20% of profiles on popular dating apps are fake, according to a 2025 Stanford University study. In Colombia, where dating app scams and drugging incidents are particularly high, knowing how to spot a fake profile isn't curiosity, it's survival.
A fake dating profile can range from someone using old or edited photos (catfishing) to an organized criminal operation targeting victims for robbery, drugging, or kidnapping. Learning to tell them apart is the first skill you need before you swipe.
Photos: your first clue
Photos are a fake profile's primary weapon. A scammer won't use their own photos. They'll steal attractive ones from Instagram, Facebook, or even other dating apps. But there are ways to detect it.
- Reverse image search. Right-click the photo → "Search image on Google" (on desktop) or use Google Lens on your phone. If the photo appears on other websites or belongs to someone else, it's fake.
- Ask for a real-time photo. Write something like "send me a selfie of what you're doing right now", with a specific gesture, like waving. A scammer can't send a photo like that.
- Look for consistency. If all photos look like a professional shoot but the person says they're a regular student, something doesn't add up. Real profiles mix casual selfies with more polished photos.
- Check the background. Are the photos from different places and times? Fake profiles often have photos from the same day/location or generic backgrounds.
Conversation: patterns that give them away
A fake profile isn't only detectable through photos. The way they converse can be even more revealing. These are the most common scammer patterns on dating apps in Colombia:
Red flags in conversation:
- Generic responses that could be for anyone, as if they're following a script.
- Pressure to move quickly to WhatsApp or Telegram, off the app where there's less of a record.
- Excessive questions about your job, financial situation, or whether you live alone.
- Avoids video calls or voice calls with repeated excuses.
- Love bombing: intense declarations of love or connection before meeting in person.
- Insistence on meeting at a specific location (especially if it's private or remote).
The tourist rule: if you're a foreigner in Colombia and your match constantly asks where you're staying, how long you're visiting, and whether you're alone: end the conversation. This is a classic reconnaissance pattern before a scam or robbery.
The profile: details that matter
Signs of a potentially fake profile:
- Empty or extremely generic bio ("I love traveling and having fun").
- New account with no history or linked social accounts.
- Only 2-3 very similar photos (same angle, same clothes, same background).
- Location that changes or doesn't match what they say.
- Name that doesn't sound natural or combines a local first name with a foreign last name awkwardly.
Verification: the definitive solution
Everything above involves manual techniques, useful but imperfect. The real solution is for the platform itself to verify that every person is who they claim to be. That's exactly what Veraz does.
On Veraz, every user goes through three verifications before they can match: a scanned and validated government ID, a live selfie compared to profile photos using AI, and a Trust Score built from real behavior on the platform.
I used Tinder for two years and lost count of how many fake profiles I encountered. On Veraz, I know the person on the other side is real because the app already verified them for me. It's like going from guessing to knowing.
Andrés, 31, Medellín
If you don't want to leave your safety in the hands of an algorithm that verifies nothing, the best decision is to use an app that does the verification for you. In the meantime, use these techniques every time you match on any platform.