Want to get back to the dating game after a shorter or longer hiatus? Nowadays, this is easy, thanks to countless dating services and websites. One of the top-rated services is Plenty of Fish, or POF for short.
As with other dating services, there is a flaw in POF. Some profiles are fake. Read on if you want to know how to tell if a POF profile is fake. You’ll learn about different ways to understand such profiles, why people do it, and how to avoid them.
Why Do People Make Fake POF Profiles?
You are not the only one wondering why some people decide to create fake dating profiles on various sites, including POF. There are several reasons, but the most obvious ones are low self-esteem, wanting to cheat people, and sheer boredom.
People with low self-esteem are everywhere, and if that’s why they pretend, you can at least try to understand them. They are not malicious scammers trying to steal your money. Such fake profiles are the worst and most dangerous.
Scammers are rampant on all dating services and there is no exception or safe place. However, they are usually not very bright and you can see them from a mile away. We will discuss them in more detail later.
Bored people are a little more malicious than lonely ones. They are playing with people’s emotions and there is no excuse for that. What they’re doing is called catfishing, and they’re often dealing with people using hot profile pictures and pretending to be someone else.
On rare occasions, there are also envious key people, followers, and internet trolls. If you contact them at POF, you must report any fake profiles.
Best Way to Avoid Fake POF Profiles
There are special precautions you can take to protect yourself from fake POF profiles. If you can, do not contact them at all. Exit communication as soon as they send you outgoing links or when they try to move the conversation away from the POF platform.
Scammers often try to persuade you to click on shady links that contain malware or sell you some products. Only switch to other platforms when you know you can believe that person. It’s impossible to tell when to trust a person on a dating site, but use POF for at least two weeks before moving the conversation elsewhere.
Don’t worry because scammers don’t like to meet face to face. Even if they claim to live near you, they always make some excuses. This is also a smart way to test a scammer, ask them out and see what they have to say. You don’t need to go through with it. We advise you not to even think about it.
Become a Dating Site Sleuth
This list can be very long, so let’s list the most common descriptions of fake POF profiles. Here are the steps you can take to determine how authentic a profile is in POF.
- Their profile looks out of the ordinary with the pictures at the top or the About Me section. Sometimes images are out of place, showing cleavage or swimsuits. These are undoubtedly fake profiles unless they have more than a few photos and some of them are enjoyable.
- Fake profiles’ about me pages are often short and monotonous. If it sounds robotic to you, it’s probably a fake profile. If you want to stay safe, look for profiles with longer descriptions and correct grammar.
- Besides the short page about me, there are only one or two images on the profiles of the fake users. If a profile looks too effortless, it’s most likely fake.
- They will try to persuade you to use other means of communication. If you’ve only met that person, never say yes to that. These are usually automated messages. If you want to see if you’re chatting with a robot or a human, ask them a specific thing. Always pay attention to grammar as it can help you spot a fake profile.
- Consider their profile pictures, descriptions, and who they claim to be. If the person looks much younger than they say, the profile is probably fake. Most scammers pretend to be attractive women, please don’t be fooled by that like the typical loner.
Reverse Search Your Pictures
If you’re talking to a hot stranger at POF, always consider searching Google for their image. It’s easy, follow the steps:
- Right-click on the suspect’s picture in the POF. Select Copy Image Address (or URL).
- Open Google image search.
- Click the camera icon next to the search bar (Search by Image).
- Paste the image address you copied in step 1.
- Click Search by Image.
- If you get multiple results of the same photo model (probably they took a celebrity, model, or stock image online), you can safely assume that this POF profile is fake. Often times, these scammers use the same picture on multiple dating sites.
This is a very reliable way to identify scammers on POF or other dating services. Remember to search for an image on a sketchy profile when unsure of its authenticity.
Don’t get caught by the catfish
With the advice you get here, it will be nearly impossible for you to get scammed on POF or any other dating site. Always report a profile you notice as fake so admins can remove it from the platform.
If an image is unrealistic, consider an image search for that person. If it sounds funny or weird, ask for specific details or ignore them completely.
Has anyone tried to scam you on POF or any other dating platform? Do you know any other way to detect a fake profile? Let us know in the comments section below.
