You can never be too cautious when you’re connecting with someone you don’t know much about. Whether you’re dating someone you just met or making a deal with another person, it’s necessary to check if he/she is a scammer beforehand – you might end up with nothing but an empty wallet.

In this post, we’ll share with you some of the best and legit online platforms to check if someone is a scammer. You can search by the person’s:

1. Real name
2. Phone number
3. Image
4. Email address

1. Check real name to avoid scammers

If you two are involved in offline activities, like apartment rental or recruiting, you might need to do a background check beforehand on the person – for your own safety.

TruthFinder is a strong people search engine, with billions of records in its database. A big difference between TruthFinder and its counterparts is that it offers you detailed criminal records about the person, along with their personal details, licenses, social media accounts, and more. If they lied about their true past, you’ll know about it after running a search.

1. Enter the real name in the search box to initiate the check process.

2. Follow the on-screen instructions and wait a few minutes as it scours through its database. You will get a detailed background report after subscription.

2. Verify the true identity with phone number search

The easiest and fastest way to verify the true identity of a phone number owner is to use a phone number lookup tool.

For that, we recommend Intelius. As a leading people search engine, it has helped people spot countless scams. Enter the person’s number, and Intelius will reveal more than you might expect, including the real name, criminal history, social media, educational and employment background, and more.

1. Enter the phone number and click Search to initiate the search process.

2. Once done, you’ll get a detailed report helping you to verify the true identity of the phone number owner.

3. Spot possible scammers by image lookup

Scammers tend to steal attractive photos from others to beautify their own profiles. So you can uncover a scammer by checking if they’re using their own photos. One easy way of doing that is to use a photo lookup tool.

Social Catfish is now a professional reverse image search tool, starting from a dating investigation service. After running a search, you’ll find out if the picture has been posted on other social media and who posted it. Then you can verify whether the person is a scammer or not.

1. Go to Social Catfish. Upload the image and click SEARCH.

2. Wait until it’s done. You’ll then get a full report containing information related to the original picture owner, allowing you to check if you’re dealing with a potential scammer.

Free alternative: Search for similar images with Google Image.

4. Track scammers by email address

If you have the person’s email address, you can also perform an email address lookup to find out anything fishy.

Boasting its billions-large database, BeenVerified is a leading platform for people search. This dedicated tool can help you verify an individual’s real identity and catch scammers, especially on social media or dating sites. Also, it features a variety of tools to search by email, name, phone number, or username.

1. Enter the email address and click Search Now to initiate the process.

2. BeenVerified will scan the database and generate an extensive report that contains all the available details. You’ll not only get who is the email owner, but also a wealth of background information.

Reminder: be careful what you are talking about online

As you chat with someone on any social platform, avoid topics that might reveal your privacy. To make sure you are communicating in a safe environment, be alarmed when they:

• Mention money
  Ask about your income or flaunt theirs.
• Send you weird links
  Which might be used to steal information or install malicious software on your devices.
• Push things too hard
  Try to quickly get you emotionally invested.
• Constantly avoid your video call requests
  Maybe they have something to hide.
• Have incoherent conversations with you
  It’s hard to remember what you’ve talked about when they need to chat with many other people.

That’s what we want to share about how to check if someone is a scammer. We hope you find it helpful and stay safe both physically and virtually!

By Arlee Hu

As a content creator for Super Easy, Arlee is passionate about uncovering the best products, services and bargains for our readers, along with providing helpful tips and a unique perspective. Prior to joining Super Easy, she worked as an English-Chinese interpreter for a government foreign affairs office, then for an online course platform.In her spare time, Arlee enjoys traveling, technology, movies, music, writing and — naturally — shopping. All of which make her the perfect fit for what we do here at Super Easy!

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