Protect Yourself from Online Dating Scammers By Using Google Image Search

protect yourself from online dating scammers using Google image search

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:

  1. 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

Internet Dating Scams

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?

Online Dating: Dealbreakers

Dilemma: Old Flames in Family Photos

NOT a Happy Camper

GOOD Dating Stories:

Dating a Much Younger Man

Memories of Good Times with Tom (We Met, We Laughed, We Acted Like Third-Graders)

 

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9 Responses to Protect Yourself from Online Dating Scammers By Using Google Image Search

  1. Carolann says:

    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!
    Carolann recently posted…How To Easily Restore Your Rusty Shower Caddy To Brand NewMy Profile

    • blogqueendiane says:

      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.

  2. Elisa says:

    thanks. I never knew how to do an image search!

    • blogqueendiane says:

      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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