Identity verification · Romance fraud
The free checks that expose most fake profiles in twenty minutes, the ones that don't work, and the point at which an amateur investigation starts costing you money instead of saving it.
Short answer Someone using a fabricated online identity — usually stolen photographs and an invented biography — to form a relationship under false pretences. Some do it for attention or concealment. A significant proportion do it as the opening stage of financial fraud, and that is the version worth taking seriously.
The distinction matters because it determines what you should do. A person hiding behind a false profile out of insecurity is a personal disappointment. An organised operation running the same script against dozens of people simultaneously is a crime in progress, and the point at which it becomes obvious is usually the point at which money has already moved.
The tell is not the deception itself but the direction it moves in. Genuine people who lie about their photograph do not have a reason to steer the conversation towards your finances.
Short answer Reverse image search their photographs, insist on a live video call, and check whether their story survives contact with public records. Most fabricated profiles fail at least one of those three within half an hour, and all three cost nothing.
Not all red flags carry equal weight. These are the ones that, in fraud cases, appear again and again:
If several of these are present, treat the situation as a fraud attempt rather than a relationship with complications, whatever the emotional evidence suggests.
Short answer When money has already moved, when the other person claims to be in Spain, or when you need the answer to stand up somewhere other than in your own mind. At that point the question changes from "is this profile fake" to "who is this actually, and is anything recoverable" — and that requires records you cannot lawfully reach.
A reverse image search tells you a photograph was stolen. It does not tell you who took the money, where they are, whether they hold assets, or whether a lawyer has anything to work with. Those are the questions that matter once you are past suspicion.
Where the counterparty has a Spanish connection — a claimed address here, a Spanish company, a property, a bank account, a person you were planning to visit — a licensed detective can carry out verification that is simply not available to a private individual. Company records, property registers, documentary verification and identity confirmation are all legitimate investigative work with a lawful basis, and the report can be produced in Spanish proceedings.
What no investigator can do, in Spain or anywhere, is read the other person's messages, access their accounts or recover your funds directly. Anyone offering that is describing either a crime or a fiction.
If the person you're dealing with claims to be in Spain, verification is straightforward and the first conversation costs nothing. We'll tell you honestly whether there's enough to work from.
Request a confidential callbackPeople also ask
Should I confront them once I'm sure?
Not before you have preserved the evidence. The moment they know, accounts close and messages disappear — and if money is involved, that material is what any investigation or complaint depends on. Screenshot everything first.
Is catfishing a crime?
Deception alone often is not, in itself. Obtaining money by deception is, and impersonating a real identifiable person can engage other offences. Where money has moved, report it — in Spain that means a denuncia to the Policía Nacional or Guardia Civil.
I've sent money. Can I get it back?
Sometimes, rarely quickly, and never through an investigator directly. Contact your bank immediately — early transfers can occasionally be recalled. Beyond that, recovery is a legal process that depends on identifying who took it and whether they hold anything worth pursuing.
They say they're coming to Spain to meet me. Can you verify them beforehand?
Where there is a Spanish element — an address, a company, a property, a claimed employer — yes, and it is far cheaper than the alternative. Verification before you commit is the single most useful thing we do in these cases.
I feel humiliated. Is that normal?
It is close to universal, and it is misplaced. These operations are professional, rehearsed and run at scale against thousands of careful people. Shame is why most of it goes unreported, which is exactly what keeps it profitable.
The service
Where the person or company has a Spanish connection, we establish who they actually are and what they hold here, documented in a signed report. We do not promise recovery, and we will tell you when there is nothing to pursue.
General information for an English-speaking reader, not legal advice. No investigator can recover funds; recovery is a legal process.