Plain-English guides to checking people before the date, the meeting or the deal: how to verify someone is real, the scams going around right now, and how to see and clean up what’s public about you.
Check a match is real before you meet, and spot romance scams early.
$929.3 million lost to romance and confidence fraud reported to the FBI in 2025
Name, photos, job, city and phone should all tell the same story. Here is how to check each one in about 15 minutes, before you meet.
Read the guide 11 min readNearly 60% of 2025 romance scam victims said it started on social media (FTC)
No video calls, photos that are too perfect, a story that never quite connects. The 10 signs of a catfish and how to check in minutes.
Read the guide 9 min read51% of singles under 30 already tell friends their date details (Tinder)
Verify your match, tell a friend, control your ride home. A before, during and after checklist for meeting someone from a dating app.
Read the guide 9 min readResearch prospects, partners, clients and companies before you meet, sign or pay.
A 15-minute routine to check who you're meeting, what they care about and whether they're real, plus a copy-ready prep template.
Read the guide 10 min readNearly $1 billion lost to business impersonators reported to the FTC in 2025
A real company leaves an official trail: a registration, a tax number, a domain with history and people you can verify. Here is where to look.
Read the guide 11 min read1,158 company directors disqualified in Great Britain in 2025/26 (Insolvency Service)
Before you share equity, money or a bank account, check who they are, what happened to their last companies, and what regulators and courts say.
Read the guide 10 min read$3.05 billion lost to business email compromise reported to the FBI in 2025
A vendor writes to say their bank details have changed. It looks right. Here is how to check who really sent it, and the callback rule that stops the loss.
Read the guide 10 min read99.7% of fake accounts LinkedIn stopped in late 2025 were caught before any member reported them
A perfect headshot, a big-name employer, 500+ connections and no real history. Here is how to tell a fake LinkedIn profile from a real person.
Read the guide 9 min read62% of New York freelancers surveyed had lost wages to clients who never paid (Freelancers Union)
Fake checks, fake companies and clients who vanish before paying. The identity, company and payment checks to run before you take on the job.
Read the guide 10 min readHow the scams aimed at people and businesses work right now, and what to do.
£39.2m lost to romance scams through UK banks in 2025, a record (UK Finance)
Love that moves too fast, a reason they can't meet, then a money problem. The 12 red flags and the exact lines romance scammers use.
Read the guide 10 min read$7.2 billion lost to crypto investment fraud in the US in 2025 (FBI)
It starts with a match or a wrong-number text. Weeks later, a trading app shows big profits you can never withdraw. How to spot it early.
Read the guide 10 min read$893 million lost in 2025 in FBI complaints that involved AI (IC3)
A video call used to be proof. Not anymore. The live tests that break a deepfake, and the habits that make it useless.
Read the guide 9 min read$362.9 million lost to employment fraud reported to the FBI in 2025
A friendly recruiter, a fast offer and a role that pays well for little work. Here is how to check them in five minutes before you share a thing.
Read the guide 10 min read$1,405 median loss reported to BBB Scam Tracker for home improvement scams in 2025
License lookup, insurance certificate, permits, reviews and a written contract. The checks that stop most bad contractors before you pay a deposit.
Read the guide 9 min read£118.1m lost to purchase scams in the UK in 2025, up 20% (UK Finance)
Profile checks, payment rules and the fake Zelle email trick. How to tell a real Marketplace, eBay, Vinted or Craigslist seller or buyer from a scammer.
Read the guide 9 min readSee what the internet says about you, and remove what you don’t want public.
70% of hiring decision-makers say their company uses social media to research candidates (Harris Poll)
Employers, dates and new clients will look you up. Here is how to search yourself the way they do, and what to fix first.
Read the guide 10 min read600+ data brokers reached by one request through California's DROP platform (CalPrivacy)
Your address, phone and relatives are probably listed. How to opt out site by site, use California's DROP, and use GDPR rights in the UK and EU.
Read the guide 10 min read17.8 billion breached accounts loaded into Have I Been Pwned as of October 2026
Billions of accounts have leaked. How to check yours in two minutes, what scammers do with the data, and the steps that actually protect you.
Read the guide 9 min readHow to look someone up, and what a people search can and can’t be used for.
$3.5 billion reported lost to imposter scams in the US in 2025 (FTC)
Search operators, social platforms, public and court records, professional registries and people-search sites: what each finds, what's free, and what's legal.
Read the guide 11 min read$5.8 million paid by TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate to settle FTC charges, including FCRA violations, in 2023
A people search checks who someone is. A background check is a regulated report for hiring, renting and credit. Here's the line, and why it matters.
Read the guide 9 min readType a name. Get one clear report. They’re never told you searched.
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