Finding out who this man is from his online photograph

[PoliticalSatay]

Hi MN
Really hoping someone can help with this.
A close friend of mine has been having an online friendship / flirtation with a man for around three years. They speak to each other through a forum but message privately and speak on the phone regularly.

My friend has lots of photographs of this man throughout the years he has sent her, we do not know if the man she is speaking to is the man in the photographs or not and would like to find out who he is.
How can we search for his image online to check who he is?
Have tried Google Image Search but it doesn't bring anything up, has anyone used this successfully and can they give me any tips please? It will make a big difference to my friend if we can find out more about the man in the photographs.
Tia xx

Does anyone else feel that so many posters on Mumsnet are oppositional for attention these days?! Draining.

Hi, go on Facebook and add yourself into the group “Are we dating the same guy” then put your area. Your name will be anon, see how that goes

What a daft question.

I'm asking YOU who the 'we' is.

It can't be your friend because you keep saying she'll come out of the fantasy bubble when she's ready.

If she's the one digging with you, then she's clearly ready?

Plus, she would've insisted on Facetime if she was ready to stop the fantasy.

As for people posting on here for attention, yes some people make up any old shit and start threads about it sometimes.

I have been listening / trying to help my friend of three years or longer with this online friendship she has. You might not be familiar, but friends, I don't know, try to 'help' each other??

I have always been concerned about this friendship with a random anonymous guy who looks too goodlooking (in the photos) to be true.

I think the bubble may be bursting as my friend has asked me to investigate and sent photos to me. When I saw my friend the other day we were talking about how we could track him down online. We knew there were places you could could post photos but we had no luck the other day with Google lens so I thought I'd jump on here and have had some help, thanks guys. Much appreciated xz

Recently a man pretending to be a famous actor contacted me via social media. I played along with it for a while knowing full well it was not him just for a bit of fun, but it can be intoxicating if you are not truly grounded. At times I had to remind myself it was not real as it can be lovely when someone just messages you a sweet message in the day if you are having a bad day and you are not used to it / not recently experienced it.

What is she hoping from this “relationship”? It’s been 3 years!!!!

Hang on, IS that him?

All she has to do is meet up with him (in a public place).

What is the point in talking to someone for 3 years and not meeting.

Your friend needs to watch catfish.

Thats Nolan North

Very famous voice actor for video games and animations

@ShiningforLeeBertie I used this and typed in, handsome 50 yr old man.
https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/text2img

@ShiningforLeeBertie It's definitely not a real person. Might look like someone you know though.

Im amazed, it's the spitting image of him.

She literally says that the friend has asked her to help, why are you saying she hasn't?

Thanks @B1indEye honestly some people on here are crackers and want to misinterpret a thread for fun! Draining...

Seriously? Wtf is wrong with you?

I agree. Surely no one is that daft.

I'm starting to find you more odd. Can't you enjoy the rush somewhere else?

And it just got odder

I’ll leave you to it Op

goodness knows you’ve got a busy day “investigating” ahead of you 😂

And really, so what if she hasn’t? The woman is being catfished by a complete con artist. She may not have given him money yet but who knows what information she’s given him. Name/date of birth/address, likely enough in three years to be able to steal her identity.

ON MN friends are even encouraged to snoop if they think their friend’s new man is married, so exactly why are people being so defensive of her snooping to unmask a scammer.

Honestly MN never fails.

Agreed. I despair on this place sometimes!

My friend has a hobby and this guy is involved in the online hobby.

I've said for a long time - the whole three years in fact - that we don't know who this man really is and we will.never know who he is. This thread was only ever asking about photo recognition apps, one was suggested to me up the thread I've used it and have found the guy in the photos in other places online.

The name he has given my friend has never matched anything online, there is no trail.

My friend has had a very difficult few years and this online friendship for want of a better word has lifted her although things have changed a bit now and I think she is ready to come out of it.

I'm going to leave this thread now but thanks to everyone for the Info xx

Just to point out, a lot of you are stating that the person is 100% not real if there has been no video call/face time.
I will not video call. Ever. Not with friends, not with family, and certainly not some rando off the internet. But I am 100% real.
However, I also wouldn't even entertain a three year 'relationship' with somebody on line. Not even three weeks without arranging to meet up.