How To Identify Fake WhatsApp Screenshots

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Your Quick Answer:

To identify a fake screenshot, you need to find the tempered areas of the screenshot. 

Even, ask the user to show you the chat physically. 

You need to check the details like last seen, date, time, name, etc. 

As you can’t see the number behind, you need to check for the profile and find the number registered on WhatsApp. 

You can also use apps like Photo Sherlock Search and Fake Image Detector to check whether a screenshot is real or fake. 

Tools like Amped software are also helpful in detecting fake screenshots. 

To know whether a message is fake or real, you need to look for the forwarded tag on WhatsApp messages. 

Search for the message on Google to check whether it’s real or fake. 

How to identify fake WhatsApp screenshots: 

Look at these things below:

1. Find tempered areas of screenshots

When you’re trying to identify whether you’ve received a fake WhatsApp screenshot or not, you need to follow certain tips to identify it. You need to look at it very carefully to notice the difference.

Although a fake screenshot may look very similar to an original screenshot, it can never be the same. If you look at it carefully, you’ll notice the difference to find the tampered areas of it. When someone sends a fake screenshot, he or she edits it before sending it.

You need to zoom into it to find the edited part. The edited part of the screenshots looks very messy and uneven, you’ll be able to find it only when you look at it carefully by zooming in. 

2. Ask to check the chat live

When someone sends you a screenshot of a chat and you find it suspicious, you need to ask the user to show it to you by coming to you physically and opening the chat on the device in front of you.

Certain technologies allow users to create fake chats and take fake screenshots for free. Therefore, anyone can be easily fooled by these apps and tricks these days which is why it’s better not to rely on screenshots and check the chats from the device by telling the user to show it to you physically.

Ask to check the chat live

You can take over the user’s device and check it with his permission to see if he’s faking the chats or not. 

3. Find Name of Chat & Last Seen

The minute details of screenshots are very important in finding whether the screenshot is fake or real. You need to check the last seen of the user in the chat to see if there’s one or not.

see on last seen

You may not get to see the last seen always if the person last seen was not turned on. But you’ll always need to look for the name of the user at the top of the chat. Even check for the date and time of the chats to check if it’s proper or not.

4. You can’t see the number behind

You should know that anyone can save any number and create a chat that he or she wants to show you on WhatsApp. The user can use a few clever tricks to make a profile look like a genuine WhatsApp number by changing the display picture and name and then taking a screenshot of the chat.

You need to check the profile by yourself on other social media apps by searching for the user by his or her name. From these social media profiles, you’ll need to find his number.

Next, you need to check the registered WhatsApp under it to find whether it’s real or fake. 

How to identify a fake text message on WhatsApp:

Look at these things below:

1. Fake messages are mostly tagged as forwarded

When a message is fake, it gets forwarded from one user to another. When you get a fake message, you’ll notice that it has a Forwarded tag on the message which means that this message was originally not written by the sender but by someone who composed and sent it to the sender which the user has sent to you. 

Fake messages are mostly tagged as forwarded

2. Search the fact on Google to Check if it’s real

When you get a message about any fact on WhatsApp about which you get confused and you’re not sure if the fact is real or fake, you need to immediately search the fact on Google to check whether it’s fake or real. On Google, you’ll be able to read tons of articles and debates about it to know what others think about it.

From-Google-Search1

Fake Image Checker:

Try the following tools:

1. Photo Sherlock Search (iOS)

The Photo Sherlock Search app is a free application available in the App Store. This application comes with many helpful fake image checker features that have been listed below:

⭐️ Features:

◘ It is built with a custom camera that you can use to take pictures. 

◘ It has its own reverse photo checker tool to detect fake and original photos. 

◘ It can show you the original picture by removing all the edits from a fake picture. 

◘ The app can detect the areas of editing too. 

◘ It can crop and rotate images too. 

◘ It can reduce the size of the image if required automatically. 

🔗 Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photo-sherlock-search-by-image/id1270107821

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Download the app from the App Store.

Download the app from the App Store

Step 2: Next, you need to open it.

Step 3: Then attach the screenshot of the chat in the box or upload it on the app.

Upload Image

Step 4: Click on the search button to detect whether it’s fake or real.

Click on search button

Step 5: In the results, you’ll be able to detect if the image is taken from other sites or is original.

2. Amped Software

Another popular fake image checker is the Amped software. It’s a photo analysis tool that helps in detecting the areas of edit. It’s a very advanced tool and is built with many progressive features.

⭐️ Features:

◘ It can find out the areas which are edited by scanning the picture. 

◘ It can detect the authenticity of any documents. 

◘ You can analyze the quantity of more than one picture at a time. 

◘ You can identify the device on which the picture or screenshot is taken. 

◘ It’s very fast and accurate. 

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Open the tool from the link: https://ampedsoftware.com/authenticate.

ampedsoftware.com

Step 2: Create your account. 

ampedsoftware photo

Step 3: Next, log in to your account and upload the screenshot. 

Step 4: Click on the search button and it will detect the edited areas. 

3. Fake Image Detector (Android)

One of the best fake image checkers that you can use is the Fake Image Detector. It’s a free app available on Play Store that you can use to find and check whether the screenshot you have is fake or real. 

It comes with many other features which have been listed below:

⭐️ Features:

◘ The app has a detector tool that helps you find out if a picture is downloaded. 

◘ It can detect the part that is edited. 

◘ You’ll be able to find the site from which it was downloaded. 

◘ You can get the original picture too. 

◘ It has a user-friendly interface. 

🔗 Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fake_image_detector.coder.genuine.com.fakeimagedetector

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Download the app from Play Store.

Fake Image Detector

Step 2: Next, open the app. 

Step 3: Click on Choose From Gallery. 

Click on Choose From Gallery.

Step 4: Then select the screenshot and upload it on the app. 

Step 5: Click on Explore Image to find out whether it’s fake or real. 

Click on Explore Image

Step 6: It will show the edited part. 

See all edited part

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How to spot a fake text screenshot?

If you want to spot a fake text screenshot, you need to look for the date and time on the screenshot. You need to check whether the screenshot looks fake or tampered with. You can also use the third-party checker tools available online to spot fake screenshots. These tools will help you know which parts of the screenshot are edited. 

2. How to prove text messages are fake in court?

You need to show the original chat screen to show that the text messages are not sent by you. Even if the text message doesn’t have your IP address, then it’s proven that it is not sent by you. If you want to show some messages to the court, you need to take a printout of the message and then show it to the court.

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