Is the person you're talking to real? How to spot a catfish
You have been messaging for weeks and still never had a video call. Here is what actually works for verifying someone, before you lose money or months.
6 min read
Try the free checks first
There is a lot you can do without paying anyone, and it is often enough. None of this makes us money — it is first because it works.
- Ask for a video call. For a real person that is a two-minute favour. Endless excuses are themselves an answer.
- Run their photos through Google Images or Yandex reverse search. If a picture was lifted from a stock site or someone else's account, this usually finds it.
- Check when the account was created and how much real interaction it has. A few months old, few friends, one profile picture — worth a pause.
- Look for inconsistencies: clothing that does not match the season, the same background in supposedly different countries, every photo shot at the same angle.
Stop the moment money comes up
Almost every romance scam ends in the same place: an urgent need for money. A hospital bill, a parcel stuck at customs, a missed investment, some crypto advice.
Do not send money to someone you have never met in person. However convincing they are, however long you have been talking. Building exactly that trust over months is the method, not a coincidence.
When face search helps
Ordinary reverse image search looks for the same file. Crop it, filter it, or use a different frame and it finds nothing.
Face search looks for the facial geometry instead, so it can find a different photo of the same person — including, when a profile picture has been stolen, the real account it came from.
The limit matters too: face search gives you a list of pages, not an identity check. A high score means two images look very alike, not that this is definitely the same person. The judgement stays yours.
If you have been scammed
This is not your fault. These are organised operations, and they target careful, decent people on purpose.
- Screenshot the conversation before the account disappears.
- Report it to the platform — most dating apps have a direct route for this.
- If you sent money, call your bank immediately. Some transfers can still be reversed if you move fast.
- Report it to your national fraud or cybercrime body.
Common questions
- Does reverse face search actually work?
- If the face appears on a page we have indexed, yes. Coverage is partial, so no result does not mean the person is genuine — only that the face was not found in indexed sources.
- Is a high match score proof of identity?
- No. The score measures how alike two images are, not who someone is. A report is a starting point, not evidence on its own.
- Are there free alternatives?
- Google Images and Yandex reverse image search are free and often show whether a photo has been used elsewhere. Try those first.
If the free checks came back empty, a face search looks for other pages carrying the same face.