Run a reverse image search on every profile photo, look for AI signs such as distorted hands, odd jewelry, smeared backgrounds and too-perfect skin, and ask for a live video chat early. A real person can meet you on video and send a fresh photo you asked for. A fake profile keeps finding reasons not to.
Use a reverse image search (most major search engines let you search with a picture). If the same face appears under a different name, on a model’s portfolio or on a stock photo site, the profile is using stolen photos. If a face appears nowhere at all and every picture looks like a magazine cover, look closely for signs it was made by AI.
The FBI warns that criminals use AI-generated photos to build believable social media profiles for romance and investment schemes. It lists signs to look for: distorted hands or feet, unrealistic teeth or eyes, blurry or irregular faces, odd glasses or jewelry, and shadows that fall the wrong way (FBI, December 2024). Also notice backgrounds that melt into blur, and a set of photos that are all equally polished with no ordinary snapshots among them.
The FBI’s advice is plain: never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other assets to someone you have met online and not in person. Pressure to move the chat off the dating app quickly, a sudden crisis, and a “can’t-miss” investment tip are all warning signs. Report the profile to the app, and talk it over with a friend you trust.
All Around REAL is Your AI PI. Use the “See if theirs is” lane: send the profile photos, and the messages if you like, and we review the files themselves. The result stays private to you. Nothing is posted and the other person is not notified. A REAL QUICK image review covers one photo; a PROBE review covers text plus two images in one case. And if you want to show matches that your own photos are real, the “Prove mine is REAL” lane gives you a REAL Check for your profile.
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By David Venafro, founder · Updated October 12, 2026