Backward search
- Thread starter LONGANDSTRONG
- Start date
First search here, use the magnifying glass icon in the top right. You can use advanced search to narrow down if need be. Also, just post who you are looking for info on...name and last 4 digits of #. Google search as well because you might find reviews elsewhere. Also learn how to an image search.
Keep in mind, nothing is fool-proof.
First, as Mr.SOG said, use the search function on this site to cross-reference their name or phone number (last 4 digits). And if nothing shows up, just make a new thread with the name and those last 4 digits, and simply ask. Feed this database, so to speak.
NOW KEEP IN MIND (as many PERBerts don't) is if you do get a hit on a name/number, and the person does have a review, be mindful on who is making the review. Take note if the reviewer is a 'new member', click his profile and see when he created their account on this site, and how often they posted and were active on his site before writing the review on the provider you're researching. So for example, you see a new ad in the Kamloops section of LL, with today's date, then you come to PERB and see a review is written on the same day by a new member who just opened his profile on the same day....what does that say to you?..... SURE!, it could be a coincidence, 'she was that good, a silent lurker decided to not be silent anymore', but still you as the reader still have to weigh the odds. I'd give you 20 to 1 odds, that provider is real......BUT if the review is coming from an established profile, your odds would get better; say 5 to 1; but again, nothing is foolproof.
Another step is the 'reverse image search'....again, not foolproof because the watermark on some of the photos mess with the searching. But still you might get lucky. You can use "tineye" or simply right-click on the picture and select google image search....if you're seeing a bunch of hits from the search, chance are the ad is fake....OR, the provider is too lazy taking down old ads as she travels through the country, so look at the time and places of those ads. And if there is a chronological "path" to the most recent ad, she's most likely travelling......BUT (for example) if you see a today's date on a Kamloops ad, and see the same ad (with same pictures and same date) but it's advertising in Toronto? "how can she be in two places at once?"
Another step to take is to research the phone number itself. Where are you calling to? Use reverse phone search websites, and see where the number comes from. "A girl advertising in Kamloops, is using a number from Texas or New York?" ...unless she likes to travel that far for 'work', it's most likely a scam. ....to be fair though, if the number was in Vancouver, Calgary, even Toronto, I'd weigh my odds favorably for the provider, because they legit could be travelers passing through and making money along the way.
The next step would be to chum the waters and see what happens next. Text them as they directed, introduce yourself as a gentlemen, describe yourself, be courteous. but if the subject of an e-transfer comes up, without any reviews to vet them,......the odds are very high, that it's a scam....they'll get your money, and you'll get a fake address in return..... It's like the golden rule on PERB, "Don't pay the e-transfer, unless they are well advertised and well reviewed"....
First, as Mr.SOG said, use the search function on this site to cross-reference their name or phone number (last 4 digits). And if nothing shows up, just make a new thread with the name and those last 4 digits, and simply ask. Feed this database, so to speak.
NOW KEEP IN MIND (as many PERBerts don't) is if you do get a hit on a name/number, and the person does have a review, be mindful on who is making the review. Take note if the reviewer is a 'new member', click his profile and see when he created their account on this site, and how often they posted and were active on his site before writing the review on the provider you're researching. So for example, you see a new ad in the Kamloops section of LL, with today's date, then you come to PERB and see a review is written on the same day by a new member who just opened his profile on the same day....what does that say to you?..... SURE!, it could be a coincidence, 'she was that good, a silent lurker decided to not be silent anymore', but still you as the reader still have to weigh the odds. I'd give you 20 to 1 odds, that provider is real......BUT if the review is coming from an established profile, your odds would get better; say 5 to 1; but again, nothing is foolproof.
Another step is the 'reverse image search'....again, not foolproof because the watermark on some of the photos mess with the searching. But still you might get lucky. You can use "tineye" or simply right-click on the picture and select google image search....if you're seeing a bunch of hits from the search, chance are the ad is fake....OR, the provider is too lazy taking down old ads as she travels through the country, so look at the time and places of those ads. And if there is a chronological "path" to the most recent ad, she's most likely travelling......BUT (for example) if you see a today's date on a Kamloops ad, and see the same ad (with same pictures and same date) but it's advertising in Toronto? "how can she be in two places at once?"
Another step to take is to research the phone number itself. Where are you calling to? Use reverse phone search websites, and see where the number comes from. "A girl advertising in Kamloops, is using a number from Texas or New York?" ...unless she likes to travel that far for 'work', it's most likely a scam. ....to be fair though, if the number was in Vancouver, Calgary, even Toronto, I'd weigh my odds favorably for the provider, because they legit could be travelers passing through and making money along the way.
The next step would be to chum the waters and see what happens next. Text them as they directed, introduce yourself as a gentlemen, describe yourself, be courteous. but if the subject of an e-transfer comes up, without any reviews to vet them,......the odds are very high, that it's a scam....they'll get your money, and you'll get a fake address in return..... It's like the golden rule on PERB, "Don't pay the e-transfer, unless they are well advertised and well reviewed"....
