10 Ways To Detect Fake Dating Profiles

Published on April 24 2017 by Elena Petrova

Even in our times, there are still people who avoid dating online because they are unsure that listings are authentic. Their usual doubt, "How do I know this dating profile is not fake?" Programs describing "catfish" scams add to such reservations.

However, the truth is it's extremely easy to distinguish phony users from genuine ones. These tips for dating online will help you feel confident in your connections.

The reason people put bogus profiles on singles portals is that they have something to hide. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

There are 3 general types of swindlers:

People who are married or involved use online dating as an outlet to confirm their value on the singles market, frequently without any intention to move this connection into the real world.
Foreign scammers hope to convince you to wire money overseas, usually to Asia or Africa.
People who consider themselves unattractive use photos of good looking guys and girls, hiding their true identity.

The online dating tips below will safeguard your heart from all these types.

1. Scam artists tend to contact you first.

Deceitful people don't wish to be caught. Usually they join a singles portal or app, send tons of requests to other users, and immediately give their direct contact details to you in order to start talking off the site. The profile on the dating site is only active for a short period of time, a couple of days or even hours, and then it's closed. Swindlers do it to avoid detection by the site. Then they try to develop your friendship via emails and texts.

Be mindful of the people who wrote to you first.
For best results, initiate contact with people you like yourself.
Don't limit your communication to one individual only. Chat to many singles and compare how they behave. This way you are not wasting time on someone who may be lying to you but keep your options open.
Check dating profile writing tips to improve your chances on positive response from other members. Users with poor profiles tend to get bombarded by falsies because they see unattractive listings as an easy target, since legitimate members may not be interested. As any dating coach will tell you, having a nice picture in the profile and positive text is the first step to finding love on the Internet.

2. Fake profiles are vague.

The scam artists need to cast a wide net and they strive not to offend anyone. This is why their profiles are extremely general.

3. Pay attention to spelling and speech errors.

Poor grammar is typical for foreign scammers hoping to convince you to send some money overseas. The profile itself may sound okay but the communication is full of misspellings and weird phrases that a native English speaker would not use.

4. Phony profiles have minimum amount of photos.

There is usually only one picture with the listing. They also seldom offer additional photos in correspondence. Today, when taking a selfie only takes a few seconds, this is a clear sign that the user is not who they say they are.

5. You have a large age difference.

Males are particularly susceptible to contacts from much younger women. If the girl is extremely pretty and much younger than you, it's a massive red flag.

6. The user is overseas or interstate.

You are unlikely to be tricked by someone living in your city. Treat anyone who states they are living far away as potentially insincere until you are 100% sure they are genuine. Tips below will help you to confirm it. Sure, there are legitimate dating sites featuring Eastern European women or other international love-seekers. But you need to join them purposefully to start such relations. On a site or app targeted to locals, be wary of remote admirers.

7. Get on video.

The simplest way to confirm authenticity of your contact is to chat on camera face to face for at last 10-15 minutes. Most users choose Skype or Duo. Any other video messenger will work as well.

Make sure you can talk back and forth and your communication is not inhibited.
Con artists often have videos of the people they impersonate but it's hard to match lip movements and sound when you converse for a while. If you chat long enough, you can be sure it's the person behind the screen who is talking to you.
If the connection "cuts off" suddenly and your online friend is "unable" to chat to you on video long enough, citing technical problems, forget it.

8. Ask her if she is married or has a boyfriend (wife or girlfriend for males).

The best way to do it is during your video chat. You will be able to see the instant reaction to your question. If your special friend seems uncomfortable discussing it, they may be hiding something. Unfortunately, there are still people who like to play with other people's feelings and thrive on emotional feedback from suitors, even though they are already involved. If something seems off, ask what they think about cheating and what they consider as infidelity in a relationship.

If every time when this topic comes up they change their demeanour, you know something is wrong. Ask one question at a time and then move to a neutral subject for a few minutes, then ask another question and see if there are changes in the behaviour. Even if you are not experienced in relationships, you will get the gut feeling if the person is lying to you.

This is what happens if a person is telling a lie:

Their heart rate jumps.
Skin colour changes (turns pink or white).
Women may have red spots on the neck and décolleté area.
Breathing becomes shallow and speeds up.
The posture may shift.
They start touching their face or body.
Voice changes to a higher pitch or tone.

They avoid eye contact or, vice versa, start looking you in the eyes non-stop.

For an average liar, moving from a neutral topic to a highly charged with anxiety (because they don't want to be found out) is hard. You definitely will notice the difference.

9. If there is a money request, cut it off.

Some overseas scammers may spend months establishing contact and trust until they ask for money. This is why you need to treat any long-distance connection as a potential hoax until such time you met in person and you are happy with how your relationship goes.
Do not pay to talk to your pen pal online. A popular scam from overseas is to initiate communication on a local dating site and then request to move to a service that requires a small payment for every message (so called PPL or "pay per letter"). No matter how much the person is trying to convince you about their genuine feelings, it is the payment for messages they are after, and this is why they started chatting to you in the first place. Stories about a "broken computer" are a usual way to move you from talking for free to paying for chats. Lots of small payments from multiple suitors allow the impostor to live a good life while "working from home" promising undying love to gullible online admirers. Don't become another victim of PPL sites.
In general, remember: A genuine person wants you, and a crook wants your money.

10. Meet in person.

Keep chatting on video weekly and asking lots of questions about her daily routines, past relationships and ideas about the future. If you live nearby, you certainly will meet soon enough. If you decided to go ahead with dating someone internationally, it will be your individual meeting that will tell you if you have a future as a couple. Don't postpone it for too long.

It's understandable that you want to avoid emotional heartache and mental investment into a wrong personage. If you follow these steps, you will be able to date online successfully.