Hey everyone 👋

The story that started everything

Last year, a friend came over. Let's call her Sarah. She sat on my couch, hands shaking, and said: "I've been talking to this guy online for three months. He's perfect. But something feels off. I just want to know if he's really on dating apps. Is there any way to check? Please, Sam. I feel like I'm losing my mind." I had no answer. I felt useless. That night, I opened my laptop and started searching.

What I found made me angry

I typed "how to check if someone is on dating apps" into Google. Dozens of sites promised instant results. I tried three. First one took $29.99 and gave nothing. Second sent a PDF of "signs your partner is cheating" – stuff you find on any blog. Third said "no matches found." A week later, Sarah found the truth. The guy was a scammer. Stolen photos. Talking to five other women. Asking for money. She cried again. Angry at him. Angry at herself. Angry at me for not helping. That broke something in me.

So I built my own method

I'm a developer. I spent weeks testing every tool I could find. Created fake profiles. Used burner emails. Paid for subscriptions just to test cancellation. Most failed. A few worked. The ones that worked – I kept. That's how CatchingCheating.com was born.

The tools I actually recommend

🔍 Spokeo is my #1 recommendation. It searches emails, phone numbers, dating profiles, and public records. Cost: $0.95 for a 7-day trial. Less than a coffee. I tested it on my own fake profiles. It worked. Full report to your email. No hidden fees. Easy to cancel. No phone calls. Just click cancel and you're done. For free reverse image search: Google Images, Bing Images, Yandex. Yandex is the best – catches things Google misses.

For social media search: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn directly. Type name or email. Look for inconsistencies.

Other tools like BeenVerified and Social Catfish are fine. But Spokeo is the cheapest and easiest to cancel.

Method 1: Reverse image search

Upload photo to Google Images, Bing, or Yandex. See where else it appears. Different names? Different locations? Red flag.

Method 2: Social media search

Search name, email, username across platforms. Claim to live in Chicago but posts show another country? Something's wrong.

Method 3: Email and phone search

Want to search dating apps by phone number? Use Spokeo. Enter number. See which apps are linked. Want to check if my husband is on dating sites? Start with email search. Most dating apps require email verification. Want to find hidden dating profiles? Combine both.

Real stories from real people

"I reverse image searched his photos on Yandex. They belonged to a real doctor in California. He was using stolen photos." – Maria, Florida. "I searched his email on Spokeo. Found Tinder and Ashley Madison. Confronted him. He admitted everything." – Lisa, Texas.

This is why I built the site. Real people. Real answers.

What I learned from all this

Trust your gut. You're not crazy.

Don't pay for scams. No "secret databases" exist.

Use free methods first. Google, Bing, Yandex, social media.

If free fails, spend $1. Spokeo's trial is $0.95.

Talk to someone. Don't go alone.

And if someone's fake? Block them. Laugh at how ridiculous scammers are. One guy claimed to be an "oil rig engineer" but said his day involves "sitting in an office answering emails." Come on.

– Sam

P.S. Try the free methods first. If you need deeper search, head to CatchingCheating.com for step-by-step guides.