Scammers often steal photos from social media to pose as someone else

 

Scammers often steal photos from social media to pose as someone else, including using images of children to claim as their own in romance scams.

These can become Motherless or Fatherless children. Your pets can be used as well... scammers know kids and pets have a 'pull factor'.

These pictures can be just taken from any profile on social media that is public and displaying attractive pictures.

They exploit these images to build trust and emotional connections with victims, crafting fake personas to seem more authentic. This tactic is common in romance scams , where scammers manipulate victims into believing they’re in a genuine relationship, often leading to financial exploitation. For example, they might take publicly available photos from platforms like Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, where users post family pictures, and use them to create a convincing backstory.

Also many, believing they are in a genuine relationship do send, proudly, pictures of grandkids and family. These pictures are stored on their laptops and are used in future scams.

The FBI and other sources, like posts on social media, have noted this trend, warning that scammers frequently target vulnerable individuals, such as those seeking companionship online.

Always verify identities through video calls or other means, and be cautious about sharing personal details with unverified contacts.

If in doubt come to ScamHaters United and we will help you identify who you are talking to.

Don't think places like TikTok are safer, this is the opposite of what happens.... BE CAUTIOUS ONLINE.

Look after your family... there are those who will exploit them