This paper examines the dual role of digital dating platforms, particularly Grindr, as both infrastructures of queer connection and sites of targeted victimization. While early scholarship emphasized the emancipatory potential of digital communication, emerging evidence highlights how platform affordances such as geolocation, persistent profiles, and rapid interaction can be exploited for harassment, extortion, and violence. Drawing on interviews, case analyses, and cross-national comparisons across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, the study identifies patterns of app-facilitated crime, including precision targeting, rapid trust-building, and the weaponization of personal information. These harms are not incidental but are structured through the interaction of platform design, user norms, and institutional responses. The findings challenge binary narratives of digital utopia versus dystopia, arguing instead that vulnerability is systematically produced within platform environments. Addressing these risks requires proactive design interventions, stronger institutional coordination, and a critical reassessment of platform responsibility in shaping user safety.