters have been. Report her and we remove the account the same day.
Club staff will never ask you for money or gift cards
Not for shipping, not for a fee of any kind, not for a member in trouble. If anyone claiming to work here asks you for money, that person does not work here.
If someone asks you for money
- 1. Stop writing back. You owe no explanation and no goodbye.
- 2. Use the Report button at the top of the letter.
- 3. Send nothing - no money, no gift cards, no bank details, no photos.
- 4. If money already left your account, call your bank, then report it at ic3.gov.
- 5. Tell us even if you're embarrassed. Especially then. These schemes are built by professionals, and you would be far from the first.