Lot's of chatter (whining? here about the increase percentages of bogus profiles.  We all have to deal with them, and we all are looking for tips on how to spot them (preferably before we go through all the steps that proceed "her" ask for money upfront).  

 
Here's a list of what I consider yellow and red flags.  No single "flag" is necessarily definitive. But each additional flag adds the likelihood of a scammer/GPS Rob/Pig Butcher/Simp Farm disaster.  I'll break this into several categories:
1. Pics
2. Profile text
3. Logical flaws
4. Communication modes
5. Timing
6. Real world verification results

 
I will make a separate post for each of these. This is Part 6-Real world verification results

I use the following tools to try to determine that a POT is either probably legit or probably a scammer.  There is no 100% perfect tool. And even if you can verify that the POT is who she says she is, lives where she says she lives, and is really looking for some type of arrangement, that does not guarantee that she will ultimately be a "good" SB.  

 
I use these tools for first proving and/or disproving the "truth" she presents, then second, evaluating the results before making a decision to move forward.  Note that just because she may lie about some things, like her real age or job, that may not disqualify her. Many POT's protect certain real info for legit safety concerns. The point here is to arm yourself with as much data as needed to make good decisions.  

 
Types of tools:  

Photo Research: reverse image search, face match search
- Google, Bing, Tineye, Yandex  
- FaceCheck-id (fees)
Real Info Identification or verification: name, address, phone, email, criminal records, etc.  
- BeenVerified (fees)  
Maps: Location analysis for logical flaw discovery
-Googe, Apple, etc.  
Communication Tools: Diff apps offer certain clues and advantages.  
- WhatsApp, SnapChat, Telegram, Google Voice  

 
Reverse image search results:  
There are three possible outcomes of a reverse image search:
1. No hits/results. This photo may be published somewhere, but this tool cannot find it. You may want to try a different tool.
2. One or more hits/result, but you cannot access the page/site in the result. (May be behind a password or membership, or site may be invalid or no longer active.)
3. One or more hits/results, you can view the "source" pic and the web page that hosts it.  

 
Getting No Hits can be either good or bad, depending on context. No hits generally means the pic was not (likely) stolen from someone's IG, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other website account. However, if the pic SHOULD be findable (i.e.: She says she is a Victoria Secret model and the pic looks like it came from a VS shoot), it may be bad.

Getting one or more hits you cannot access can also be good or bad. Take a look at the URL in the search result. You can usually infer what the site or the type of site is (ex: Facebook, IG, Pinterest, or an escort ad site). You will need to evaluate the type of site to decide the significance.  

Getting hits on sites you can access provides the best, most useful info. But again, it can be good or bad. If you find her pic on a FB page, is the person who owns that page your POT? Do the names or other info (age, location, work, etc.) match the profile? Can you find more of her profile pics on that page? The main questions you are trying to answer are: Is my POT who she claims to be, and is this a POT I want to talk to?  

 
Real Info Identification/Verification results:  
Note that most of these tools require you to pay a small (or not small!) fee to access the search results.  
Knowing her real name, address, email, phone, and more can be a BIG help in predicting if she is legit or a scammer. Often you won't be able to do this search until she provides you with some info like a phone or email. Does this stray into the stalker/creep space? Perhaps. Especially if you use it for nefarious purposes. But think of the value of knowing that your POT went to jail for domestic violence and robbery BEFORE you head to that M&G!  Use these tools responsibly for your protection. And kep what you find to yourself.  

 
Maps:  
This is the most obvious, but do you make it part of your regular due diligence?  
Her profile says she is in City A, but when you talk to her about a M&G she tells you she's in City B-30 miles south of City A. Why the lie? It could be that she lives in B but works in A. That's reasonable. Or it could be that she lives in Nigeria and picked City A and B from a map without really understanding the distance between them. These are some of the logical flaws I've mentioned. One way to get a bit more intel on these is to ask her a question that requires some local geographic knowledge to answer. "Last time I was in City B, there was this awesome bar on (use the wrong name) street. Maybe we can meet there?"

 
Communication tools:  
WhatsApp, Telegram, Line and a few others are popular outside the US. If your POT wants to use one of these, she is probably not in the US.  
SnapChat and a few other apps have annoying features like disappearing message option, notice sent to user of screen caps.  
Google Voice allows you to create a virtual phone number with any area code you want and attach it to your phone with the Google Voice App, and you can also use that number to set up other apps like WhatsApp.    

 
For example: I used my Google Voice number to create my WhatsApp account. I can delete that number, get a new one, and update my WhatsApp anytime for no cost. Since it is a virtual number and I do use it ONLY for sugaring or mongering out of the country (See my past posts about the Philippines), it cannot be traced back to me without Google's cooperation, and that typically requires a subpoena from LE.  

If I suspect a POT is not legit, I can suggest she contact me on WhatsApp. If she accepts, it's almost certain she is not in the US. Even if she says she doesn't have WhatsApp, I can give her the Google Voice number and I can get her texts me with the Google Voice  app.  

 
Well, this concludes what turned out to be a lot bigger write up than I'd first planned. But overall I think that's a good thing.  

 
Feel free to add comments, questions or other tips on any of the 6 parts.  

 
Life is good

 
The Cat

All great advice.. we're going to start calling you the "Pussy Whisperer" from now on!