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Dating site are one of the best ways to find a mate or friends. What can beat a searchable database with pictures and descriptions of like minded people? Unfortunately, dating sites are also a great place to find people to scam.

Here are some tools you can use to separate date scammers from the legitimate people:
1) Search Engines
2) Google Images
3) Personal Information Aggregators

1) Google potential online dates:
If they have given you a name, then google it, Bing it, Yahoo it. Find out who is talking about them with “who is talking about me“. You can also use Who is talkin. If they have been around the block, you will find something on them.

2) Google Image their profile picture:
Scammers use other people’s picture for their false profile. They do it because its easy and its a picture that worked in the past so they are certain it will work on all future chumps. To check on their profile, download their picture from the dating site (or from email if they sent it to you) and drag & drop it into Google Images Search. If they grabbed the picture from someone else it will show up in a search.

3) Use a Personal Information Aggregator:
If you have their name and location, verify them in Spokeo.com. If you have not used Spokeo before… get ready for a shock. It is scary how much information is online about most of us. Keep in mind not everyone has information online but if they bought a home, own a business, changed homes a few times or went to a university, chances are there is a record of it online. If you don’t find them on Spokeo, try Zabasearch.com or white pages. With the information you gather, you can determine if its a real person or just made up. You can get their phone number, REAL email address, address.. use this information to verify if they are telling the truth.

You may have heard the saying “Trust but verify”.. well on the Internet you should not trust anyone and verify everything with two or three separate reputable sources. The ability to be anonymous on the Internet coupled with the selfish, apathetic nature of cold strangers makes tragic victims of trusting hearts. Trust NO ONE, particularly if you have not met them in person (and I would even say keep a watchful eye on those you have met in person LOL). Only time and experience with another person’s behaviors and actions will tell us what they are really all about. Knowing someone over time is really the only way to begin to allow trust to creep in.