Online dating for women over 50 is, unfortunately, a mine field because scam artists abound.Before you approach a man on Match.com or respond to a message, take a good look at the photo.
Scammer Clues
If your first impression is “He’s good looking,” check again. Does he almost look like a movie star?
Next, look at the profile. Are there any grammatical mistakes that make it appear that someone whose first language wasn’t English wrote it?
For example, if he says, “I will like to treat you like a queen,”stop again. Someone whose first language is English wouldn’t use those words; he’d say, “I’d like to” or “I would like to” instead of “I will like to.”
Many con artists operate from counties outside the U.S. and English isn’t their native language.
Steps to Take to Protect Yourself from Online Dating Scammers
If the man is hunky and the language in the profile is a little “off,” it’s a good idea to do a reverse Google image search to try to determine if he’s who he claims to be.
In one case, a very nice-looking man said in his profile that he lives in Charleston (where I live) and is retired. When the thought occurred to me that he looked like a wealthy movie star, I decided to check him out before contacting him.
It turned out the exact same photo was on Linked In for an actively-employed senior partner in a Los Angeles law firm — not a retired man in South Carolina.
Another time the exact photo I checked out appeared on a page where several women announced, “This man is a con artist!” and wrote about how the man tried to con them into giving him money.
How to Do a Google Image Search
You can protect yourself from scammers using Google image search.
Just follow these steps:
- Save the photo on the man’s dating profile by right clicking on it and selecting “Save Image As.” Save it to your desktop and name it “Test.”
2) Now, go to this website in your browser: https://images.google.com/?hl=en
3) Click on the camera icon, and it’ll open to Search by Image.
4) Select Upload File, and choose the photo you just saved to your desktop.
Some “computing” will take place and a list of pages where the image — or similar images — occurs will appear, along with the photo.
See what comes up… and decide where to go from there.
Related blog posts:
Scammers are Ruining Over-50 Online Dating
Online Dating Horror Story #1: Don’t be Cruel…
Online Dating Horror Story #2: Way Too Hairy
Online Dating Horror Story #3: Thunder and Lightning
Online Dating Horror Story #4: A Deli Emergency
Online Dating Horror Story #5: First Date with a Doctor and his Son at a Swimming Pool
Online Dating Horror Story #6: A Walk on the Beach Goes Terribly Wrong
Online Dating Horror Story #7: You Live WHERE?
Online Paper Bag Speed Dating: Would You Do It?
Dilemma: Old Flames in Family Photos
GOOD Dating Stories:
Memories of Good Times with Tom (We Met, We Laughed, We Acted Like Third-Graders)
Great advice for those dating. My cousin was the victim of an overseas scammer. With so many women using online dating, this is so valuable!
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That’s terrible. A friend of a friend was also taken for a lot of money — all her retirement savings. It can happen to anyone.
thanks. I never knew how to do an image search!
It’s pretty easy when you do it this way. You can also drag the image to the browser, but I always have trouble doing it that way!
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