How To Spot Fake Online Dating Profiles

Online dating isn’t something new. It’s been around for years, but the recent turn of events made it the easiest and fastest way to meet someone. Almost every country in the world was in lockdown at one point or another and bars, clubs and restaurants had to shut their doors. Not only did people have limited places where they could go on a date, but they couldn’t even meet anyone by going to these places. The best dating sites have measured unbelievable growth in the number of profiles being created since the pandemic started. As soon as the first lockdowns started, people have turned to alternative ways of meeting like-minded people. But there’s an issue.

Among the thousands of authentic dating profiles out there, many fake dating profiles can be found. With the rising popularity of online dating, many people have decided to use online dating sites for other reasons than to actually meet someone. These reasons vary from cruel entertainment to even scamming people for money. When online dating just started, people didn’t realize just how dangerous it could be. Thankfully, the biggest issue at that time was who you’ll meet. Dating sites worked differently and if you decided to meet someone, it would be a blind date in most times. Gabriel Iglesias described online dating back then PERFECTLY!

The best dating sites and the most popular dating apps constantly work on removing fake dating profiles and creating a system that will authenticate each and every person that creates an online dating profile. There are a few online dating tips we’d like to share with you so you’ll be successful on the best dating sites and easily spot fake profiles.

What Are Fake Online Dating Profiles And What Are The Dangers Of Becoming A Victim Of Fraud

The first thing everyone into online dating needs to know is what are fake dating profiles and what they are used for. Unfortunately, we live in a time where fake dating profiles aren’t used for childish fun as they used to. Nowadays, it’s a serious scam business that has cost victims in the US more than $220 million!

Men are mostly the victims of romance or online dating fraud as many call it because a significantly larger number of men use the best dating sites to find like-minded partners. Women on the other hand don’t use dating sites as much as men. Those who do mostly register their profiles on the best dating sites for women, but still leaves a lot of room for scammers to operate. That’s why it’s important to spot fake dating profiles as soon as you come across them.

The best dating sites and popular dating apps are a great choice if you’re a first-timer in online dating. Even though every online dating site has fake profiles, the best ones have the best security options that make it very difficult to create a fake profile. No matter what dating site you choose to use, you should always keep in mind that you might be chatting with a bot or a scammer.

Although it might not seem like anything important, dating fraud is a very serious issue. Not only does it hurt the reputation of the dating site, but it can seriously damage one’s finances and emotional stability. But not only that, you can run into registered sex offenders, or people posing as someone else. This can be a very dangerous situation to find yourself in, especially if you went on the date all by yourself.

Don’t Get Overly Excited If You Get A Message Soon After Registering

The most usual way scammers work is to target new users. Newly registered users have little or no experience with online dating, so they’re an easy target. People using fake dating profiles send hundreds of messages every day looking for their next victim. Although it’s not always the case, most of the time, scammers use various apps that send automated messages. You’ll easily spot fake messages because they usually make no sense.

The best dating sites such as Zoosk invest millions of dollars in security so every member would have the best possible experience. With being in the online dating scene for so long, it’s expected to find fewer fake profiles and more genuine members looking for someone to meet.

Lack Of Pictures Usually Means The Profile Is Fake

One of the first things to keep in mind when looking at a person’s profile is the number of photos available. People who are into online dating know that they need to post photos regularly. The best dating sites and popular dating apps require posting at least three pictures, but in all honesty, it’s pretty easy to spot when a fake picture is uploaded. You’ll notice an older picture in bad quality, and usually, the same picture uploaded a couple of times. Of course, if you spot the same picture in two different profiles, you should skip both, even though there’s a chance that one of them is a real person.

Stay Away From Profiles With A Pumped Bio

Even though it’s not a common practice, some people over-complicate fake profiles. You’ll notice a lot of powerful words in the biographies of these people. These bios are usually too long, too sexual, too everything. These people consider themselves royalty, VIP, and everything they can to attract attention from potential victims.

Many people have fallen victim to romance scams. They vary from asking for money for a passport, being a fake victim of domestic violence and in need of money to join the victim in their country, having various valuables seized by customs, and needing help to pay import taxes… These people are getting more and more creative every day, but they’re relying mostly on numbers rather than creating unique profiles to get attention.

Asking For Your Personal Information Too Soon? Walk Away!

Every match you get on the best dating sites can be a potential scammer. Research shows that almost 10% of online dating profiles are fake and used by scammers for gaining personal gain. Many of these people try and get your personal information as soon as possible – your full name, address, bank information, and anything they can use. On the other hand, you’ll also run into people who understand the dating game and follow rules that won’t make you uncomfortable as soon as you open their messages.

If you notice someone is interested in your personal information more than you think they should at the start, you should walk away from that match because chances are you’ve been matched with a scammer. Unfortunately, these things will happen from time to time, but when it comes to your personal information, you shouldn’t share it with anyone you don’t know, especially someone you just met online.

What To Do If You Notice That You’ve Been Chatting With Someone With A Fake Profile?

This mostly depends on how much time you already spent chatting with the person and what kind of information you already shared. The simplest and easiest thing you can do is to report the profile to the website administrators, and when it comes to the best dating sites, the situation is usually resolved quickly. The user is banned, their IP address is banned and most likely, you won’t run into the same scammer again on that particular website. On the other hand, if you already shared personal information or credit card information, you should notify the authorities as soon as possible and get those documents canceled. This way, the scammer won’t be able to use any of the information they got from you.

Under no circumstances agree to meet with a potential threat. People who use fake profiles have various reasons why they’re creating them. There have been registered sex offenders on online dating sites under a false name and profile, looking for their next victim. Some people have that intention but haven’t been caught yet and it’s more than enough to take every precaution before meeting somebody you met online.

Conclusion

Online dating will only get more popular as the years go by. Since 2020, the best dating sites have recorded a surge of new users and a mass expansion of interested people in this form of meeting new people.

To get the most out of any online dating site, it would be best to read some reviews before committing to any. We’ve posted reviews about many online dating platforms such as Zoosk, EliteSingles, eHarmony, Cupid, and many more.

The reviews are constantly updated with the latest information about the dating sites in question so you’ll always have the information you need to make a great decision. By reading our reviews and applying these tips on spotting fake online dating profiles, you’ll quickly get the hang of online dating even if you’re a first-timer!