Online dating is the current way for singles to meet new people, whether for friendship and socialization, casual dating, or serious long-term partnerships.
The problem with these websites is not everyone is authentic. Scammers take advantage of dating apps to target clients mostly in an effort to take money, meaning harm to the individuals.
These criminals will also use social sites like Skype, Facebook, and other networking media to make their messaging and email correspondence appear legitimate.
The thieves will use pictures in their profiles that they steal from real people in order to appear natural. It takes due diligence when searching profiles to do reverse image checks of photos when you question the legitimacy of an image.
It can verify whether a criminal has used the same photo for other attempts at scamming people.
How to do a reverse image lookup
In many scamming plots, an innocent individual can tell someone is fake by the profile picture. These are unnatural, either glamor shots or posed pictures instead of laughing and having a good time.
The ideal way to check a photo they believe might not be authentic is to do a reverse photo lookup. This will either show no results; actually, a good thing to let you know the profile picture is real.
Or it will show up all over the place in different profiles, under social media, telling you it was stolen. How you can do a reverse image lookup follows:
- Google reverse image lookup
- Using a device or computer, open a web browser
- Open “Google images“
- Then you will do a search by the image you have
- You will upload it
- Either browse or choose to file
- Select picture from the device
- Open or search by image
You can use other methods to search information you’ve obtained from the profile if you want to narrow down who the person might be even though they’re likely using stolen information. Let’s look.
Reverse phone lookup
Scammers and hackers are thinking of more ways to steal identities and take money from vulnerable people. The latest is using dating apps to entice potential love interests until they have them convinced they’re genuine and then siphon the information and usually money from the individual before the person has an idea of what’s actually happening.
It usually takes people having to explain to these people that the criminal is scamming them and not a legitimate romantic partner. That’s how brainwashed these thieves can make their victims.
If you notice minimal information on the profile, no posts, few comments on the posts and no responses to comments, no “about me,” and limited photographs, the individual is likely using the profile to scam people.
You can search the profile picture to ensure it’s legitimate, but if you have a phone number, this can narrow things down even further by using these tools, a reverse phone and text lookup service.
When you suspect someone is not “real,” you can search their mobile or phone number using a reverse phone lookup like the above options to see exactly where the phone number is coming from. You can also learn perhaps who the rightful owner is with maybe a name, social site profile, address, and even their age.
It’s possible to even leave messages with warnings for other users about what this person does as a scammer. The platform is a first step in finding either landline, mobile, or texting data.
Searching by social media site
Sometimes people believe they have found the ideal mate on a dating website, but they’re a bit unsure about the person’s authenticity and profile.
Taking the time to do a social site search is wise to validate that the individual is who they say they are. Most social networking sites can be located merely using a phone number.
Cybercriminals are aware that dating apps are becoming extremely popular as the new trend in socialization. The platforms are fun and convenient for everyone. The sites allow users to find out most of the mate’s information before ever reaching out via a message.
Rejection is not as painful in this medium since no one actually sees each other with true anonymity until there’s a genuine first meeting.
The sites do have the possibility for risk, however. Unstable individuals and cybercriminals run the gamut, and dishonesty is prevalent even among the legitimate crowd. Many people play it safe when engaging with others, but what do you do when you run into a fake
You do have methods at your disposal to validate someone’s identity or confirm that they’re lying. It takes a little bit of sleuth work.
Everyone at some point had to do a little online detective searching to find out details on an unsavory character with the knowledge that the internet holds loads of data on everyone if you know how to tap into it.
The priority when using dating platforms is to make every attempt to remain safe when looking for a mate, and that can mean taking a peek into their social media profiles, where people tend to reveal their most inner thoughts.
Follow these methods when meeting a new match on the dating site and subsequently searching on a social platform.
Message with the potential mate
The first step is always meant to get a vibe by messaging to learn more about a person. If one of their first lines of conversation hints about needing money or they don’t want to message, instead preferring to meet right away.
Try to get the phone number and a full name
One of the key pieces of information you can gain from the conversation is the last name, but you want to get as much information as you’re able to. If you have a last name, you can access many more details.
Getting a phone number as well will be ideal since this will give you an email, the full name, an address, and so much more – if it’s their phone number.
It’s much more straightforward to find a social networking account that offers a phone number along with the full name. If you can’t get a phone number after speaking for a considerable time, it will come, but you can still look it up by name.
If you have just a first name and the last initial and basic idea of a location, you can use certain tools to find their details by entering the name/last name initial and perhaps the city
Social site lookup
A social network lookup is relatively easy using a phone number. Once you’re able to develop more of a conversation and gather perhaps a last name and location, the task becomes even more simplistic. Sites like Instagram and Facebook let users input phone numbers to search for individuals.
- Facebook: Type the phone number in the search bar. The profile will appear if their phone number has been saved with their other contact data.
- Instagram: Add the person as a contact on your mobile. Go to the platform and tap on the three dots on the top right of the screen, after which you’ll strike “discover people.” If they have their profile linked to their number, it will appear.
Once you learn to find the social site account profiles, you can implement the platform usernames into Google for a search there. You can find out even greater detail about the individual, like whether they participate on other dating sites and where those profiles are, plus websites you wouldn’t naturally consider checking.
Safety really is the best policy
If you find out your date is legit in all this research, it’s still wise to be careful when pursuing a match on a dating app. Despite playing detective, there’s much risk in becoming involved with someone you don’t genuinely know.
Make sure the first date is in a public place, and perhaps there are a few friends scattered throughout to ensure optimum safety. Don’t drive straight home when the date is through; stop at the market or another place to avoid giving out your address.
Keep as much information private as possible until you’ve been out a few times and feel comfortable in telling a little bit at a time. Don’t reveal that you have their private details.
While honesty is always a good idea, the need to do that was strictly a precautionary measure and something a potential dating partner won’t appreciate until much further down the road.
In all reality, you’ll get an instinct if things are going well and know when it’s okay to let down your guard after a few dates. Generally, those instincts are relatively accurate.
Conclusion
Dating in real-time and dating apps are comparable because you’re meeting a stranger for the first time when you go out. The difference is a dating platform allows you the freedom to find out information before you meet the individual in person.
That allows tremendous precaution, especially if you take these measures to ensure you’re not dealing with a fake.
