Romance fraudsters, also known as romance scammers, are individuals who exploit the emotions and trust of unsuspecting victims by creating fictitious romantic relationships.
We tend to think of them mainly operating on dating websites and social media platforms where they carefully construct fake identities to lure their targets. But we mustn’t forget that romance fraudsters can exist in the real world too, not just online – The primary aim of these fraudsters is financial gain, but the consequences of their actions extend far beyond monetary loss, inflicting deep emotional and psychological scars on their victims.
The Modus Operandi of a Romance Fraudster
A romance fraudster typically begins by creating a compelling online profile, complete with attractive photos and a captivating backstory. They may claim to be a successful professional, often in a field that requires extensive travel or prolonged periods away from home, such as the military, engineering, or international business. This provides a convenient excuse for why they cannot…
Catfish and scammers come in all shapes and sizes…
…and with various levels of sophistication.
I could write an entire book just on this one subject, but my aim here is to give you the awareness and the tools needed to notice the red-flags and to check out these suspicious profiles.
How to Identify Romance Scammers: A Comprehensive Guide
Online dating and social media apps give people many opportunities to connect and form meaningful relationships. However, it has also opened the door for romance scammers – individuals who exploit others’ emotions and trust for financial gain. Identifying these scammers is crucial to protecting oneself and others from falling victim to their deceitful schemes. Here are some practical steps and tips to help identify romance scammers.
1. Scrutinise Their Profile
Too Good to Be True: Scammers often create profiles that seem almost perfect. They might use overly attractive photos and claim impressive…
Sextortion is a form of blackmail in which individuals are threatened with the release of their intimate images, videos, or personal information unless they comply with certain demands. These demands typically involve providing more explicit content, paying a sum of money, or performing other degrading acts. The crime can occur through various online platforms, including social media, dating apps, email, or even video chat services. The impact on victims of sextortion is profound and far-reaching, affecting their emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
The Mechanics of Sextortion
Sextortion often begins with perpetrators establishing a relationship with their victims, gaining their trust, and then convincing them to share intimate images or engage in explicit video chats. Perpetrators frequently disguise themselves using fake profiles, pretending to be someone they are not. Once the victims are lured into sharing compromising material, the perpetrators reveal their true intentions, demanding money or further explicit content under the threat of exposing those images to the family and friends of the victim…
Romance fraudsters, also known as romance scammers, are individuals who exploit the emotions and trust of unsuspecting victims by creating fictitious romantic relationships.
We tend to think of them mainly operating on dating websites and social media platforms where they carefully construct fake identities to lure their targets. But we mustn’t forget that romance fraudsters can exist in the real world too, not just online – The primary aim of these fraudsters is financial gain, but the consequences of their actions extend far beyond monetary loss, inflicting deep emotional and psychological scars on their victims.
The Modus Operandi of a Romance Fraudster
A romance fraudster typically begins by creating a compelling online profile, complete with attractive photos and a captivating backstory. They may claim to be a successful professional, often in a field that requires extensive travel or prolonged periods away from home, such as the military, engineering, or international business. This provides a convenient excuse for why they cannot meet in person.
Once contact is established, the fraudster invests significant time and effort into building a relationship with their victim. They express genuine interest, shower their target with compliments, and share fabricated personal stories to foster a sense of intimacy and trust. Over time, the fraudster’s messages become more frequent and affectionate, creating the illusion of a deep, emotional connection.
After securing the victim’s trust, the fraudster introduces a crisis scenario that necessitates financial assistance or an amazing financial opportunity. This could be an emergency medical expense, a business deal gone wrong, a travel-related mishap or an investment opportunity with amazing growth. In the case of the crisis scenarios, the fraudster pleads for help, often promising to repay the money once the crisis is resolved. Desperate to help their beloved, the victim complies, unaware that they are being deceived.
The Emotional and Financial Toll on Victims
The impact of romance fraud on victims is profound and multifaceted; financially, victims may lose substantial amounts of money, sometimes their entire life savings. The deception can continue for months or even years, with fraudsters continually inventing new crises to extract more funds. Often, when finally exposed, the fraudster will tell their victims they will return the money, but there is a ‘fee’ or cost to release it, for example asking for a further £500 or so – which, of course, is another lie and neither the original money or the ‘fee’ is ever seen again.
This financial devastation can lead to long-term economic hardship, affecting victims’ ability to pay bills, support their families, or save for the future.
Emotionally, the betrayal is extremely damaging, victims often experience a range of negative emotions, including shock, anger, shame, and grief. The realisation that their romantic relationship was a sham can shatter their self-esteem and trust in others. Many victims feel humiliated and blame themselves for being deceived, leading to feelings of isolation and depression.
The psychological impact can also be severe. Victims may develop anxiety disorders, suffer from post-traumatic stress, or become wary of forming new relationships. The emotional trauma can be particularly intense for those who invested significant time and emotion into the relationship, only to discover that it was all a lie.
Organised Crime
We do tend to think of a romance fraudster working alone. Whilst this is true in many cases, there are also large criminal gangs running romance fraud and investment scams as a full-time business, with hundreds of people working for them carrying out the fraud – these workers themselves are often victims of human trafficking, being forced through fear, and other restrictions, to work for the criminals. One such group in Dubai was recently exposed by Tech Support Scam specialist, Jim Browning, I strongly recommend watching his YouTube video here in which he exposes a gang who have four eight-story buildings full of workers carrying out the scams, and they even have a female model on staff who would participate in live video chats with victims, to make the deception even more believable.
The Wider Social Consequences
The ripple effects of romance fraud extend beyond individual victims. Families and friends of victims often bear witness to their loved one’s suffering and may become involved in attempts to recover lost funds or provide emotional support. This can strain relationships and create additional stress for those trying to help.
Preventive Measures and Support for Victims
Preventing romance fraud requires vigilance and awareness. Individuals should be cautious about sharing personal information online and sceptical of requests for money from people they have not met in person. Educating the public about the tactics used by romance fraudsters can help potential victims recognise warning signs early and avoid falling prey to scams.
For those who have already been victimised, support is crucial. Counselling and support groups can provide a safe space for victims to share their experiences and begin the healing process. Legal and financial advice can also help victims navigate the aftermath of the fraud and rebuild their lives.
In conclusion, romance fraudsters are master manipulators who exploit the vulnerabilities of their victims for financial gain. The impact on victims is devastating, encompassing financial loss, emotional trauma, and psychological distress. Awareness, education, and support are essential in combating this insidious form of fraud and helping victims recover from its damaging effects.
If you suspect that you may be the target of, or victim of a fraudster, we have several articles on this site in the How To section that show you how you can check their profiles out and make a well-informed decision.
If you believe that you may have sent money to a fraudster, you should report it to the authorities using the links below and read our seperate article on the steps you can take to see if you can get any of your money back, here
Always Report Fraudsters to the Authorities
Why should you always report fraudsters to the authorities? Firstly, it could help protect other people from falling victim to these criminals if they are caught or deterred from doing it again and secondly, because there could be a chance that all or some of the money you have sent the fraudsters could be recovered in the future. The country where you live will have their own law enforcement or authority to report the fraudsters to, here are the main ones for the UK and the USA;
Catfish and scammers come in all shapes and sizes…
…and with various levels of sophistication.
I could write an entire book just on this one subject, but my aim here is to give you the awareness and the tools needed to notice the red-flags and to check out these suspicious profiles.
How to Identify Romance Scammers: A Comprehensive Guide
Online dating and social media apps give people many opportunities to connect and form meaningful relationships. However, it has also opened the door for romance scammers – individuals who exploit others’ emotions and trust for financial gain. Identifying these scammers is crucial to protecting oneself and others from falling victim to their deceitful schemes. Here are some practical steps and tips to help identify romance scammers.
1. Scrutinise Their Profile
Too Good to be True: Scammers often create profiles that seem almost perfect. They might use overly attractive photos and claim impressive achievements or high-status jobs. If the profile seems too good to be true, it’s worth investigating further.
Inconsistent Information: Look for inconsistencies in their profile information. Scammers often make mistakes when fabricating details. Pay attention to any discrepancies in their stories, job history, or personal details.
Celebrities are NOT in Love with You: This may come as no surprise, but celebrities do not randomly contact people, or fans, and strike up relationships with them. I cannot stress this enough – no matter how convincing it seems, it is a fake profile, a fraudster out to scam you. I have personally investigated cases where victims have genuinely believed that they are in an online relationship with a celebrity and have sent large amounts of money to the likes of ‘Tom Cruise’, ‘Keanu Reeves’ and ‘Post Malone’. In one case, after speaking to the police, the victim still would not believe that the celebrity she had fallen for was actually a fraudster – that’s how convincing the scammer was.
Photo Clues: Look at the details in their photos for clues – not just their face, but their clothing and objects that don’t match what they are telling you;
For example, look at the type of electrical sockets on the wall, is there a ceiling fan, is there any writing on signs, shops and posters that you can see? Do these items match those of the country where the fraudster claims to be? What else is in view in the photos? Are any buildings in view? Are cars driving on the correct side of the road? Are the photos generated by Ai (artificial intelligence)?, etc.
We have a seperate article which explains in detail how you can check and analyse their photos, here.
2. Analyse Communication Patterns
Fast Progression: Romance scammers tend to move the relationship forward quickly, this is called Love Bombing. They may express strong emotions and a desire for a serious relationship within a short period. No matter how much you would like it to be true, we all know that genuine relationships typically develop at a more gradual pace. Several of the scripts that the fraudsters follow have set timescales and goals, such as sometimes waiting two weeks before mentioning anything to do with money matters.
Moving Messaging to WhatsApp or other Platform: Dating sites automatically monitor the messages between members to look for specific words and phrases that fraudsters use. The fraudsters know this and are usually very keen to move you on to WhatsApp or similar messaging platforms so that they don’t get identified and have their account shut down by the dating site.
Avoiding Personal Interaction: Scammers often have excuses for why they can’t meet in person, such as being in the military, working on an oil rig, or traveling for business. Be cautious if they consistently avoid video calls or face-to-face meetings.
Poor Grammar and Language: Many romance scammers operate from non-English speaking countries. Look out for unusual phrases, poor grammar, or language that doesn’t match their supposed background. Religious terms are very often a red flag – using phrases like ‘praise the Lord’, talking about God, the church or Jesus are ways that the fraudsters try to make themselves look more trustworthy.
3. Detect Financial Red Flags
Requests for Money: This is the most significant red flag. Scammers eventually need to ask for money, often citing emergencies like medical issues, legal troubles, or travel mishaps. Be highly suspicious if someone you’ve never met in person asks for financial assistance. Don’t under any circumstances send them money and don’t even consider taking out a loan to help them out. It’s guaranteed to be a scam.
Inconsistent Financial Stories: Pay attention to their financial stories. If they claim to be wealthy or have a high-paying job but frequently talk about financial problems, this is a red flag. Also watch out for them talking about their amazing investment opportunities, sending you screenshots of their fake apps and bank accounts to show you how much money they have made in such a short time.
Crypto and Bitcoin: There are many types of crypto currency, with Bitcoin being the best known. Fraudsters like to have their victims send them money using crypto currency as it is harder to trace and can’t easily be recovered in the same way that a bank transaction could be.
Western Union and iTunes Gift Cards: A little bit old-school nowadays, but still very prevalent is the fraudster asking for you to send cash via an International money service, with Western Union being the most popular way. Also, they may ask for you to use gift cards to send money, such as Apple’s iTunes gift cards – they don’t need you to send the gift cards to them, they will instead ask you to give them the code number from the gift cards, this allows them to remotely cash it in.
Insurance Fraud: Growing in popularity with the fraudsters is insurance fraud. Once the fraudster realises that you don’t have any money, or they have already taken everything you had, they will suggest that you take out an insurance policy on something and then make a false claim against it. Usually they will tell you that it is a win-win situation as it helps them and doesn’t cost you anything. Except that you would have just committed insurance fraud and could end up in court and black-listed from getting insurance in the future
4. Do Your Research
Reverse Image Search: Traditionally, web sites like Google Reverse Image Search, Yandex, FaceCheck and PimEyes can be used to check if their profile pictures appear elsewhere on the internet. A Reverse Image Search is where you upload a photo to the one of these online search engines and it will scour the Internet for matching images. Scammers often use photos stolen from websites or social media accounts, and this method can reveal where they took them from. However, Reverse Image Searching is getting less reliable nowadays with Artificial Intelligence (Ai) being able to create photos and videos from scratch. See our separate How To post on this subject here.
Search Their Details: Perform a thorough online search of their name, user ID, email address, telephone number, job details, and other personal information they provide. If their information doesn’t add up or you find reports of others being scammed by someone with the same details, proceed with caution. You can usually do this simply using Google, but make sure to enclose the text in quotes, like this “mrfraudster@mailprovider.com” or “+63 7654 34567”, enclosing the information in quotes ensures that Google searches for that exact phrase and not just search for parts of it.
5. Trust Your Instincts and Seek the Opinion of Others
Listen to Your Gut: If something feels off about the relationship, trust your instincts. Scammers are skilled manipulators, but your intuition can often sense when something isn’t right.
Get a Second Opinion: Discuss your online relationship with trusted friends or family members and listen to what they have to say. They might notice red flags that you’ve overlooked or provide a different perspective on the situation – it can be much easier for them to see, as they aren’t emotionally involved.
6. What if it’s a Real Person?
If the suspected fraudster is a real person, you’ve actually met them and gone on dates with them, then it becomes very difficult to know what they are up to until they show their true colours. At some point the fraudster will say they need money for something, perhaps a ‘short-term loan’ supposedly until a business deal is completed or until problems with his bank are sorted out. Asking for money may well be the first red flag that the victim sees.
Most people remember the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, where three victims were collectively conned out £600,000 by a man they had met through a dating app; Shimon Hayut. The three victims had gone on multiple dates and luxury holidays with Hayut, actually seeing him with the appearance of being wealthy and leading a very exciting lifestyle – but it all turned out to be a scam, with Hayut using money from his previous victims to fund the holidays and lifestyle with his current victim.
At the time, there is very little his victims could have done in that situation to find out he was a conman. With hindsight each of them could have carried out background checks and maybe it would have flagged up that Hayut wasn’t actually, as he claimed, the son and heir of the billionaire Lev Leviev, of LLD Diamonds. Simon Hayut had even changed his name to Simon Leviev to gain credibility.
7. Things You Can Do To Check Them Out
Our two articles linked below will show you how to check somebody’s photos and profile information in order to help you identify whether they are a fraudster or not.
Sextortion is a form of blackmail in which individuals are threatened with the release of their intimate images, videos, or personal information unless they comply with certain demands. These demands typically involve providing more explicit content, paying a sum of money, or performing other degrading acts. The crime can occur through various online platforms, including social media, dating apps, email, or even video chat services. The impact on victims of sextortion is profound and far-reaching, affecting their emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
The Mechanics of Sextortion
Sextortion often begins with perpetrators establishing a relationship with their victims, gaining their trust, and then convincing them to share intimate images or engage in explicit video chats. Perpetrators frequently disguise themselves using fake profiles, pretending to be someone they are not. Once the victims are lured into sharing compromising material, the perpetrators reveal their true intentions, demanding money or further explicit content under the threat of exposing those images to the family and friends of the victim.
Some sextortion schemes are orchestrated by organised crime groups who use advanced techniques such as hacking into personal devices, phishing schemes to collect sensitive information, or exploiting vulnerabilities in social media and dating apps. The best known of these organised crime groups is known as the “Yahoo Boys”, called this because in their earlier days they used free Yahoo email accounts to create the fake profiles. We have a seperate article on the Yahoo Boys, here.
The Psychological Impact on Victims
The emotional toll of sextortion on victims is significant. Feelings of shame, guilt, and fear are common, as victims worry about the potential fallout if the explicit content is released. This fear of exposure can lead to anxiety and depression, as victims feel trapped and powerless in the situation. The sense of violation and betrayal can also damage their self-esteem and trust in others, making it difficult to form future relationships.
Victims may also experience intense stress due to the constant threats and the need to keep the situation hidden from family and friends. This secrecy can lead to isolation and a sense of helplessness. In severe cases, the psychological impact can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with victims reliving the trauma through flashbacks and nightmares.
Unfortunately, nowadays you can read in the news about cases where this has all been too much for the victims and tragically they have felt that they have no choice but to take their own life.
Whilst we at Real or Catfish are not experts qualified in helping people who have reached such a desperate point, we have previously managed to help some victims find an acceptable way out of these situations – more than likely because on those occasions it had been solo fraudsters behind the sextortion and they had a fear of being identified and arrested.
The Social and Financial Consequences
The social consequences of sextortion can be perceived by the victim as being devastating – if the explicit content is released, a victim feels like it can lead to public humiliation and damage to the victim’s personal and professional reputation. They often fear the judgment and stigma from friends, family and acquaintances – it can cause victims to withdraw from social interactions, affecting their relationships and social life.
Financially, victims may face significant losses if they comply with the perpetrator’s demands for money. Repeated payments can lead to financial hardship, and there is no guarantee that the perpetrator will cease their threats after receiving payment.
Legal and Support Measures
Addressing sextortion requires a multi-faceted approach involving providing support for victims, legal measures and awareness campaigns. Many countries have laws against sextortion and related cybercrimes, but enforcement can be challenging due to the anonymity and cross-border nature of the internet. Victims are encouraged to report the crime to law enforcement agencies, which can provide assistance and investigate the perpetrators.
For under 18’s, the Take It Down service is extremely useful for having intimate images and video removed from the Internet https://takeitdown.ncmec.org and for over 18’s https://stopncii.org. Very importantly, these services do not upload your images to their servers, instead they create a numerical hash on your phone or computer, which is mathematically unique to your image or video. Only the numerical hash is uploaded to these services and not your actual images or video.
Support systems play a crucial role in helping victims cope with the aftermath of sextortion. Counselling and therapy can help victims process their emotions and regain a sense of control over their lives. Support groups, both online and offline, can provide a safe space for victims to share their experiences and receive encouragement from others who have gone through similar situations.
Prevention and Awareness
Prevention and awareness are key to combating sextortion. Educating the public about the risks of sharing intimate content online and the tactics used by perpetrators can help potential victims recognise and avoid such schemes. Encouraging safe online practices, such as using strong passwords, enabling privacy settings, and being cautious about sharing personal information, can reduce the risk of falling prey to sextortion.
If you have fallen victim to a romance fraudster, a scammer or a sextortion racket it is important not to feel isolated, humiliated or embarrassed – fraudsters are very good at manipulating people, they frequently operate in very large groups with many years of experience. It literally can happen to anyone.
Did you know that in 2023 alone 57,000 Americans were Scammed for over $638.6 million by fraudsters, not only have these victims been left out of pocket, but they’ve also been left humiliated, frightened, and heartbroken. Additionally, in the FBI’s 2022 IC3 report, it highlighted a 183 percent increase in the amount lost to crypto investment scams – a massive $2.57 billion in 2022 alone.
As a private investigator, I have taken on many cases from business fraud and crypto investment scams through to romance fraud, with victims having lost amounts varying between £15,000 and £1.2 million. Usually we can trace the scammer, but recovering funds can be difficult, particularly if the scammer is in a country which does not have a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) in place with the country that their victim resides in.
Have you just transferred money to a fraudster? If you have literally sent money today or within the last few hours or so then call your bank immediately as they may be able to stop the transaction. Stop reading this and go call your bank now, ask to speak to their fraud team.
Make sure you call the number printed on the back of your credit or debit card and not a phone number in any emails you have received, in case that email was faked by the fraudster and has their number instead.
If you have lost money to a fraudster then I’m afraid that there is no simple answer when it comes to recovering your funds. These are the steps you should take and with each is some additional detail about what can be tried. (I am based in the UK, so much of this information will apply to UK residents and regulations, but other countries may have similar solutions.)
1] Has the fraudster had remote access to your computer? If so turn it off immediately, or turn your Internet/WiFi router off to stop the computer from connecting to the Internet. (An IT professional will need to examine your computer to remove the remote access app and any other backdoor/viruses the fraudster may have installed).
2] Phone your bank – the bank you used to send the money – and speak to their fraud team right away. Use the phone number printed on the back of your credit or debit card. Tell the fraud team what has happened and ask them to try and stop the payment going through. (see below regarding APP fraud and the Contingent Reimbursement Model).
3] Inform the police. Realistically the police won’t be able to do an awful lot at this stage but it is an important step in this process. If you have fraud insurance cover (see 4 below) then you will need a crime reference number from the police to go with your insurance claim. Make sure you call your local police department directly or dial 101, and not the emergency services phone number (999/911 etc). The police will give you a crime reference number and will more than likely ask you to report it to Action Fraud if you are in the UK https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime
Another good reason to inform the police of the crime is that if the fraudster(s) are caught some point in the future and some or all of the funds are recovered by the authorities, the funds could be returned back to their victims.
4] Do you have insurance that covers losses due to fraud? If so call the insurance provider and tell them exactly what has happened. Note: most home insurance policies don’t include fraud or cyber crime cover by default. Business insurance often does include cyber crime cover, and if you are a business who is certified under the UK’s Cyber Essentials scheme, then you probably took the free cyber insurance as part of that scheme.
5] Sign up for a free credit monitoring service: The fraudster may now have your bank details or card details, they more than likely have your name and contact detail too. This could be enough for them to try and take out loans or apply for credit cards in your name. Signing up for a free credit monitoring service is a good way to help you keep a look out for anything like this. Some examples of companies offering free credit monitoring services are Experian and Credit Karma
What Can You Try To Get Your Money Back?
I don’t want to say ‘and now wait to hear from your bank, the police and insurance company’, but that’s more or less where things stand at this point. However there are things which you can do that may help;
Chase your bank, and keep chasing your bank. It can take them 30 days to come back to you regarding the initial part of their investigation, but if they were able to stop the payment going through then you should hear back the same day or following day.
If you sent the money via your bank, it is known as Authorised Push Payment fraud (APP). In the UK there is the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM), which is designed to reimburse victims of APP fraud – not all banks have signed up to this initiative yet, but most of the major ones have. In 2022, only two thirds of those making a claim for APP under the CRM were reimbursed, so you may have to keep pushing your bank in relation to this.
Crypto / Bitcoin: If you sent money using Bitcoin or any other crypto currency it is very difficult to recover. Firstly, if you initially transferred the money from your bank to your crypto exchange account, then you should talk to your bank about Authorised Push Payment fraud as that is what it is. Our findings with this is that the bank will say APP doesn’t apply because you sent it from one of your accounts (the bank) to another of your accounts (your account at the crypto exchange). But keep pushing your bank on this as crypto exchanges aren’t signed up to the Contingent Reimbursement Model.
Many types of crypto transactions can be traced easily – the wallet ID’s are publicly visible on the blockchain and you can see where the transaction went and follow its path. However without police involvement there is no way to see who owns those wallets, so I won’t go in to any further detail here as if you are not familiar with blockchain then what you see can be a bit misleading.
If you sent money via PayPal then you should open a dispute with PayPal right away. Make sure to emphasise that you are a victim of crime (fraud) and give them the crime reference number obtained from the police. PayPal can be a bit slow to respond, and you should bear in mind that the fraudster may have been using somebody else’s PayPal account that they have hacked – in which case PayPal might also need pushing hard to get a positive result.
If you sent money via a money transfer service, such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union then there is really nothing you can do I’m afraid. If the fraudster is ever caught they would more than likely have spent the cash by then. The same applies if you paid them with gift cards, such as the commonly requested iTunes gift card.
Can I Help You as a Private Investigator?
Maybe. My main concern here is cost. At this point you would have lost a significant sum to fraudsters and hiring a private investigator can be expensive. However if the fraud involves significant amounts of money and you would like to find out as much as you can, then we can look at taking on your case.
With about half a day of our time, we can run traces on the scammer(s), look at where your money has gone, etc. and make an assessment as to whether a full-blown investigation would be worthwhile.
Bear in mind that an initial check and trace takes half a day and would be £480 including VAT, and larger investigations can cost several thousand pounds. Specialist Investigations is where you can contact us if you would like us to take a look at your case. It is run by myself and former police detective, Mark Williams-Thomas.
Until recently, the profile photographs used by fraudsters on their fake profiles were almost always stolen from the Internet; usually from online searches for models, porn actors or military personal. There is a lot of information in photographs that can help you ascertain whether the individual is Real or Catfish, i.e. a fraudster.
These stolen photographs are easy to check as you can take a screenshot of them, crop them to remove unnecessary elements and then use a search engine or special website to carry out a ‘reverse image search’ – this is explained fully further below, but it involves uploading the cropped screenshots to a site such as Google Reverse Image Search, Yandex, FaceCheck or PimEyes and those sites will look for matching images on the Internet, revealing where else they are used – where the fraudster stole them from.
In 2019 a website launched called This Person Does Not Exist, it was the first website to use Ai to generate unique photos that looked like a real person. It quickly became popular with scammers as a way to get simple profile photos for their fake accounts. Today Ai has progressed a lot further and now there are quite a few websites which can create detailed, realistic photos and videos of non-existent people and, of course, the fraudsters take advantage of these sites to create the images used on their fake profiles. Crucially, because the photos and videos created with Ai are unique, it renders a reverse image search almost pointless as the images won’t exist elsewhere else – except possibly if another victim of the fraudster has posted the same photos to a dating forum, Reddit, or social media to warn others.
When I carry out my investigations I have a multitude of specialist tools and databases available to me, including what is knows an Open-Source Intelligence Tools (OSINT). One of the free to use tools is called Geospy which uses Ai to tell you where a photograph was taken. It is still a developing technology, but it is usually quite accurate to city or country level.
What clues are in a photograph?
The obvious things to look at are the person themselves. Do their photographs look like they match with what the person has told you and how they describe themselves? Are they quite attractive, successful and wealthy looking? This is usually the first clue with any fraudster profiles.
Think about what else you can see in their photos, what objects are visible and do they match with what you’ve been told, here are some examples to get you under way;
1] What are they wearing? Military uniforms are very often a red flag as they are a favourite of fraudsters, do a Google image search to see if the uniform is that of the military in the country where they claim to live. In general, do any clothes they are wearing in the photos match with their work or lifestyle? Is there any writing on their t-shirt or jacket which might indicate where they work?
2] Look at the type of electrical sockets on the wall. Does the fraudster claim to live in Europe, but the sockets on the wall are north American? You can easily carry out a search for photos of electrical sockets used in each country.
3] Is there a ceiling fan? If the fraudster claims to live somewhere with a colder climate, like the UK, then having a ceiling fan in their living room or bedroom is something you wouldn’t expect to see.
4] Is there a calendar or a poster on the wall, can you see any writing on street signs? Do these items match the language and spellings used by the country where the fraudster claims to be?
5] What else is in view in the photos? Are any buildings in view? Are cars driving on the correct side of the road? This is where Geospy would be very helpful.
6] Are the photos generated by Ai (artificial intelligence)? At the moment Ai is not perfect, sometimes it gets fingers wrong – 6 fingers on one hand or strangely angled fingers is quite common. Hair and skin are not yet perfect, if you look closely at the skin then it often looks like a filter has been applied a bit too strongly and the stray ends of hair don’t quite look right.
If you don’t know how to take a screenshot, then read these articles before continuing below:
As mentioned above, there are several ways that you can upload a screenshot of the fraudster’s profile photos to see if they have been taken from elsewhere, some methods are free and some are a paid service.
The best way to know for sure is to reverse image search all of the fraudster’s photos, not just a single photo, as often the searches can miss a match. And try to use more than one search engine to do the checks, don’t rely on just one of the search engines. These are the main search engines that I would recommend;
1] Google’s Reverse Image Search: Have you noticed the little camera icon in Google’s search box? Click on that to upload a photo. Google image search is no longer as good as it was, but it is still an important method. In 2022 Google changed their image search to be based on Google Lens which is more orientated towards shopping than reverse image searches. For phone users, the Google app also has Google Lens built in. Once your photo has loaded in to Google it shows you shopping results, but there is a button above your photo saying “Find Image Source”, click on that and see if the photo is found on any websites where it shouldn’t be, and with different names against it. https://www.google.co.uk/imghp click on the camera icon to upload a photo.
2] Yandex – the Russian search engine: Another search engine similar to Google, but Russian and with very different search results https://yandex.com/images/ click on the camera icon to upload a photo.
3] FaceCheck: A paid service but for free you can see the search results, just without the ability to click down and see any additional details, such as the website the image was found on. https://facecheck.id My experience with this one is that you get a lot of unwanted results of similar looking people, these are called ‘False Positives’ and can be misleading
4] PimEyes: Like FaceCheck, this is a paid service and the results can be seen for free without the ability to click and look deeper. It costs £14.99 to unlock the search results if you feel you need to do so. https://pimeyes.com this is my preferred reverse search engine as it is much more accurate than the others.
5] Geolocation with Geospy: I’ve mentioned Geospy already, it is one of the few geolocation search engines available at the moment and I have found it to be very accurate to country-level and quite accurate to nearest-city-level. And it is free to use Geospy
By now you should have enough knowledge to confidently take screenshots of profile photos, crop them to remove the unwanted parts, analyse what you see in them and upload them to search engines to see where else they exist. Remember though, that a genuine person will have their images online too – you will need to look at the results to decide if you’ve found the real person’s social media accounts or the fraudster’s.
Depending on how much you have interacted with the potential fraudster, you may have a lot of personal information to check, or you may have just what is shown on their profiles – either way, checking personal information is fairly straightforward. It is crucial that you must show a lot of self control if doing this and be aware that anything other than a quick one-off check could be construed as stalking or harassment on your part or expose that you have been looking – it concerns me that much that I almost didn’t include this article on the website.
There are quite a few different types of information that you can check out, I have listed the more common items below and what you can do to check each one;
Full Name and User ID: Use a couple of different search engines to search their name and user ID, i.e. try Google, Yahoo or Bing, making sure you put their name in quotes so the name is searched for as a phrase, such as “Steve Fraudman” rather than just Steve Fraudman. If a well known fraudster then the name they are using might show up in forum discussions between other victims or in newspaper articles.
Email Address and Phone Number: Perform an online search, Google should be sufficient, of their email address and telephone number if you have them. Make sure to enclose the text in quotes, like this “mrfraudster@mailprovider.com” or “+63 7654 34567”, as enclosing the information in quotes ensures that Google searches for that exact phrase and not just search for parts of it. What you are looking for here is whether either show up on any websites or forums discussing fraud.
Social Media: Try searching various social media platforms for their name. Generally we think of Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) but there are plenty of other social media platforms if they live in other countries, such as WeChat, QQ and Weibo in China, VK and OK in Russia, and so forth. If you find a matching social media account then look at their posts to see what they post about, how old is their account? How far back do their posts go? If the account is new or a few months old then it could well be fake too.
LinkedIn: If you have a LinkedIn account then be careful when searching for somebody on LinkedIn or when clicking on search engine results that show LinkedIn because by default LinkedIn will show a person who has recently viewed their profile. To avoid this if you have LinkedIn, go to Settings & Privacy, Visibility and Profile Viewing Options and set profile viewing to Private Mode.
Don’t be a Stalker Yourself: I you are going to do these checks, then check just once and if you find red flags indicating they are a fake then move on and forget about the person. It is very possible that the fraudster has stolen someone’s identity and in your searching you have found the real person who actually has no idea what is going on.
It is important that you don’t contact them, or anyone that knows them, or their employer and don’t keep looking at their information as it could be misconstrued as harassment or stalking. It takes just two unwanted attempts to contact someone, or two repeat behaviours, to be considered stalking or harassment.
Their Work: If the suspected fraudster has told you where they work, then you may find them listed on their employer’s company website of social media sites if genuine. Just look though, do not reach out to the company or try to message anyone to find out as this too could be misconstrued as stalking.
I have reluctantly included this information because it is important for people to know how to protect themselves from potential fraudsters, but I cannot stress enough that you need to be very careful when doing this kind of background checking, or better still, if you have doubts about the person then it is preferable to just block them and forget them.
Statistically, most fraudsters tend come from countries where English is not the primary language. Because of that there are often red flags in the wording they have used on their profiles, and even more red flags could be discovered in messages you have exchanged with them.
When reading their messages and profile information, ask yourself if their grammar and spelling is in keeping with the successful or wealthy image they are presenting of themselves, or their education and career. Does something seem not quite right?
Use your own judgement, if it doesn’t feel right then and trust your gut – block them and walk away. Don’t confront them as they will, more often than not, become quite angry. Remember, they have had access to your photos, name and personal information too – blocking them without warning otherwise they may decide to copy your information and photos and use it themselves on another fake profile.
Larger groups of fraudsters (organised crime) have scripts to follow and because of that the same phrases can pop up again and again. As well as similar timeframes to start talking about money and investments.
Often you will find several fraudsters messaging you all saying quite similar things. The photo to the left is a page taken from a very detailed ‘instruction manual’ of an organised crime group in China responsible for a large amount what is known as a ‘Pig Butchering Scam’ – the type of romance fraud where they take time to build a relationship with the victim in order to scam the most amount of money from them.
The list below contains examples of some of the more common words and types of phrases that you may find them using. Phrases and terms of endearment that seem too loving and too soon, mentions of religion and charity work are also big red flags to watch out for.
My dear Darling My angel Babe
God fearing Blessed Sincere Serious Honest
Love of my life I’ve fallen for you I can’t wait to be with you We’re so alike I can’t video call
Praise the Lord (or God) Mentioning Jesus Saying they are going to church Saying they work for a charity
Trust me I’ll pay you back My bank account is frozen My work/charity has an event and I can’t afford a dress/suit to attend
It’s Guaranteed Low Risk, High Returns Game Changing Technology This is a New/Exclusive Investment Opportunity I earn a living from my Crypto/Bitcoin investments We have a new investment fund/app, I can get you in early if you like
This is just a small sample of phrases and words used, but it should be enough to give you a good starting point.
Realistically a fraudster needs to lead the conversation in to talking about money, that’s when you know for certain you are in the sights of a scammer.