Online scams and financial fraud have become a thing these days. According to statistics, around 47% of Americans lost money to identity theft scams. Additionally, in 2021 only, consumers worldwide lost $5.7 billion, which is a humongous amount. The main reason behind these significant figures is the inability of ordinary people to bust fakes and detect financial frauds.
However, it is quite possible to spot fraudsters and avoid them. Advanced technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning can help them do so.
The easiest way to bust fake identities and spot fraudsters are using reverse image search.
This advanced method can be an effective tool in helping you bust fraudsters and avoid financial scams. We have put together some valuable details about reverse picture search and its role in fraud detection.
If you are interested in learning more about this online search method and the way it can help you avoid fraud, then make sure you read this writing till the end.
Further details about this topic are given below.
Working Of Reverse Image Search
The working of reverse image search is quite different from other methods used for online search. It is specifically created to find search results in the form of images. If you want to perform a web search using this method, you need to provide the search query as an image.
Once you provide the image, the CBIR (Content-Based Image Retrieval) algorithm starts working. The first phase of the RIS process is scanning, in which the entire image is processed and scanned correctly. After scanning the image, mapping of the image is done. Once the mapping is done, the algorithm identifies patterns, faces, text, objects, and color palettes featured in the given image and obtains the required data.
The obtained data is processed, and a search is performed to deliver accurate results.
How Can Reverse Image Search Help Us Avoid Frauds?
While there are billions of websites on the internet, images uploaded on various websites, mainly social media sites, have long exceeded the number of websites. The easy access to images on the internet has made it possible for scammers to steal the identities of random people and rob others of their money with the help of made-up identities.
Many times fraudsters use the identities of bankers and insurance executives to fraud others. However, reverse image search can help users avoid such frauds. They can take a screenshot of images posted as DPs (Display Pictures) on profiles of people who connect them and demand money for random reasons. After doing it, users can upload these images on a RIS utility to perform an image search online.
If you find similar images as a result of a reverse image search posted on various websites with different names, then a fraudster is probably trying to scam you. Make sure you block that ID and report it to the concerned authorities for further action. Doing so will help you avoid the scam and save other people from fraud.
Here are some efficient reverse image search utilities that can help you.
Google Images
Google is known to have the largest database of images in the world. It can efficiently help you find the images you are searching for on the web. Moreover, you can also find the images commonly used by fraudsters on this utility and save yourself from fraudulent activity.
You can easily access Google Images on your desktop devices by searching on Google. If you want to use Google images for search on your mobile devices, then it is quite possible as well because of the Google Lens app.
All you have to do is upload the image from the local storage of your device and perform a search. You can also provide Google Images with the URL of an image to perform an image reverse search.
However, if you want to perform a search with the help of your mobile device, then you should switch Google Images to desktop view on the default browser. Once you perform this on Google Images or Google Lens, the Google Vision algorithm will provide you with accurate results brought from a massive database of Google.
DupliChecker’s Image Search
If you want to get results from all the famous image search engines in one go, then you need a special tool. It is possible that the image or images you are looking for are not present in the database of Google. Still, other photo search engines or utilities like Bing, Baidu, or Yandex have access to such images. Additionally, it is observed that image reverse search algorithms working behind other search engines can deliver better results in several circumstances.
You need a facility that can help you get search results from all the renowned search engines in one place to save time and effort that would otherwise go into searching images one by one on each platform. The efficient online image search facility offered by DupliChecker will help you get results from all these platforms, including Google Images, in one go. The best thing about this utility is its compatibility with all mobile and desktop devices, regardless of their operating systems. Moreover, a friendly interface makes it relatively easier for many users. You can use this utility without spending a single penny.
