Romance scammers rely on stolen photos and in 2025, some faces are being used more than ever.

This report from ProFaceFinder is based on real, anonymous image searches collected throughout early 2025. It highlights the 72 most commonly used photos linked to fake romance profiles on dating apps, social media, and scam sites.

If you’re unsure whether someone is real, this list shows the exact types of photos scammers are using right now.

Most Used Male Romance Scammer Photos

ProFaceFinder analyzed hundreds of the most frequently searched male scammer photos images often used in romance scam profiles across dating sites, WhatsApp, and social media.

Here’s Key Traits of Male Romance Scammer Photos we found:

• Age: Most appear young early 20s, with a few closer to 30 or older. The youngest was around 19.
• Race: 27 out of 35 were white or mixed-race.
• Profession hints: Few clues overall. A couple looked military, one seemed medical, and some resembled influencers or fitness models.
• Expressions:
  • 20 had serious or neutral looks
  • 11 smiled (showing teeth)
• Pose or props:
  • 5 featured dogs (for trustworthiness)
  • 5 showed off physique, some shirtless

Scammers know how to build trust and attraction fast here’s how they do it through visuals:

• Dogs → Adds warmth, loyalty, approachability
• Uniforms → Implies success, discipline, or being “overseas”
• Shirtless/body pics → Adds physical appeal and hooks attention

These aren’t just random catfished photos they’re chosen to spark quick emotional reactions.

Some of the most used male catfish pictures are ones that feel instantly familiar or attractive, making victims more likely to trust and engage.

Most Used Female Romance Scammer Photos (From Verified Search Trends)

Using data from real user lookups, ProFaceFinder identified the most commonly used female scammer photos in romance scams. These images are often stolen from social media or dating apps, then used to trick victims into emotional and often financial, traps.

We reviewed 35 of the most searched female romance scammer photos. Here’s Key Traits of Female Romance Scammer Images stood out:

• Age: 31 of the 35 women appeared to be in their late teens to mid-20s. The rest were slightly older but still youthful in appearance.
• Expressions:
  • 18 were smiling
  • 16 had neutral or emotionless expressions
• Clothing & framing:
  • Some photos were dimly lit, cropped, or zoomed in (hiding key features)
  • A few were bright, professional-looking selfies
  • Some subtly revealed more of the upper body
• Style & impression:
  • A few women appeared successful, stylish, and “approachable” ideal for catfishing

Scammers pick these images carefully to maximize trust and attention:

• Youth + beauty = high engagement on dating apps
• Neutral lighting or close-ups = harder to identify or reverse-search
• Friendly smiles or mysterious looks = trigger curiosity and emotional appeal

These romantic scammer pictures (female) aren’t random they’re selected to exploit emotional gaps and lure targets into long conversations and fake relationships.

You may also recognize some of these images from past catfish romance scammer photos floating around the web.

Why Do Scammers Choose These Photos?

Scammers don’t just pick any image they choose ones that serve a purpose. Whether it’s building trust, attraction, or sympathy, every picture is designed to get a reaction fast.

Here’s what our ProFaceFinder data and user reports revealed:

• Attractive faces – Beauty draws attention, especially on dating platforms.
• Highly feminine or masculine features – To appeal to emotional or romantic preferences.
• Pets in the photo – Dogs or cats help create a trustworthy, “safe” image.
• Uniforms (military, medical) – Scammers often claim they’re overseas or too busy to meet. The outfit supports the lie.
• Revealing or seductive selfies – To trigger interest and keep the target emotionally hooked.
• Low-quality or dim images – Makes it harder to verify the person or run reverse image searches.
• Wealth-signaling images – Cars, luxury backgrounds, or expensive clothes help scammers pretend they’re rich but “stuck” in a temporary crisis.
• Photos of older people – Used to bait younger victims into sugar-daddy or inheritance scams.
• Young-looking selfies – Often used to attract older, generous targets.

Note that their accounts get deleted repeatedly, so they don’t even bother picking a great photo, or they have too many accounts, so choosing a random person to catfish as is easier and takes less time. 

Sdly, however, not every scammer is this lazy. The experienced ones know exactly whose life to imitate and which photos to pick. 

• Anonymity – Public profiles with lots of photos, but low online activity
• Common names – Makes reverse searches harder
• Inactive or abandoned accounts – Less likely someone will notice the identity theft
• AI-generated faces – Increasingly realistic, with zero digital footprint
• Gullibility filter – If someone falls for a profile that obviously shows a famous actor, they’re almost guaranteed to ignore red flags later so scammers weed out cautious users.

Methodology & Privacy Statement

This report was compiled by ProFaceFinder using anonymized data from thousands of image lookups submitted by users concerned about romance scams, catfishing, and identity misuse.

How the Data Was Collected:

• ProFaceFinder allows users to upload images to check where else those photos appear online.
• For this report, we analyzed image match frequency specifically, which photos triggered the highest number of matches across public platforms.
• Platforms scanned include:
  • Dating apps (e.g. Tinder, Bumble, Hinge)
  • Social media sites (e.g. Instagram, Facebook)
  • Open websites and scam forums where fake profiles often appear

Privacy by Design:

• No usernames, IP addresses, search terms, or identifying metadata were collected, stored, or reviewed.
• The report focuses solely on image patterns, not individual users or search behaviors.
• All findings are based on aggregate image data, ensuring full compliance with privacy laws and ethical research practices.

This ensures the research is both secure and reliable, helping readers recognize the visual trends scammers rely on — without compromising anyone’s identity.