It is not a crime to make a foolish decision in your love life but it is when involved in a Romance Scam
Report the crime!
|
|
Physical Presence - How can I find the man in the photo? |
Photo used in scam by 21 year old West African Male
The images the scammer used has been selected at random from profiles, adverts, social sites, scam victims and other scammers scam profiles and used as the scammers outlook and forms part of his deception to throw off any lead to himself. They are disposable profiles and potential victims find value in tracing them as it is evidence that the person they are having an online relationship is intentionally misleading them.
Tineye - Reverse image search sites are useful in finding the physical presence of a scammers disposable profile from just a photo. These sites are used for copyright protection for photographers and artists and non-commercial searches are free. You can submit any of the photos the scammer gave you in to a reverse image search site The reverse image search site reports how it is being used and finds out where the image came from.
You can upload photos the scammer gave you or the url alone and it will return the site that created the image, not the name of a person who might be in the image but it may lead you to further information. Drag your image in to Google Image Search- IMPORTANT: The person who has been used in the photo is not the real person who is scamming/scammed you and would have no knowledge of your online relationship.
If you have just been scammed..............don't turn in to a Hollywood stalker.
Use caution if you think it is your duty to let the other party know their identity had been thieved Disposable profiles are recycled on scam sites to prevent others from falling for the same scam and are a vital source of information for potential victims. He may not be pleased to know that his identity has been used and recycled and may be harmed by the knowledge that there is nothing he can do about it anyway. You win, he loses. It is wise to use text over photos if you are posting the fake profile photo (as above), this prevents another scammer from using it and tells others that the person in the photo is innocent.
Another possibility to search from a photo is Google Goggles who have developed a visual search application for Android phones which is used by taking a photo from your Android phone and getting a match in search results from your Android phone, it is still in it's infancy and can locate landmarks, text, artwork from a photo.
Romance scammers use free image generators and can alter photographs, they can place text in to signs that appear like they are holding them, place different heads on different bodies etc. They are known to use different profile photos for the same email address holder and to resurrect a previous scam email address which will often appear within 2-3 years time.
Online Image Creators
Back
www.romancescamart.com 2010
