⚠️ THE SAME PHOTOS DO NOT MEAN THE SAME SCAMMER

We often see comments such as:

“He is at it again.”

“He has another profile.”

“He is using a different name now.”

But there is something very important everyone needs to understand about romance scams.

One set of stolen photos can be used by MANY scammers at the same time.

When scammers steal someone’s photographs, those pictures can be copied, shared, sold, exchanged and reused over and over again.

That means the same face may appear on dozens—or potentially hundreds—of fake profiles, operated by completely different scammers in different places.

The person in the photographs is NOT the scammer simply because their face keeps appearing.

Think of it as four separate things:

THE REAL PERSON — the innocent person whose photographs were stolen.

THE FAKE IDENTITY — the invented name, occupation, location and life story attached to those photographs.

THE FAKE ACCOUNT — the Facebook, Instagram, dating-site or other account being used.

THE SCAMMER — the person, or sometimes group of people, actually operating the account.

These are NOT the same thing.

One scammer might use those photos and call himself “David.”

Another completely unrelated scammer could use exactly the same photos and call himself “Michael.”

A third might use them as “James,” with an entirely different story.

They can even use similar scripts and excuses because scam material is copied and reused too.

So when you find another fake profile using the same man’s photographs, it does not automatically mean:

❌ “He is back.”

❌ “He changed his name.”

❌ “He has another account.”

❌ “He is scamming again.”

Unless there is evidence connecting the operators, we simply don’t know whether it is the same scammer.

A much more accurate statement is:

✅ “These stolen photos are being used in scams again.”

Words matter.

Saying “he is at it again” can also unintentionally accuse the innocent person pictured—the very person whose identity and photographs are being abused.

A FACE IS NOT A SCAMMER.

Photos identify the person photographed.

They do not identify the person sitting behind the fake account.

ScamHaters United — educating, exposing and helping people understand how scams really work.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.