Reverse Image Search: Why a 95% Match
You put a single photo of someone's face onto a website. Within seconds, you can see everywhere else that photo is posted online. That's called a reverse image search for faces. A photo on a dating profile can look completely real. But that photo can still belong to someone else. You might see a 95% match. But you still won't know who's really behind it.
A 95% match feels like a final answer. But you've only learned that two photos look alike.
Cara Candelario explained how this works on September 24. Your photo gets turned into a list of numbers. Then your numbers get compared against billions of other photos' numbers.
Sometimes you'll even see a 100% match. But even then, you still have one question left.
Scammers can steal a real person's photo. They can just take it from public accounts. By the end of this, you won't get fooled by a score.
The computer never really sees your photo.
First, the company turns billions of photos into numbers. They do that before you ever search. Then your photo gets matched in milliseconds.
Your smile doesn't count for anything in this search. Your face just becomes a few thousand numbers.
Those numbers stand for the edges, textures and shapes of the face. The person's nose gets measured against their two eyes. You'll still find it even if someone crops or filters it.
There are 4 kinds of websites you can search with. On some face sites, people hunt people, not pictures.
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You'd think one search would settle it. But you'll find different things on every site.
On a quiz, a 95 is an A. But a 95% match isn't a grade. You still won't know whether the person is honest. The score can't tell you that.
Laura Kowal was a retired healthcare executive. She met a man called Frank Borg on Match.com. She lost her $1.5 million nest egg.
But Frank Borg wasn't a real person. The scammers used stolen photos on his profile.
The scammers forced her to move other victims' money. Later, she drowned in the Mississippi River.
CBS News reported her story in April 2024. Her daughter blames the scammers. Match.com says it acted after agents warned it.
If someone steals a photo, it'll match the original perfectly. After all, it's the exact same file. So a high score only proves the photo is posted somewhere else. The score you trusted could mean the photo is stolen.
Never treat a high score as proof. Treat it as a place to start.
Save the photo from that dating profile. Search with the picture itself, not with words. Look for that same face under a different name.
An exact match means it's the same file. A similar result might just be someone who looks alike.
Say the photo shows up under a different name. Then that photo belongs to someone else. But if you find nothing, that doesn't mean the profile is safe. No single site sees every photo online.
The CaraComp write-up goes into this in more detail. Their page compares four kinds of search sites.
That explainer warns you about one common mix-up. People confuse a similar result with an exact match. They either panic, or they relax too soon.
Take screenshots of the messages before you block anyone. Report scammers to the FBI at ic3.gov. Would your parents know the signs?
You can do the whole check in about 10 seconds. That's less time than it takes you to make coffee. Do it before you get the next message.
You can't tell from a score who's really typing. But now you know what to check.
Ask any new match to video chat with you first. If they refuse, stop answering them. Don't send money to a stranger's photo.
They might ask you for money in their next message. So you check the photo before you answer.
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